Mitt Romney's private equity donations a fraction of his net worth

DealBook suggests that Mitt Romney's private equity cash is either greater than that of his competitors or not -- depending on which source you cite. But when you see the figure, you'll realize that this issue is besides the point. What really matters is how much money Mitt has extracted from the private equity industry.

I had the memorable experience of partnering with Bain Capital in the 1990s. I worked with two of Mitt's partners there and quite enjoyed traveling on their corporate jet to visit the headquarters of a company that Bain Capital was considering acquiring. His partners were extremely sharp business people.

But with a net worth of at least $250 million, the hundred thousand or so dollars he's raised from private equity firms is a pittance to his campaign. Dealbook said that the Wall Street Journal's numbers -- which put Mitt at the head of the pack -- were totals for the entire 2008 race -- showing him with $156,900. While the PEHub estimates -- which covered only the most recent quarter of donations from the top 11 private equity firms which belong to the Private Equity Council -- put Mitt behind his peers in private equity cash.

Mitt is loaded and the only one who could beat him on that front -- at $5.5 billion -- would be Michael Bloomberg. But he hasn't announced his candidacy -- yet.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.