LittleSis: Felix Sabates

Sabates, who has been a Charlotte resident since 1963, has always had a soft spot in his heart for sports. In 1988 he became an original owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team and played a key role in negotiating with the NBA to grant Charlotte a franchise. He is also the only person that had ownership in the Hornets to now also have an ownership stake with Michael Jordan in the Charlotte Bobcats. He has also been an owner of the East Coast Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, who won the league championship in 1995. In addition, in the early 1980s he started the first indoor professional soccer team and was one of the first investors of the World Football League. Sabates first entered the world of stock car racing as an owner in 1987, when he purchased a research and development team from NASCAR team owner and popular Charlotte businessman, Rick Hendrick. SABCO Racing was founded and a new NASCAR Cup competitor entered the scene. For Sabates, it was just the beginning of a long, successful career on the NASCAR circuit. In 1988, the father of three and grandfather of six purchased a Hatteras sport fishing yacht dealership in Stuart, Fla. and within two years Sabates had turned it into the largest Hatteras dealership in the world. Sabates, along with his partner John Dane, followed that up with the purchase of the number one custom superyacht builder in the world - Trinity Yachts in 2000. He also owns IYC, one of the largest yacht management, charter, brokerage and new construction yachts companies in the world, with offices in Monaco, the Bahamas, Saint Martees and the U.S. He is also the president and CEO of FSS Holdings, Inc., a North Carolina based company with holdings in several U.S. and international companies. Sabates served on the Board of Directors for Carolinas Health Care Systems, the University of North Carolina Charlotte, the Applica Corporation (Black & Decker), Simpson Products, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Task force for Latinos. Additionally Sabates was appointed to two terms on the North Carolina Banking Commission. In fact, he has been appointed to commissions by three different North Carolina governors, Jim Martin (R), Mike Easley (D) and most recently by Governor Pat McCrory (R) to vice chairman of the Oversight committee of the Airport Authority of North Carolina which oversees the Charlotte airport, the sixth busiest in the world. In his further commitment to the Charlotte region, Sabates still owns and operates, with his partner Terry Taylor, a Mercedes Benz dealership that is a four-time recipient of the - the Best of the Best Award given to only the top 10 percent of dealers nationwide. He also operates the largest volume Infiniti dealership in North Carolina as well as Bentley, Hyundai, Mazda, Sprinter and Smart Car auto dealerships.

Donor	Common Recipients
Mel Sembler	Richard Burr, Lindsey Graham, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory
Lanny Griffith	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Robin Hayes, Sue Myrick, Joe Wilson, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl
Julian Robertson Jr	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Jesse Helms, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, North Carolina Republican Executive Committee, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Howard M Jenkins	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Robin Hayes, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory, National Republican Congressional Cmte
J Steven Hart	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Robin Hayes, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Romney Victory
Jane L Bainum	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Robin Hayes, Jim Talent, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory
Richard M. DeVos, Jr.	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Sue Myrick, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Leonard Litwin	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Robin Hayes, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Frances R Lindner	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, Bill McCollum, David Funderburk, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Romney Victory
Jack Bovender	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Jim Talent, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, North Carolina Republican Executive Committee, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee
Julie Finley	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Jim Talent, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, North Carolina Republican Executive Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Romney Victory, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Lewis M Eisenberg	Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Romney Victory, National Republican Congressional Cmte
Ed Rogers	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Robin Hayes, Jim Talent, Jesse Helms, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Romney Victory
Brian France	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Robin Hayes, Joseph Knollenberg, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee
Edward A Lozick	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Joe Wilson, Jim Talent, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Romney Victory, National Republican Congressional Cmte
James A Patterson	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Jim Talent, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee
Robert M Pittenger	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Robin Hayes, Sue Myrick, Jesse Helms, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, North Carolina Republican Executive Committee, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, Richard Hudson
S Craig Lindner	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Jesse Helms, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Leadership Circle PAC, the, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, George H W Bush, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory
Paula G McInerney	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Jim Talent, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Mitt Romney, Idaho Republican Party, Jon Kyl, Vermont Republican Federal Elections Committee, Romney Victory
John W Childs	Richard Burr, Elizabeth Dole, Lindsey Graham, Sue Myrick, Jim Talent, Bill McCollum, George W Bush, Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, Massachusetts Republican State Congressional Committee, Oklahoma Leadership Council, Mitt Romney, Jon Kyl, National Republican Congressional Cmte

Donor

Common Recipients

Mel Sembler