Number one, we contained the manure, and two, we used it as a nutrient (spreading it on fields for fertilizer). How the 58-year-old self-made millionaire assembled one of the biggest GOP cattle calls yet is illustrative of the influential network hes built over the past several years, as hes emerged as the states top Republican donor at both the federal and state level, donating nearly half a million and $1.1 million, respectively, since 2003, according to campaign finance disclosures sums that are likely a fraction of his total giving to groups that dont have to disclose their donors. He's clearing the air a bit on a cold February day in his CEO offices of Summit Group, his multinational agriculture, investment and energy corporation near Alden. You ought to feel good about that success. Bruce L. Rastetter is a businessperson who founded Hawkeye Renewables LLC and Summit Agricultural Group and who has been at the head of 8 different companies. Our Team Stine, the 72-year-old founder and owner of Stine Seed, the largest private seed company in the world, built this tower back in 1987 so he could get a good view of his empire, some 15,000 acres of frozen Iowa farmland. Hog confinements and their smelly manure spread around Iowa while Rastetter built wealth, said Hugh Espey, executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, which owes much of its growth as a nonprofit activist group to burgeoning opposition to hog confinements. https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bruce_Rastetter&oldid=8736876, Pages using DynamicPageList3 dplreplace parser function, Conflicts in school board elections, 2021-2022, Special Congressional elections (2023-2024), 2022 Congressional Competitiveness Report, State Executive Competitiveness Report, 2022, State Legislative Competitiveness Report, 2022, Partisanship in 2022 United States local elections, Local knowledge of our professional staff, Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum, Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists. A highly-courted donor, Rastetter has steadily and strategically built his personal and political brand over the past several years. Stine, the 72-year-old founder and owner of Stine Seed, the largest private seed company in the world, built this tower back in 1987 so he could get a good view of his empire, some 15,000 acres of. "Bruce is like I am. Norm Coleman but no longer gives to the group. Rastetter has long been known in political circles for his annual summer party, an A-list Republican event complete with pork on a stick that sometimes attracts national conservative figures like Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal. "People who aren't successful don't," Rastetter said. <br/>Ten items Rastetter doesn't want you to know about his Tanzania His rise to the status of one of the worlds wealthiest people is a direct result of this success. Stine Seed does business with all of the heavyweights and has for more than three decades, primarily because it has something everybody else needs: the best-performing soybean seeds in the business. The Evolution of Corn (Click to see full graphic). He also founded Hawkeye Renewables, which became one of the countrys largest pure-play corn-based ethanol producers, and FS Bioenergia, a Brazilian low-carbon biofuels and energy platform that owns the largest biofuels production plant in South America. And then well negotiate.. $25 per post at a $5/CPM. If he wanted to make money on land, he said, he had better places to do that. "Dollars you contributed help those people get elected, which is what our system is. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Since 2010, Rastetter has donated over $1 million to candidates and. Many people ask about the amount of money Bruce Rastetter makes from Instagram. "That would probably be something at one point that I wished had not happened. When a battalion of Monsanto lawyers and dealmakers descended on Stine Seed to finalize the deal, they found Stine alone in the companys conference room at a Ping-Pong table (Stine still rarely loses). As founder of Agrisol Energy Corp., Rastetter pursued a deal with the Tanzanian government that would have used Iowa State University's expertise to develop farmland there and, in the original proposal, would have displaced refugees. The Kentucky Headhunters net worth and salary income estimation This story appears in the April 13, 2014 issue of Forbes. Future changes in production practices could favor narrow rows at some point, says Mark Jeschke, DuPont Pioneers agronomy research manager. Sure, there were odors associated with it. He recalls Bruce came to town and made a lot of promises to the community about good jobs and economic growth. But times called for change. The governor personally called Bush who has not been to Iowa since declaring his intention to mull a 2016 run and also Perry to convince them to attend. And now, Rastetter is getting up close and personal with the presidential hopefuls in full view of the media and other deep-pocketed donors. "But I think the experiences I've had in life and people I've met, we've tried to have some fun. And apparently a lot of people working in the same industry cant see that. His term expired in 2017. It's what our country and our economic system allows," he said. A second plant was built in Fairbank, and Rastetter was soon heading Hawkeye Energy, a firm that became Iowa's largest ethanol producer. As of April 2023, Robert De Niro's net worth is estimated to be $500 Million, making him one of the richest actors of all time. You just have a regular job and don't try to make an improvement on how you leave things," he said. Brent Rastetter said his older brother helped him earn money for college and showed him the ropes of business, leading him to today run his own company, Quality Ag Builders, which builds hog confinements. State executives | "I'd raise half the equity capital, and they would build the plant in Iowa Falls," he said. For now, Rastetter is not endorsing a candidate he says he wants to be a neutral host at his summit. Your email address will not be published. @MarcoBattaglia Everyone needs to start refusing to use ethanol blends. Some still infringed and faced legal confrontation if caught, but largely the strategy worked. "It came and went so fast. So how did he come out of the hog market downturn smelling so good? Buffett left a permanent mark with his music and he began his . All rights reserved. "It doesn't mean you ought not try. "I was going the other direction, and Bruce looked over at me. He is blunt but can be prickly at perceived slights. Rastetter was born near Iowa Falls, Iowa. I think its already working.. Weve worked a lot in that space but also in the design of the plants and equipment, says Robert Fraley, Monsantos chief technology officer, who has been doing business with Stine since the early 1980s. School districts | This day, he talks sparingly about his modest upbringing. Bruce who brought in $3 million and $5 million Networth Bruce collected most of his earnings from his Yeezy sneakers While he had exaggerated over the years about the size of his business, the money he pulled in from his profession real-enough to rank as one of the biggest celebrity cashouts of all time. A lot of business success revolves around timing.". The contracts Stine drew up prohibited this. Asked about the potential perception that he failed at two industries and still came out ahead, he scoffs. It was around this time that Stine recognized the necessity of protecting his valuable genetics. But while genetic modificationusing biotechnology to insert a genetic trait into a seedgrabs headlines (and stokes health fears, despite overwhelming scientific evidence of safety), traditional breeding programs by seed developers have done just as much to raise yields. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few. Rastetter co-founded Hawkeye Energy Holdings, the largest ethanol producer in the country. William Rastetter owns over 20,000 units of Neurocrine Biosciences stock worth over $4,315,690 and over the last 20 years he sold NBIX stock worth over $1,559,850. Bruce Rastetter is the CEO and founder of the Summit Agricultural Group, an agribusiness based in Iowa. Agribusiness leaders point to Rastetter as the quintessential Iowa farm boy success story, but as hes ascended, hes also become a controversial figure in the state. But they always encouraged him to work hard toward a better life. I always believe you support industry-wide incentives and the whole industry benefits. Bruce L. Rastetter is an American agribusinessman, agricultural entrepreneur, and former president of the Iowa Board of Regents, which governs the state's three public universities. And, of ultimate importance, substantially increasing a farmers harvest. Brent maintains relationships with many people -- family, friends, associates, & neighbors -- including Karli Rastetter, Zachariah Rastetter, Bruce Rastetter, Julie Rastetter and Clifford Gryte. Bruce Rastetter Elections in 2023 | He started by selling seed, making cold calls, holding lunch and dinner meetings and riding on the tractor with older farmers who advised him to diversify investments. Iowa politics, ag heavyweight Bruce Rastetter sets sights on $4.5 Not to say I agree with him," said regent Robert Downer. But this cycle, hes taking a different approach. ", Sweeney lined him up with friends for dates, she said, but "I can see him not taking the time to iron out a relationship.". Bruce Rastetter net worth 513 Thousand Millions of dollars 75% Net worth score Disclamer: Bruce Rastetter net worth displayed here are calculated based on a combination social factors.