The finance, insurance and real estate sector has been Ryan’s top backer. | AP Photos How Wall Street made Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan may be best known for Washington budget wonkery, but it was also his Wall Street ties that fueled his meteoric rise from Hill staffer 15 years ago to vice presidential nominee today.

The finance, insurance and real estate sector has been Ryan’s top backer over the course of his career — to the tune of $3 million, records show.


( PHOTOS: Paul Ryan over the years)

When he stepped into politics he quickly became an industry darling thanks to his hard-line free-market, anti-regulation, pro-business stance.

"I, like many others, saw a rising star and wanted to keep him in the Congress," said John Magill, a lobbyist at the Credit Union National Association who was a House GOP aide during Ryan's first few years in Congress.

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It was a near-perfect combination that made Ryan gain Wall Street's favor.

He earned street cred from being a speechwriter for Jack Kemp's Empower America, a favorite of fiscal conservatives. Then he scored prime committee assignments when he made it to Congress, like banking in his first term and the powerful Ways and Means Committee in his second — seats that put him on the receiving end of Wall Street largesse.

The Wall Street cash not only shored up Ryan's own war chest, but let him donate money to colleagues' campaigns — a classic Washington move that built up Ryan's influence in the Republican conference.

Ryan is now one of the top contributors in Congress through his leadership PAC. So far in the 2012 cycle, he's donated about $840,000 to fellow lawmakers, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

When Ryan launched his political career, he fast emerged as an attractive member of a new breed of House Republicans — young and savvy — who caught the eyes of donors.

“He had a deep thirst for the nuances of the tax code, and then he got on Ways and Means Committee and those were the years that Republicans were in charge and people gravitated toward bright members of Congress, and Paul happened to be one of those," said Richard Hunt, president and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association who was chief of staff to Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.), who served on the committee with Ryan. Hunt also served as a lobbyist at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

The Wisconsin Republican also made friends within the industry when he sided with them on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999, a watershed vote for financial services that repealed prohibitions on the consolidation of commercial banks and investment banks.

He even turned on hardline conservatives during the financial meltdown, voting to bail out the banking system. He later took a more populist tone, accusing the Treasury of mishandling the program.

And in 2010, Ryan voted against the sweeping Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. He penned an op-ed for Real Clear Politics in 2010 berating Obama and Democrats for pushing through the overhaul.

“Its fundamental architecture expands and centralizes power in Washington, doubling down on the root causes of the 2008 crisis,” he wrote.

But Ryan isn't always in lock step with Wall Street. He was prepared to allow the United States to default on its bills during the debt ceiling debate. And he has criticized a piece of Dodd Frank that is actually somewhat popular among banks that deals with dismantling financial firms and is aimed at avoiding bailouts.

On the campaign trail, Ryan’s running mate Mitt Romney has vowed to repeal the Dodd-Frank overhaul, but the campaign has been murky about how exactly it would be replaced.

During his career, Ryan has raked in more than $3 million from finance, insurance and real estate sector employees and political action committees, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, making it the top industry sector to shell out for his campaign.

The finance industry’s love for Ryan got off to an early start after his 1998 election.

In 2000, the first year the Wisconsin Republican was up for reelection, commercial banks were his top contributors; bank employees and PACs spent nearly $60,000 to help him keep his seat. Bank One Corp. — the Chicago-based firm that has since merged with JPMorgan Chase & Co. — was his No. 1 contributor that cycle, according to CRP. The American Bankers Association and Northwestern Mutual were also among the then-rookie lawmaker's top donors.

During his first term, Ryan served on the Banking and Financial Services, Budget and Government Reform committees. He secured a seat during his second term on the powerful Ways and Means Committee with sweeping jurisdiction over tax policy.

Ryan's seats on prime House committees didn't hurt when members of the financial services industry were looking to dole out campaign cash.

During the 2002 election cycle, employees and PACs from the insurance, securities and investment firms, and commercial banks were all among Ryan's top donors, according to CRP. The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors donated $10,000 — the maximum amount allowed — from its PAC to Ryan's campaign that cycle. Northwestern Mutual shelled out $9,750 that year, and the Credit Union National Association donated $8,000.

Ryan also launched his leadership PAC, dubbed Prosperity PAC, in the 2002 cycle. Goldman Sachs and the Securities Investment Association each shelled out for the new committee from their PACs.

"I remember him as a good fundraiser then," said former New York GOP Rep. Tom Reynolds, who oversaw the National Republican Campaign Committee from 2003 to 2006. In addition to meeting his own needs for campaign cash, Ryan was "also able to raise enough money to help the overall cause of the Republican conference.”

"By experience, relationships and in the areas he was attracted to, banking and budget from the get-go, he certainly was around those that would both maybe give him some of the thinking of the day, but also he was able to build relationships quickly,” Reynolds added.

The Wisconsin Republican has since established himself as one of the top fundraisers in the House as he’s climbed the ranks and become the chairman of the powerful Budget Committee. So far this cycle, he is the No. 5 fundraiser among House candidates, raking in more than $4.8 million, according to CRP.

And the financial services industry cash has continued to flow his way.

The hedge fund management company Elliott Management — run by billionaire Mitt Romney-backer Paul Singer — is the top donor to Ryan’s leadership PAC this cycle. Individuals who work for the company have shelled out $40,000 for the committee. Other top financial donors to Ryan’s leadership PAC this cycle include Madison Dearborn Partners, TPG Capital, Citadel Investment Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Credit Suisse and Bank of America.

Rob Zerban, the Democrat challenging Ryan for his seat in Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, has hammered the vice presidential pick for putting his personal ambition before the needs of his district.

“When you look at where Paul Ryan’s support comes from, it starts to explain why he consistently advocates for the wealthiest 1% while sticking it to the middle class and killing Medicare," Zerban campaign manager Al Benninghoff said in a statement.

"Whether it’s corporate tax loopholes, unfunded tax cuts for millionaires, or special deductions for CEOs, Paul Ryan has always been there for Wall Street — and that’s why they bankroll his campaign year after year," Benninghoff added. "By contrast, 96% of our campaign is funded by individual grassroots donors, because Rob’s values reflect the priorities of working families here in Wisconsin and across the country.”

Ryan's office referred a request for comment to a Romney spokesman who did not respond by deadline.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 4:09 p.m. on October 12, 2012.