Meg Whitman
Meg Whitman is best known as the former president and CEO of the online auctionhouse eBay, which transformed her to into a billionaire during her tenure from 1998 to 2008.
Whitman grew up in Long Island, N.Y. She graduated with a degree in economics from Princeton before going on to earn an MBA at Harvard.
She began her career as a brand assistant for Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati before moving on to business consulting firm Bain & Co. in San Francisco. At Bain, Whitman worked for Mitt Romney, who later would be elected governor of Massachusetts and run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.
Whitman later moved on to executive positions at Disney, children’s shoe manufacturer Stride Rite and flower delivery company FTD and Hasbro before being tapped to head eBay in 1998. She also served on several corporate boards, including DreamWorks SKG and Goldman Sachs. She resigned her post at Goldman in 2002 amid controversy that she received preferential access to stock offerings.
During Whitman’s 10 years at eBay, the company transformed from a small Silicon Valley startup into a multibillion-dollar international corporation widely viewed as one of the token success stories of the dot-com boom. EBay’s rise brought with it awards, accolades and riches for Whitman, whose net worth when she left the company was at least $1.3 billion, according to Forbes.
Whitman’s formal introduction to politics came in 2008, when she served as a finance chair for Romney’s presidential campaign and later held the same post for eventual Republican nominee John McCain after Romney dropped out of the race.
Her first test as a candidate came in June, when she defeated State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner in a hard-fought primary election in which she spent $71 million of her own money.
Whitman is married to Stanford neurosurgeon Griffith Harsh IV. They have two sons and live in Atherton.
Meg Whitman's most recent statements
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010Whitman said at a campaign stop in Stockton that Brown, the former governor and state attorney general, has been "missing in action." "I think he wants to be appointed to this office, not elected," the former eBay CEO told reporters after speaking to about 75 supporters at JM Eagle, a plastic pipe manufacturer. "I am working for every single vote in California. I am traveling throughout this state."
Source: Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Candidate attack
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010Whitman said that while she would not raise taxes, Brown would. "Voters be warned," Whitman said. "If Jerry Brown is the next governor, you're going to see a tax increase, and it's not what California needs."
Source: Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Taxes, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack, Promise
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010Asked if she thought voters would approve of a tax increase, Whitman said, "If he calls an emergency, you know, they won't like it, but he won't work the problem like I will work it. He will not. So I think voters better plan to have a tax increase coming their way if Jerry Brown's governor."
Source: Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee)Tags: Taxes, Prediction
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010“Do not be confused by the L.A. Times poll,” she said, to applause. “What’s up with that? Every year, they do a poll about a week out from the election that is designed to show the candidate they’ve endorsed is winning.”
Source: PolitiCal (Los Angeles Times)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010Still, Whitman remained optimistic. "Our internal polls show that actually we are surging right now," she said in Stockton. "Momentum is moving my way. This race is a dead heat."
Source: Capitol Alert (Sacramento Bee)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010In a memo sent to reporters Thursday, Whitman adviser Mike Murphy insisted the race was still up for grabs. "As of last night, in two separate tracking polls conducted over the last 72 hours, the race is now tied in one poll and Meg leads by +1 in the other. Among early voters who say they have already cast their ballots, Meg Whitman is leading by 3 points."
Source: PolitiCal (Los Angeles Times)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Assertion of fact
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010"She is here illegally. She's breaking the law right now, so we'll leave it for the federal authorities," Whitman said.
Source: Associated PressTags: Immigration, Personal life, No comment or deflection, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 28, 2010"I saw today that former Governor Gray Davis says that if Jerry Brown is elected, we will have a special election in the spring to ask voters for even higher taxes. Talk about March Madness! More taxes in a recession. And Gray Davis ought to know; he was Jerry Brown's right hand man for years. Voters, you are warned. Jerry Brown will bring more spending, more taxes and more lost jobs to California." -- Meg Whitman, Republican nominee for Governor
Source: Meg Whitman campaignTags: Taxes, Assertion of fact, Candidate attack
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Whitman has also pledged to take on the state's powerful unions. "It's gonna take someone who treats Californians like a grown up, who tells Californians the way it really is, who puts a positive way forward and has the backbone to take on the entrenched interests in Sacramento," said Whitman.
Source: KGTV (ABC - San Diego)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Labor, Leadership style, Assertion of fact
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Yes. So I call it tough love. The tough part is I'm going to veto things that don't make sense. And let me tell you, there's going to be a lot to veto because the legislature is just ginning things up that don't make a difference. I'm going to focus this legislature on jobs, on cutting wasteful government spending and our education system. Legislation that isn't on point to those three things -- veto. And then how do we make the legislature famous for doing the good work of the people of California? You know, after this election, we're all going to have to be Californians and we're going to have to solve our very real problems. And let me give you an example. So I'm in San Diego today, the home of biotech in California. They lost one of their big research institute's expansion to Florida. We didn't stand up and compete. Big expansion in Orlando, Florida. Governor Bush competed for that expansion, and he won. California lost. We have got to turn that around. And if we're able to hang onto these big companies, then let's make at assemblyperson and state senator famous for holding onto these big companies. I don't need the credit. You know, what I've learned in business over many years, is if you don't care who gets the credit, it's amazing what you can get done. So let's get the incentives ... right for the legislature to do what really matters.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Business, Spending, State legislature, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Meg Whitman: As Governor, I'll do something that's been missing from California politics for far too long. I'll treat you like grown-ups, tell it to you straight, and offer a practical plan forward. These are scary times and I know that cleaning up Sacramento won't be easy. Our problems are tough, but so am I. If you want more of the same from Sacramento, then vote for my opponent. But if you want to get California moving again, I'm ready. Are you?
Source: Meg Whitman campaignTags: Campaigns and politics, Promise
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, the answer is it breaks my heart, but she should be deported because she forged documents and she lied about her immigration status. And it breaks my heart! Gloria Allred pulled off a political stunt. And you know what? On November 3rd, no one's going to care about Nicky Diaz. But the law is the law and we live in the rule of law. It's important. So here's the plan for illegal immigration. And it is a problem not only in California but across the country. First and foremost, we have to secure the border between California and Mexico. I'm here in San Diego. A couple months ago, I spent a day on the border between California and Mexico. We have not given the border patrol agents the resources they need either in personnel or technology. And there are many countries around the world who have proven that they can secure borders. We need to do that. Second we have to hold employers accountable for hiring documented workers. We need a great e-verify system that allows people to know whether that worker is 100 percent legal or not. Gosh, I'm a testament to someone who saw a valid California driver's license, a Social Security card, and it was all, you know, was -- she was not here legally. So we've got to do that. If you hire, knowingly hire undocumented workers, you know, there has to be a penalty for that. Then we've got to eliminate sanctuary cities, San Francisco being the case in point in California. But then we've got to combine that with a temporary guest worker program. There are many industries that need to rely on a guest worker program to get their work done. And we need to have people here legally, be out of the shadows, but it has to be a temporary guest worker program.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Immigration, Policy or issue position, Quotable
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010"Today the state of California has broken many peoples' dreams. I see it everyday on the campaign trail. The dream is not alive, as it once was, not with 2.3 million looking for work," said Whitman.
Source: KGTV (ABC - San Diego)Tags: Campaigns and politics, Jobs, Assertion of fact, Quotable
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, you're right, our state is in big trouble. But we can turn it around. And here's how we're going to do it. We're going to focus on doing a small number of things well. You know, when your house is on fire, you don't worry about the termites in the basement. You fix the things that need to be fixed first and foremost. And we've got to fix the business climate in California. We've got to make it easier for new jobs to be created. So we're going to cut taxes, we're going to streamline regulation and bust the bureaucracy that is strangling businesses. And then we're going to have an economic development team that's going to hang onto jobs here in California. So that will increase the revenue side of the equation. I mean, if we don't put Californians back to work, there is actually no way out of this fiscal mess. And then on the cost side of the equation, we have got to run the government more efficiently and effectively. I've talked about downsizing the government. I've talked about using technology to do more with less. And then perhaps our biggest problem is the public employee pension problem, which is not dissimilar from other states. We have given away lavish pension benefits to the public employee unions. We have to renegotiate those or we're going to run out of money in California. So it's getting Californians back to work and making sure that we have a government we can afford, which we don't right now.
Source: Fox NewsTags: Economy, Spending, State workers, Taxes, Policy or issue position
Meg Whitman
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Oct. 27, 2010Well, we talked about a lot of the same issues. And he was right. I'm right. We need more jobs here. But here's the difference between me and Governor Schwarzenegger. I am a proven job creator. I have spent 30 years creating jobs, working in the private sector. I bring the real world, common sense experience to Sacramento. Governor Schwarzenegger was an actor and investor, but that's very different from being an operating executive who's accountable for results every single day. So here's what I will do. Very important -- the appointments you make to your administration are absolutely essential. Everyone knows you're only as good as the people you work with. So I'm going to look at the top 300 people in that administration, and they're going to be the right people in the right job with the right skills on the same agenda as the governor and we're going to all march in the same direction. And then you asked about the Democratic legislature. Well, first let me say if Jerry Brown is the next governor of California, a Democratic governor with a Democratically-controlled legislature, you won't recognize California in two or three or four years. So I will provide a check to that legislature and I will also lead that legislature. Like in so many other states, and frankly, in America, the legislature's become a bill factory. Last year, the governor signed into law nearly 700 bills. Greta, some of them were things like how long cow's tails should be, regulating tattoo parlors, renaming highways for disgraced politicians. All those bills -- guess what they come with? ... Spending!
Source: Fox NewsTags: Jobs, Spending, State legislature, State workers, Policy or issue position
