Daniel Mark Schwartz (born July 28, 1950) is an American businessman who served as
Nevada State Treasurer
The Nevada state treasurer is an independent constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The State Treasurer's Office is based in Carson City, Nevada. Twenty-three individuals have occupied the off ...
from January 2015 to January 2019. An international businessman,
attorney and
Republican, Schwartz defeated his
Democratic opponent, former
Nevada State Controller
The Nevada state controller is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of State Controller since statehood. The incumbent is Andy Matthews, a Republic ...
Kim Wallin
Deborah Ruth "Kim" Wallin (born October 20, 1956) is an American accountant and politician. She was the Nevada State Controller. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
As of 2024 she is the most recent State Controller to have served two term ...
, in 2014.
He lost the Republican primary for
Nevada's 3rd congressional district
Nevada's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district occupying southern Las Vegas and much of unincorporated Clark County, Nevada, Clark County. The district was initially created after the 2000 United States census, 2000 census.
Thi ...
in
2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. Schwartz was endorsed by state assemblymen
Al Kramer,
John Hambrick, former
Clark County Commission
The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas.
Compos ...
er
Bruce Woodbury,
Danny
Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to and short for the male name Daniel.🖾🖾
People
*Danny Altmann, British immunologist
* Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer
* Danny Baker (born 1957), English j ...
and Amy Tarkanian, former Nevada State Controller
Ron Knecht
Ronald Lee Knecht (born May 4, 1949) is an American attorney, businessman and politician. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Knecht ran for State Controller of Nevada in the 2014 election and defeated Democrat Andrew Martin. He lost ...
and former state senator
Sue Lowden
Suzanne "Sue" Pluskoski Lowden (; born February 8, 1952) Payment required to read article. is the former Chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party and a former Nevada state senator. Lowden is a former businesswoman, television news anchor and kin ...
.
He ran for
Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Early life, education and military service
Schwartz was born on July 28, 1950, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Francine (née Abrahams) and Jim Schwartz. His grandfather was a rabbi and his father was an early Holiday Inn owner. He has one brother, Stephen, and one sister, Marian. Schwartz attended Oak Park and River High School where he graduated in the "top 20" of his 800-member class and was president of his senior class. Schwartz attended
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
and graduated with an A.B. in politics in 1972 after completing a senior thesis titled "Theory of the American State." In his junior year, Schwartz studied at the
Instituts d'études politiques
Instituts d'études politiques (; ), or IEP's, colloquially referred to as Sciences Po, are ten publicly owned institutions of higher learning in France. They are located in Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Paris, Rennes, Strasbou ...
in Paris, France, where he was awarded a ''Certificat d'Etudes Politiques''.
After graduation, Schwartz enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in September 1972, where he rose to the rank of Specialist 4th Class and served on a
Pershing Missile
The MGM-31A Pershing was the missile used in the Pershing 1 and Pershing 1a field artillery missile systems. It was a solid-fueled two-stage theater ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the PGM-11 Redstone missile a ...
base in
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
from January 1973 to September 1974. He was honorably discharged. He received his M.B.A. from Columbia University Graduate School of Business (1978); and his J.D. from Boston University (1981).
Business career
Finance
Schwartz began his financial career in private placements at
First City National Bank of Houston in 1978. The bank, which became
First City Bancorporation of Texas, Inc. was the largest bank in Texas during the 1970s. In 1982, he briefly worked in corporate finance at
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods
Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., ''a Stifel Company'', is an investment banking firm headquartered in New York City, specializing exclusively in the financial services sector. KBW's primary business lines include research, corporate finance, equit ...
in New York City before going on to work for
Daiwa Capital Markets, where he started their mergers and acquisitions department and was a member of the team that underwrote the first
Euroyen bond for an overseas company –
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
. He then joined
Becker Paribas Inc., where he was part of the group which started Paribas Merchant Banking Group in 1985.
In September 1986, Schwartz founded his own boutique financial advisory firm, Ulmer Brothers, Inc., specializing in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. While at Ulmer Brothers, Schwartz advised on the first IPO of a Japanese subsidiary of a U.S. company in 1989. The firm also published several newsletters and journals, which captured Schwartz's interest. He soon shifted his career path to financial publishing.
Financial publishing
In 1993, Schwartz purchased the ''Asian Venture Capital Journal (AVCJ)'' in Hong Kong. AVCJ became a leading source of information on Asian private equity and venture capital, and its ''AVCJ Forum'' became the top private equity and venture capital event in Asia. AVCJ also became the first company to distribute the digital edition of a print publication in 1998. The company was purchased by British publishing company
Incisive Media
Incisive Media is a Business-to-business financial company. It is based in London, England.
History
Incisive Media is a business-to-business (B2B) financial company founded by Tim Weller, in 1994 with the launch of '' Investment Week''. It ac ...
in 2006. AVCJ was subsequently sold to
BC Partners
BC Partners LLP is a British international investment firm with over $40 billion of assets under management across private equity, credit and real estate in Europe and North America. Its global headquarters are in London. The firm invests across ...
-owned
Mergermarket Group in 2015. Schwartz relinquished his title of chairman Emeritus of AVCJ in 2008.
In 1998, Schwartz founded Qiosk.com, an online news aggregator and distributor, which became one of the early pioneers of delivering print publications via the internet. He is still a majority shareholder in the company today.
Political career
2012 U.S. House of Representatives election
Schwartz entered a competitive race for
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
in
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
's newly created
4th congressional district.
He finished behind current
Nevada Secretary of State
The secretary of state of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is man ...
Barbara Cegavske
Barbara Katherine Cegavske (née Jewson; born August 27, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician, who is the former Secretary of State of Nevada from 2015 to 2023. She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark ...
and the eventual nominee
Danny Tarkanian.
Path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Schwartz told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a 2013 interview that he supported a "path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants who had established themselves in the United States, but more importantly, called out the need for an immigration bill.
GOP State Finance chairman
From 2012 to 2014, Schwartz served as Finance Chair for the
Nevada Republican Party
The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's Governor of Nevada, governorship, Nevad ...
.
2014 Nevada State Treasurer election
On September 18, 2013, Schwartz announced his candidacy for
Nevada State Treasurer
The Nevada state treasurer is an independent constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. The State Treasurer's Office is based in Carson City, Nevada. Twenty-three individuals have occupied the off ...
at a meeting of the Clark County Republican Party Central Committee in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. His campaign was largely focused on improving returns on the State's funds while protecting and expanding college scholarship and savings programs.
2015 budget debate
During the 78th session of the
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of the Nevada Assembly (lower house with 42 members) and the Nevada Senate (upper house with 21 members). With a total of 63 seats, the Legisla ...
, Schwartz was the first to publicly question Nevada Governor
Brian Sandoval
Brian Edward Sandoval ( ; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019.
A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...
's proposed $7.3 billion budget, which contained $1.1 billion in tax increases. Schwartz outlined his concerns in a three-page memo to the Senate Finance Committee, which among other issues, challenged the State's ability to implement the tax hikes at one time.
Education Savings Accounts
Nevada's ESA bill was passed in the 2015 legislature, to be administered by the Nevada Treasurer's office, and is called the first universal ESA program in the nation. The program seeks to improve Nevada's ranking among the 50 states.
After Schwartz's office adopted and published regulations, two court cases were filed against the ESA program. The first lawsuit, by the ACLU (''Duncan v. Nevada''), was filed in Las Vegas and argued that the program was not constitutional. They claimed the program violated Nevada's
Blaine Amendment
The Blaine Amendment was a failed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would have prohibited direct government aid to educational institutions that have a religious affiliation. Most state constitutions already had such provisions, and thirty- ...
, which states: "no public funds of any kind or character whatever, State, county or Municipal, shall be used for a sectarian purpose." District Court Judge Eric Johnson dismissed the case in May 2016, ruling the program to be "neutral with respect to religion."
The second lawsuit, by Educate Nevada Now and promoted by The Rogers Foundation (''Lopez v. Schwartz''), was filed in
Carson City, Nevada
Carson City, officially the Carson City Consolidated Municipality, is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,63 ...
. This case challenged a different constitutional provision. District Court Judge James Wilson placed a temporary injunction on the program in January 2016 stating that public school dollars would go toward private schools, preventing full implementation.
The losing side in each case appealed the decision, and the
Nevada Supreme Court heard both cases on the same day in July 2016. The Court upheld the lower decision in ''Duncan v. Nevada'', ruling that the program was constitutional, and also upheld the lower decision in ''Lopez v. Schwartz'', finding that the funding mechanism was defective.
Treasurer Schwartz urged Governor Sandoval to take up the ESA funding issue in an October 2016 Special Session of the Nevada Legislature designed to approve funding for an
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
stadium, so that the program could continue for the 10,000 families who had already signed up for the program.
Electric cars
Schwartz repeatedly called into question the viability of a $1 billion
Faraday Future
Faraday Future Inc. is an American startup technology company founded in 2014 focused on the development of electric vehicles. Based in Los Angeles, California, it began producing vehicles in 2023 and markets them in the United States and Chi ...
electric vehicle plant in
North Las Vegas, Nevada
North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 262,527, with an estimated population of 280,543 in 2022. The city was incorporated on May 1, 1946 ...
, after
LeEco
LeEco () is a List of companies of China, Chinese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded by Jia Yueting, the founder of Le.com (formerly LeTV). The group maintains businesses in Video on demand, video streaming, cloud services, software d ...
, the internet company belonging to the billionaire Chinese entrepreneur behind Faraday Future,
Jia Yueting
Jia Yueting (; born 15 December 1973, YT Jia) is a Chinese businessman who is the founder of Leshi Holding Group and the former CEO of Faraday Future. He previously founded LeEco and the Le.com subsidiary LeSports, and is the former chairman and ...
, suspended trading in his public company,
Leshi, in December 2015. It was during that same month that the
Nevada Legislature
The Nevada Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, consisting of the Nevada Assembly (lower house with 42 members) and the Nevada Senate (upper house with 21 members). With a total of 63 seats, the Legisla ...
approved $335 million in incentives to lure Faraday to the state.
In mid-November 2016, Faraday Future announced that it had suspended construction on the plant. In December 2016, Leshi again suspended trading in its shares due to a cash crunch and rumored margin calls on borrowings by Jia Yueting. In September 2018, Faraday announced that the company was formally withdrawing from the project.
Campaign for governor
On September 5, 2017, Schwartz announced that he intended to seek the Republican nomination for
governor of Nevada
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
He later endorsed state attorney general
Adam Laxalt who then lost to
Steve Sisolak.
Other
Schwartz also pursued other objectives at the treasurer's office. He has reduced the number of process days from 120 to same-day processing for unclaimed property claims, combined and strengthened the
college savings program, refunded the State's debt to produce $80 million in annual savings, has authored bills to curb the abuses of
payday loan
A payday loan (also called a payday advance, salary loan, payroll loan, small dollar loan, short term, or cash advance loan) is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates. These loans are typically designed to cover ...
s, and suggested a major overhaul of the State's tax system.
Electoral history
Criticism
In the summer of 2015, Schwartz hired
Nevada Republican Party
The Nevada Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party in Nevada. The organization has a history that goes back to 1864. The party currently controls Nevada's Governor of Nevada, governorship, Nevad ...
Chair Michael McDonald to serve as a senior deputy treasurer despite McDonald's embroilment in a civil lawsuit. A restructuring of department staff resulted in McDonald's resignation in October 2015. The lawsuit was settled privately.
Schwartz also challenged
Nevada Lieutenant Governor Mark Hutchison
Mark Alan Hutchison (born May 5, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 2015 to 2019. He was elected to the Nevada State Senate on November 6, 2012, to represent Senate District 6 ...
when Hutchison filed his own lawsuit in defense of Nevada's Education Savings Account program. Schwartz joined the
Nevada Attorney General's office in arguing that the private suit could jeopardize the legal proceedings already underway, which included lawsuits filed by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
and a group of parents. Nevada's Attorney General,
Adam Laxalt, had already hired former
U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement
Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American attorney who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General from 2005 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Cou ...
to defend the state against those lawsuits. Hutchison dropped the suit, but not before Schwartz suggested he should resign if he did not.
Family and personal life
Schwartz and his wife Yanan were married on September 9, 2011. Resident in Beijing, Yanan headed th
Sino-Italian Cooperation Program for Environmental Protectionin Beijing. She is fluent in Mandarin and Italian. She became a U.S. citizen in March 2016.
He has two daughters, Allison and Dana, from his first marriage.
Published works
Schwartz, Dan (2010). ''The Future of Finance: How Private Equity and Venture Capital Will Shape the Global Economy''. New York: John Wiley. .
Schwartz, Dan (2012). ''Principles of the American Republic''. Burlingame: Sturdy Oak Publishing. .
In addition to publishing the ''Asian Venture Capital Journal'' (1993–2008), Schwartz also published ''Policy Today'' (2004–2008).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Dan
1950 births
21st-century American Jews
Boston University School of Law alumni
Columbia Business School alumni
Jewish American people in Nevada politics
Living people
Nevada Republicans
People from Douglas County, Nevada
Politicians from Carson City, Nevada
Politicians from Las Vegas
Princeton University alumni
State treasurers of Nevada
Candidates in the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections
Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections
Jewish state legislators in Nevada