Edwards an Advisor at Fortress Investment

Former Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic candidate for vice president last year, joined New York-based buyout and hedge fund company Fortress Investment Group as a senior advisor.

Edwards, a possible presidential contender in 2008, joined Fortress this month, spokesman Kim Rubey said Thursday. Fortress was founded in 1998 and has about $15 billion in equity under management.

Edwards will help develop “investment opportunities worldwide” and offer strategic advice on global economic issues,” Rubey said.

Edwards, 52, joins a growing list of politicians and top bureaucrats sought out by buyout firms to help them win deals. Former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell signed on as a part-time advisor to venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in July. His son, Michael K. Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, joined $9-billion buyout firm Providence Equity Partners Inc. in August.

Edwards was elected to the Senate from North Carolina in November 1998 and left when his term expired in January.

A millworker’s son who amassed a fortune of at least $19 million in two decades as a trial lawyer, Edwards finished second in the 2004 Democratic presidential primaries, trailing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, his eventual running mate.