The relationship between Marc Mezvinsky, husband of Chelsea Clinton and son-in-law of Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Clinton backers who are investors in Mezvinsky's hedge fund, Eaglevale Partners, is sure to be closely examined as former Secretary of State Clinton nears announcing her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.
But financially speaking, according to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others, it's not a very pretty picture.
Eaglevale, co-partnered by Mezvinsky, made a bad investment bet that the Greek economy would improve, and the $380 million fund dropped 3.6 percent last year, losing millions, while similar funds rose 5.62 percent on average,
the Times reports.
In a letter to Eaglevale's investors, Mezvinsky and his partners wrote: "Our recent predictions regarding Greek politics have proved incorrect. We are reticent to render decisive predictions at this time,"
the Journal reported.
Mezvinsky, 37, married to Chelsea Clinton for five years, and his partners founded the fund in 2011, and immediately attracted investment funds from wealthy Wall Street Clinton backers, the Times reports, several who also have contributed to the Clinton family foundation and Clinton campaigns.
"The overlap between at least some of Eaglevale's investors and backers of the Clintons illustrates how politics and finance can intersect and shows the fine line the Clinton family must navigate as their charitable and business endeavors come under scrutiny in an election cycle," the Times stated.
Rock Creek Group's chairwoman, Afsaneh Beschloss, has close ties to the Clintons, attending White House state dinners in the 1990s. The group invested $13 million from the California Public Employees' Retirement System with Eaglevale, and Clinton leased office space from Rock Creek Group after she left the State Department, the Times notes.
Hedge fund manager Marc Lasry invested $1 million with Eaglevale and his firm, Avenue Capital Group, employed Chelsea Clinton and is a Clinton donor.
The Jacob Rothschild family, which has donated to the Clinton Foundation, invested $15 million with Eaglevale, the Times notes, and Bill Clinton has spoken at a conference sponsored by the Rothschild Foundation.
Early investor in Eaglevale Goldman Sachs and its chief executive Lloyd C. Blankfein have close Clinton ties, contributing to the family's foundation, which has offices in a Goldman Sachs building.
Clinton Foundation spokesman Kamyl Bazbaz told the Times: "Where our supporters choose to invest is obviously their personal prerogative and has nothing to do with the foundation in any respect."
The Times notes that Eaglevale has spent "27 of its 34 months in operation below its 'high-water mark,' " meaning the level at which initial investors are profiting instead of losing, and some investors have left the fund or cut back the amount of their investment.
"But if you are a wealthy Democratic donor who places a high value on long-term political access to one of America's most powerful families, Eaglevale is the fund for you,"
the Free Beacon reports.
"Wall Street tycoons are clearly ready for Hillary and there are few better ways to show that than by giving money to her son-in-law to play with. He might not be any good at it, but he does know someone who might live in the White House one day. At that's where the real money gets made."