President bids to capitalise with glitzy fundraisers

President Barack Obama was testing his newest appeal to wealthy backers last night — his hours-old public — support for gay marriage when he travelled to the West Coast for three fundraisers, including a record-setting one at the Los Angeles home of movie star George Clooney.

Last night’s event featuring Clooney and Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of Dreamworks, was promoted by Obama backers as the top fundraising vehicle of the year.

With 150 guests paying $40,000 a ticket to attend, it was worth $15m.