How Romney Squeezed Out Millions As Bain-Bought Companies Died

Just because a company died on Bain Capital’s watch doesn’t mean Mitt Romney and his partners didn’t still profit.

A New York Times report reveals that the corporate raiders at Bain were able to extract personal fortunes even as the companies purchased by the private equity firm shed employees. Cambridge Industries, an automotive plastics supplier, slowly collapsed under debt but Romney’s Bain continued to collect millions in fees from the business — even as Bain’s investors lost money on the deal.

The Times notes that “Bain structured deals so that it was difficult for the firm and its executives to ever really lose, even if practically everyone else involved with the company that Bain owned did.”

Some of the companies were loaded up with debt that eventually caused them to collapse, and some of that debt was used to pay off Romney and his Bain partners. Companies failed, people lost their jobs — but Romney and Bain made millions of dollars.

During the Republican primary, Texas governor Rick Perry — a conservative — referred to many of Bain’s practices under Romney as “vulture capitalism.”

While Romney refuses to release multiple years of his income taxes, he is reportedly worth $250 million — possibly more.