The longterm boyfriend of Vogue magazine editor and Obama bundler Anna Wintour owes the United States government $1.2 million in taxes, according to UK’s The Daily Telegraph.
J. Shelby Bryan, a former adviser to former President Bill Clinton, has owed the Internal Revenue Service money since 2006. Bryan, a multimillionaire from Texas, reportedly left his wife for Wintour in 1999.
Bryan was worth around $30 million before the 2008 financial crisis. According to the Telegraph, he was “pursued for outstanding Texas property taxes, and has had energy companies he owns in the state chided by local authorities for falling behind on their financial filings.”
Bryan worked at Morgan Stanley in the late 1970’s, and then became the CEO of the early cell phone company Millicom.
Shortly before he was named to Clinton’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1996, Shelby became CEO of ICG Communications. He left the company in 2000 amid financial difficulties.
Wintour is reportedly on the shortlist for a British or French ambassadorship in Obama’s second administration after she became a prominent bundler for his campaign. Shelby’s financial troubles could compromise her potential position.
Wintour helped raise over $500,000 for Obama this election cycle and held a few $35,000 per plate fundraisers at her tony New York City apartment.
The Telegraph reports that during a fundraiser last fall, Obama thanked both “Anna and Shelby for being such extraordinary hosts.”
Bryan told the Telegraph that the large amount of back taxes is due to “a series of perfect storms” and that he is on a payment program with the IRS.