A string of Bain partners invested about $12 million of their own money; Mr Romney putting up at least $160,000. Millions more came from investors in other tax havens including the Bahamas and Switzerland, and powerful families from El Salvador, some of whom were later linked to Right-wing "death squads" responsible for murders in their country's civil war. The $37 million fund was a great success, funding among others the global expansion of Staples, the stationers. According to a prospectus, it yielded an average return of 173 per cent a year on stakes in 21 firms, making millions in profits for its investors. "Every couple of years I would get a cheque," one recalled. "It was always a lot more than I had put into it". One Bain executive said: "Bain Capital is now a multi-billion dollar fund, and it's made Mitt very wealthy".