Seeking to distinguish himself from progressive candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden sought out Chicago’s top real estate players to raise money.
On Thursday, Biden held three private fundraisers in Chicago, including one at the home of billionaire casino and real estate developer Neil Bluhm, as well as the residence of top-producing agent Emily Sachs Wong and her husband Thad Wong, who leads the residential brokerage @properties.
Bluhm told guests that Warren and Sanders “don’t represent the Democratic Party.” He added that Biden “has the best chance of defeating Trump,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
At the Wongs’ Lincoln Park home, Thad spoke about how his father admired the former vice president, noting he showed resilience after the death of his son Beau.
”When he dug in, many of us would have given up,” Wong said.
The private fundraisers in Chicago could further expose Biden — who’s raised over $21.5 million to date and has leaned heavily on the Obama legacy — to attacks by Sanders and Warren, who have campaigned against corporate interests.
Wong’s company @properties has come to dominate the Chicago’s resi brokerage market. The firm came in first in every category of home sales in 2018, according to a ranking of brokerages by sales in Cook County by The Real Deal. @properties is the 11th largest brokerage firm in the country, according to Real Trends, tallying nearly $9.1 billion in sales in 2018.
[Chicago Sun-Times] — Keith Larsen