Foreign billionaires funnel $2.6B to US advocacy groups to influence policy, watchdog report claims
FIRST ON FOX: A damning new report was released Tuesday morning ahead of a House Ways & Means Committee hearing aimed at exposing foreign actors sending money to U.S. nonprofits.
The hearing, which is titled, "Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond," will begin around 10:00 a.m. (EST).
Six foreign entities have funneled more than $2.65 billion into American politics, according to the new report by conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT), which highlights a loophole that APT says allows foreign nationals to funnel money to influence American politics "virtually unchecked."
Foreign nationals are prohibited from donating directly to political campaigns, but money supporting U.S. candidates for office or their viewpoints can also come from 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) nonprofits.
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"Foreign donors can currently fund U.S.-based advocacy groups – most often 501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s – virtually unchecked," the report alleges. It adds that while the money APT uncovered is "highly concerning" solely on its own, there is "undoubtedly even more overseas funding sources backing and influencing U.S. advocacy efforts."
The six entities highlighted in APT's report come from Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The largest donor identified in the report was Switzerland-based Oak Foundation, established by British billionaire retail mogul Alan Parker, which has given around $753 million to U.S.-based advocacy groups.
Through the Oak Foundation, Parker has supported left-wing environmental groups like Greenpeace, the Environmental Law Institute, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund, according to the Capital Research Center's Influence Watch, which cited the group's grant database that now appears to be removed.
Influence Watch added that through its grants, the Oak Foundation has positioned itself as a major supporter of China's Belt and Road Initiative, which China critics argue is part of a geopolitical strategy disguised as infrastructure investment.
APT's report also points out that the Swiss-based Oak Foundation has poured tens of millions into the Arabella network of left-wing advocacy groups, including $67 million to the New Venture Fund, $12 million to the Windward Fund and $2.8 million to the Hopewell Fund. The left-wing Tides Foundation has also received money from the Oak Foundation.
The left-wing Arabella network received funding from the Copenhagen-based KR Foundation and the Swiss-based Laudes Foundation as well, according to APT, which found these two groups have passed a combined $55.6 million to U.S. advocacy groups. The KR Foundation was founded by the descendants of Villum Kann Rasmussen, a Danish civil engineer and businessman who founded the VKR Group, while the Laudes Foundation was established by the Brenninkmeijer family, a German-Dutch business dynasty.
Entities founded by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss came in second on APT's list of six foreign donor organizations. The Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund have reportedly passed more than $673 million to U.S.-based advocacy groups.
"The groups funded by Wyss utilize their immense resources to advance a progressive agenda, mold policy debates and decisions, and influence American elections. His foreign funding network focuses on policy priorities such as radical environmentalism, championing sweeping changes to election laws, and directly engaging in campaign activities, including voter mobilization efforts and political attack ads," APT's report states. "Wyss’ foreign money has found its way to prominent left-wing organizations including Fund for a Better Future, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Redistricting Action Fund, Planned Parenthood, and Indivisible."
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The remaining two foreign entities mentioned in APT's report, the U.K.-based Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Quadrature Climate Foundation, have allegedly passed hundreds of millions of dollars to U.S.-based groups, respectively, similar to Parker's and Wyss' groups.
CIFF has passed approximately $638.2 million to U.S. advocacy groups, while Quadrature Climate Foundation has passed over around $532.5 million, according to APT.
CIFF, backed by British billionaire Christopher Hohn, has engaged in "aggressive left-wing advocacy" around climate change and social justice, including a group wanting to ban gas stoves, according to APT. Among the funding is also more than $10 million to two Arabella-manged nonprofits, according to the report.
APT also accuses CIFF of fostering "alarming ties to groups in China linked to the Chinese Communist Party," pointing out its CEO is part of a member organization overseen by the CCP and holds a position with "the Belt and Road International Green Development Coalition."
Meanwhile, the Quadrature Climate Foundation, which also donates to the Arabella network, has been described as sending its grants to "some of the world's most influential campaign groups and scientific institutions" in an effort to steer "both research and lobbying on the green transition." It is the philanthropic arm of the London-based hedge fund Quadrature Capital, founded by billionaires Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya.
Quadrature Climate Foundation's largest recipient, according to APT, was ClimateWorks Foundation, which got $147 million from them. 25 million dollars of that money went "to support the acceleration of electric vehicles," while another $6 million was reportedly earmarked for financial regulation efforts aimed at mitigating climate change risks.
"For years, foreign organizations and megadonors have quietly poured billions of dollars into the U.S. political sphere with little to no accountability," APT complained in its report. "Foreign funding has infiltrated nearly every sector of the U.S. political sphere."