Wealth and Power - Follow the Money

The Koch brothers have built "what may be the best funded, multifaceted, public policy, political and educational presence in the nation today."  Although often presenting as mild-mannered mid-westerners, their activities and methods were often hidden from publicity, and often based in conspiracies, disinformation and and untruths.

Charles and David Koch were co-owners of Koch Industries, the largest privately-owned company in the U.S. Koch family foundations and philanthropy are grounded in the belief that free societies are the greatest generators of social progress, sustainable prosperity and well-being.  They were founding supporters of the Libertarian Movement and the Tea Party. 

The Koch apparatus has been funding conservative and libertarian groups through think tanks for over forty years, with estimated combined personal donation and fundraising exceeding $2.5 billion. 

Koch Foundations have ties to DonorsTrust, a “donor-advised fund” which obscures the identity of individual donors. The Koch brothers are are key funders of the right-wing infrastructure, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the State Policy Network (SPN).

The Koch Network continues to fund Anti-Democratic entities. 

The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation (LHBF), formerly known as the Allen-Bradley Foundation, was established in 1942, describing itself as "a private, independent grantmaking organization based in Milwaukee." 

According to The Center for Media and Democracy, published as the Bradley Files, The Bradley Foundation is engaged in a highly partisan game plan, building infrastructure in the states for the private benefit of one political party, the GOP.

Harry Bradley was one of the original charter members of the far right-wing John Birch Society, along with another Birch Society board member, Fred Koch, the father of Koch Industries' billionaire brothers and owners, Charles and David Koch.  

Bradley was also a keen supporter of the Manion Forum, whose followers believed that social spending in America was part of a secret Russian plot to bankrupt the United States," Jane Mayer writes in Dark Money. (Note: Dark Money is a CLDA recommended book).

One Wisconsin Now and the Center for Media and Democracy reported that the Bradley Foundation had given over $500 million to conservative "public-policy experiments" since 2000. For a full list of groups the foundation has funded, please see Contributions of the Bradley Foundation.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "from 2001 to 2009, it [Bradley] doled out nearly as much money as the seven Koch and Scaife foundations combined." 

Sheldon Adelson was an American businessman, investor, political donor and philanthropist. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, a casino corporation. 

The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Adelson donated $523 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.   

As of September 2020, Adelson was listed by Forbes as having a fortune of US$33.5 billion, making him the 28th-richest person in the world and 19th in the Forbes 400.

Robert Mercer is an American hedge fund manager, former principal investor in the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica, and computer scientist. The Washington Post called Mercer one of the ten most influential billionaires in politics.  

The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Mercer donated $700 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.   Mercer has donated about $60 million to Republican political campaigns in the US. Mercer joined the Koch brothers’ conservative political donor network, but Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah, decided to establish their own political foundation.  

The Mercer Family Foundation has donated to a variety of conservative causes and bankrolled media Brietbart, Parler and others used by extremists. They helped to obtain senior roles in the Trump campaign for Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway. Mercer has said that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark federal statute arising from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, was a major mistake. Mercers contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.  

Kenneth Griffin is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder and owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund and the largest market maker in the U.S.   

The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Griffin donated $107 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.   Griffin has an estimated net worth of US$21 billion, making him the 2nd richest person in Illinois and the 45th richest person in America. Griffin has contributed tens of millions of dollars to political candidates and causes, primarily those of the Republican Party.  Griffin contributed a total of $66 million to the 2020 United States elections.   Griffin contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.  

John Joseph Ricketts is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, former CEO and former chairman of TD Ameritrade. He has a net worth of US$2.7 billion as of 2019 according to Forbes.   The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Ricketts donated $66 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.    In the 2016 presidential election, Ricketts donated at least one million dollars in support of Donald Trump. Ricketts also raised funds for the Future45 Super Pac and the 45Committee, a pro-Trump 501(c)4 organization that is not required to disclose its donors.  On 5 February, 2019, Splinter News released a cache of Ricketts emails from 2009 to 2014. He described Islam as a cult and not as a religion. He wrote that Islam could not create a civil society, that "we cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society", and that "Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy." Included were Obama citizenship conspiracy theory emails, and claims that Obama favored Islam over other religions. Also included were multiple racist "joke" emails that he received and responded to positively; including slurs against blacks and Hispanics. He apologized for the emails after they were made public.  Ricketts contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.   The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors — six of whom generally supported Democrats and six of whom generally supported Republicans — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.     

 The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Singer donated $63 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.     

Richard & Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and a heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.  The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Uihlein donated $138 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.   In the 2018 election cycle, Uihlein dramatically increased his political contributions, making $37.7 million in contributions to outside spending groups (the fourth largest donor to such groups). The couple's contributions placed them on the tier of other Republican mega-donors, such as the Koch family, Adelson, and Mercer. His contributions include support for many Republican candidates in competitive primary races, such as Ives and Chris McDaniel. In the 2020 election cycle, the Uihleins and their company had, by April 2020, contributed $1.5 million to Trump's "America First Action" super PAC, and $20 million to other Republican groups. From 2015 to 2020, they donated $4.3 million (including $800,000 in October 2020) to Tea Party Patriots, a group that may have co-sponsored the March to Save America rally that preceded the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.  The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors — six of whom generally supported Democrats and six of whom generally supported Republicans — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020.   

Linda Marie McMahon  is an American political executive, former Trump administration official, and former professional wrestling executive and performer. McMahon, with her husband, Vince McMahon, founded sports entertainment company Titan Sports, Inc. (today WWE). Following several election defeats, McMahon committed herself to becoming a major Republican fundraiser and donor. She donated to groups such as American Crossroads and Ending Spending Fund, and associated with fellow mega donor Paul Singer. She served in the Trump Administration and campaigns  McMahon has served as chairwoman of America First Action, a pro-Trump Super PAC. The organization helped raise $83 million for Donald Trump's reelection campaign in 2020. McMahon also serves as chair of the board for America First Policy Institute. McMahon contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.   

Charles Robert Schwab is an American investor and financial executive. He is the founder and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation.. Schwab is an active Republican who has donated heavily to the party (including the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Congressional Committee). Charles Schwab was listed in a 2019 Washington Post article as one of the largest PAC contributors in the US, donating $12.5 million to general conservative political activities, with $2 million explicitly donated to Donald Trump. In 2019, it was revealed that Schwab had donated nearly $9 million to a dark money group that opposed Barack Obama in the 2012 election. Schwab contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.    

Stephen Allen Schwarzman is an American businessman, investor and philanthropist. He is the chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he established in 1985 with former chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers and US Secretary of Commerce Peter G. Peterson. Schwarzman briefly served as Chairman of President Donald Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.  Schwarzman is a Republican. He is a long-time friend of former President Donald Trump and provides outside counsel, and served as chair of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum. In response to criticism for his involvement with the Trump administration, Schwarzman penned a letter to current Schwarzman Scholars, arguing that "having influence and providing sound advice is a good thing, even if it attracts criticism or requires some sacrifice." In August 2010, Schwarzman compared the Obama administration's plan to raise the tax rate on carried interest to a war and Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, stating, "It's a war. It's like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.

Richard DeVos Sr. was an American billionaire businessman, co-founder of Amway with Jay Van Andel, and owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team. Forbes magazine listed him as the 60th wealthiest person in the United States, and the 205th richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion. DeVos was a major donor to the U.S. Republican Party and to conservative causes, including Focus on the Family, and the American Enterprise Institute. He co-founded the Richard and Helen DeVos Foundation, an American conservative foundation and grant-making body in 1970. The DeVoses were known in their contributing to  conservative think tanks such as The Heritage Foundation and AEI.

 Isaac Perlmutter grew up in Israel and served in the Six-Day War of 1967. When he was 24, he moved to New York with $250 in his pocket, determined to turn it into his fortune.Trump and Perlmutter have been friends for more than 25 years. Both men have residences in Palm Beach and Perlmutter is a member of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago and lives just down the street from the club. In 2016, Perlmutter and his wife Laura donated $5 million to a Super PAC supporting Trump, according to Federal Election Commission filings obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics.  But now, here he was, staring down the lens of a camera. Perlmutter’s relationship with the president has slowly chipped away at Perlmutter’s shield of privacy. ProPublica revealed in 2018 that Perlmutter and two other Trump Mar-a-Lago buddies were secretly shaping veterans policies.  Perlmutter contributed to many Koch political foundations and the Donors Trust.   

Robert C. McNair  was an American businessman, philanthropist, and the owner of a National Football League team, the Houston Texans. In a 2015 analysis of political donations given by the owners of NFL teams, the Washington Examiner found that "one man heavily skews the numbers" that show "owners who lean Republican account for more than 90 percent of political contributions by owners."  In 2012, he gave $3 million to Restore Our Future and American Crossroads, Super PACs that supported former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. He has also supported other Republican candidates such as former Governor of Texas Rick Perry, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, former Representative Allen West from Florida and Ohio Senator Rob Portman.

Timothy Mellon is an American businessman, and the chairman and majority owner of Pan Am Systems, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based transportation holding company. He is a grandson of Andrew W. Mellon and an heir to the Mellon banking fortune.  The $3.4 billion contributed by the top 12 megadonors - Mellon donated $70 million — amounts to 7.5% of the $45 billion that all federal candidates and political groups raised between January 2009 and December 2020. Mellon's self-published autobiography describes his political views. Mellon called social safety net programs “Slavery Redux,” adding: “For delivering their votes in the Federal Elections, they are awarded with yet more and more freebies: food stamps, cell phones, WIC payments, Obamacare, and on, and on, and on."  

Kelcy Lee Warren is an American billionaire and the chairman and chief executive officer of Energy Transfer Partners. Donald Trump’s close financial ties to Energy Transfer Partners, operators of the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline, have been laid bare, with the presidential candidate invested in the company and receiving more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from its chief executive. Trump’s financial disclosure forms show the Republican nominee has between $500,000 and $1m invested in Energy Transfer Partners, with a further $500,000 to $1m holding in Phillips 66, which will have a 25% stake in the Dakota Access project once completed. The information was disclosed in Trump’s monthly filings to the Federal Election Commission, which requires candidates to disclose their campaign finance information on a regular basis. The financial relationship runs both ways. Kelcy Warren, chief executive of Energy Transfer Partners, has given $103,000 to elect Trump and handed over a further $66,800 to the Republican National Committee since the property developer secured the GOP’s presidential nomination.

Peter Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook.  As of October 2021, Thiel has an estimated net worth of $6.92 billion.

Co-founder of The Stanford Review, he is a conservative libertarian who is critical of high government spending, high debt levels, and foreign wars. He has donated to over 50 political figures on the American Right, including Donald Trump and Meg Whitman. He also maintains a political action committee, Free Forever.  

Thiel has espoused support for national conservatism and criticized economic libertarian attitudes towards free trade and big tech. In 2019, Thiel called Google "seemingly treacherous" and urged a government investigation, citing Google's work with China and asking whether DeepMind or Google's senior management had been "infiltrated" by foreign intelligence agencies.

Thiel also has his own political-action committee, Free Forever, which is committed to supporting political candidates who support stricter border control, restrictionist immigration policy, funds for veterans, and isolationist foreign policy, among other things 

Trish Duggan, a wealthy Florida Scientologist, has become one of the GOP’s top donors, including giving $4 million alone to a pro-Donald Trump super PAC, campaign finance records show.   

Duggan and a trust in her name have each given $2 million to America First Action, the biggest Trump-aligned super PAC of the 2020 cycle. The group has spent more than $40 million on TV ads and airtime reservations so far this cycle in key swing states, including Florida.  

 Trish Duggan’s status as a top federal donor is new to the 2020 election cycle. She has not previously given federal contributions under her name, federal campaign finance records show. 

The Peeds made their fortune as foudners of Sandhills Global, an information processing company headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, with locations nationwide and around the world, including offices in Sioux Falls.

They are regular milti-million dollar donors to the Congressional Leasdership Fund and the affiliated PAC American Action Network. 

Lynda "Lindy" Blanchard is an American businesswoman, diplomat, and political candidate who served as the United States Ambassador to Slovenia from 2019 until 2021.

She is a significant politcal donor to right-wing causes.  

In February 2021, Blanchard announced her candidacy for the 2022 Senate election in Alabama to replace the retiring Senator Richard Shelby, the first candidate to publicly launch a campaign.

Blanchard's most significant opposition was Representative Mo Brooks, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. In November 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was considering endorsing Blanchard if she withdrew her Senate campaign and ran for governor instead.

Blanchard officially switched races on December 7, 2021, announcing during a campaign stop that she would be running in the 2022 Alabama gubernatorial election instead of the Senate race.Her gubernatorial campaign launched a television advertising campaign on January 3, 2022, which cost approximately $1.175 million, in order to raise her profile among voters in Alabama.

Warren Stephens  is an American businessman. He is the chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Stephens Inc., a privately held investment bank. Stephens lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.  A Republican, he supported Bob Dole in 1996, Steve Forbes in 1999, and has supported Mike Huckabee. Stephens was a bundler for Mitt Romney in 2012. He has been critical of presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.