Perry became a millionaire through a practice common to many other politicians over the years, by participating in profitable deals involving political friends and their businesses. He made more than $800,000 in 2007 reselling a resort development plot he had gotten from a Republican friend in the Legislature, and he cleared $38,000 in 1995 by flipping stock in a company owned by one of his top campaign donors.
Private deals involving campaign supporters are widely criticized by government reformers as a potential form of backdoor donations or influence-buying. But they are often legal. In Perry's case, the Securities and Exchange Commission did not act on a complaint about his stock windfall.
via forbes.com
