"the disastrous campaign for governor of California waged by Meg Whitman, the former eBay CEO, spent more than $140 million of her own fortune...."<p>The above info makes me wonder why do people spend so much to become a mayor/governor? What is the monetary ROI even if you win? and where does it come from? Can't you utilize (donate) this money to some non-profit and get better and bigger social impact ... I can understand if you're spending this kind of money in 3rd world countries where ROI is 100 times over due to corruption and red-tape but what do you get here in USA by becoming a mayor/governor?
The more cynical among us would point out that an election is very nearly an auction, and if the item for auction could bring that big of a price, there must be money in it for the buyer.
Some people are addicted to power and control...California has I believe the 8th largest economy in the world...that's plenty reason to want to be governor at any cost...Note, people like Whitman were essentially molded from their childhoods to pursue more and more success, the more the better...Haven been a successful CEO and earned billions is just not enough, there is always more to accomplish for these types. Harvard/Princeton/Stanford...do you see a pattern here?...
It's about power. In this case, "power" means political power. Some people are willing trade a percentage of their wealth to acquire power. Note that in earlier times, power was usually acquired by heredity.<p>If you want to read a fascinating book on the different kinds of power and how it has been acquired over time, read the book "Power: A New Social Analysis" by Bertrand Russell.