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65-543: The New Venture Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization managed by Arabella Advisors , a for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give money and serves as the hub of a politically liberal " dark money " network in the United States. The New Venture Fund serves as the fiscal sponsor for various left-leaning political projects. The New Venture Fund has annual revenue of nearly $ 1 billion. According to OpenSecrets ,

130-605: A 281-acre vineyard producing 13 varietals of grapes using methods that are "Sustainability in Practice" certified. The ranch hosts tours and was named "Best Vineyard Experience" by Sunset in 2015. As of 2023, Wyss ranked 523 on the Forbes list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $ 4.7 billion. He ranks number 218 on the Bloomberg list of billionaires. On May 6, 2022, Chelsea announced that

195-437: A Fair Shake, Michigan Families for Economic Prosperity, and North Carolinians for a Fair Economy. These groups have collectively spent millions of dollars to pressure Republican members of Congress on their stances on health care and economic issues through advertising and activism. The Sixteen Thirty Fund spent almost $ 11 million in the 2018 Colorado elections on ballot measures, lobbying, and Democratic super PACs. In 2019,

260-765: A fiscal sponsorship arrangement do not have to file a Form 990 with the Internal Revenue Service . Using "pass-through" arrangements, funding is passed from one organization to another, making it difficult to trace where a donor's money ends up. In 2018, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the New Venture Fund, the Hopewell Fund, and the Windward Fund had combined revenue of $ 635 million. According to OpenSecrets , in 2018

325-712: A further $ 131 million to Harvard Business School to support the Wyss Institute. In 2020, Wyss donated CHF 100 million to support the Wyss Academy for Nature at the University of Bern . In 2015, Wyss publicly declared that he was in favor of higher inheritance taxes for the wealthy in Switzerland . Wyss is a member of the Democracy Alliance , a club of liberal donors. There has been

390-710: A group seeking to boost Democratic candidates through local news stories and advertising. The Wyss Foundation has donated to States Newsroom , a nonprofit media group. Media watchdog NewsGuard said State Newsroom's journalism had been "bought by people with a political agenda". In 2021, along with Stewart W. Bainum Jr. , Wyss made a bid to buy Tribune Publishing , which publishes newspapers including The Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun . The New York Times reported that "the big-money activism of Mr. Wyss and Mr. Bainum highlights concerns that wealthy owners may try to influence news coverage to advance their political agendas", and on April 14, 2021, they identified him as

455-629: A longstanding rivalry between billionaire Wyss, who supports liberal politics, and billionaire Christoph Blocher , who supports conservative politics. Both entered into public debates about the bilateral agreements between Switzerland and the European Union as well as the limitation of immigration into Switzerland. Wyss advocated openness toward the EU and immigrants while Blocher advocated for Switzerland's independence in those matters. In 2021, The New York Times reported that Wyss had "quietly created

520-499: A medical device manufacturer. His Wyss Foundation has more than $ 2 billion in assets. As of 2023, Wyss had a net worth of US$ 4.7 billion, according to Forbes . Having donated hundreds of millions of dollars to environmental causes, he has more recently increased his donations to groups promoting progressive causes. In 2024, Wyss additionally donated $ 100 million to the City of Berne which bequeathed honorary citizenship on him. In

585-584: A number of groups that spent millions of dollars on advertisements attacking President Donald Trump's response to the COVID-19 pandemic ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Arabella Advisors aimed to raise between $ 8 million and $ 10 million for the Trusted Elections Fund in case the coronavirus pandemic leads to foreign hacking of voting systems, violence, or contested election results. In June 2020, Arabella came under scrutiny for hiring

650-439: A paid editor to request edits to their Misplaced Pages page, with the edit request being reported by multiple news sources. Hansj%C3%B6rg Wyss Johann Georg "Hansjörg" Wyss ( /ˈhɑːnzˌjɜːrk ˈwiːs/ HAHN-zyohrg WEESS ; born 19 September 1935) is a Swiss billionaire businessman and donor to politically liberal and environmental causes in the United States. He is the founder and former president and chairman of Synthes ,

715-533: A sophisticated political operation to advance progressive policy initiatives and the Democrats who support them". In 2015, the Wyss Foundation initiated The Hub Project, which seeks "to shape media coverage to help Democratic causes". The goal of The Hub Project is to help Democrats be more effective at conveying their arguments through the news media and directly to voters. It seeks to "dramatically shift

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780-439: A super PAC linked to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and Democratic donor group Democracy Alliance , whose members include billionaire George Soros , has recommended that donors give generously to the Sixteen Thirty Fund. According to Politico , the Sixteen Thirty Fund's activities are "a sign that Democrats and allies have embraced the methods of groups they decried as 'dark money' earlier this decade, when they were under attack from

845-477: A veterans group to local media outlets." OpenSecrets reported that "A veterans group urging Republican lawmakers to 'put country over politics' amid the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is the project of a well-funded liberal 'dark money' network." Defend American Democracy's advertisements contained disclaimers that they were "paid for by a group called Protect the Investigation. But Protect

910-547: A way that leaves almost no paper trail." The Sixteen Thirty Fund was active in the battle for the House of Representatives in 2018, assisting "Democrats trying to seize back power after Trump's rise." According to Politico , "The election featured dozens of Democratic candidates who decried the influence of money in politics on the campaign trail." The Sixteen Thirty Fund operates under dozens of different trade names with titles like Arizonans United for Health Care, Floridians for

975-496: Is a liberal "dark money" nonprofit headquartered in Washington D.C. Because it is a nonprofit, the Sixteen Thirty Fund is not required to disclose its donors, even though it spends significant amounts on politics. As of 2019, it had spent $ 141 million on more than 100 left-leaning and Democratic causes, making it a large source of money for nonprofits pushing a variety of changes to state and federal law. The Atlantic called

1040-404: Is also tied to Supermajority News, whose associated super PAC, Democracy PAC, was created by George Soros in 2019. Democracy PAC gave $ 1.75 million to PACRONYM, the super PAC arm of ACRONYM . ACRONYM gained notoriety as the majority owner of Shadow Inc. , a political technology company whose software failed during the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses . In 2020, the Sixteen Thirty Fund was behind

1105-656: Is controlling or funding the organizations until after an election is over. In a 2018 ballot measure campaign in Michigan, a Sixteen Thirty Fund donor group didn't report a "trade name" they had used in a campaign "until 12 days after voters went to the ballots." The Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $ 8 million to the League of Conservation Voters in 2018. In 2018, the New Venture Fund gave $ 250,000 to ACRONYM , described by OpenSecrets (CRP) as "a liberal dark money group with an affiliated super PAC called PACRONYM." As of 2019, ACRONYM

1170-813: Is involved with The Wilderness Society and Rails-to-Trails . He serves on the boards of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance , the Center for American Progress , and the Grand Canyon Trust. Wyss has donated more than $ 6 million to the Center for American Progress. In 2011, Wyss won the Robert Marshall Award from The Wilderness Society for his conservation work. In January 2015, the conservative U.S. news site The Daily Caller accused John Podesta , who

1235-711: The 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel in October 2023, the Washington Examiner reported on the ties between the Alliance for Global Justice and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . Soon after, the New Venture Fund and Windward Fund announced they would no longer provide funding to the Alliance for Global Justice due to its ties to Palestinian terrorist groups. The Sixteen Thirty Fund

1300-691: The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities , Health Leads and the Constitutional Accountability Center . In 2019, Wyss promised to donate 20 million Swiss francs to the Bern Art Museum . He made it a condition that the Hodlerstrasse, on which the museum is located, be free of cars. As of 2015, Wyss and the Wyss Foundation had donated more than $ 350 million to environmental protection , including conservation of national forests and other public lands in

1365-667: The Courier Newsroom , a group seeking to boost Democratic candidates through local news stories and advertising. The Hub Project is an initiative that passes on funding to and coordinates 14 groups out of a single office in Washington D.C., "with the goal of battering Republicans for their health care and economic policies during the midterm elections." The Hub Project is run by Obama administration official and public relations specialist Leslie Dach and former Center for American Progress political strategist Arkadi Gerney. The Hub Project "set up an array of affiliate groups around

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1430-519: The Food and Drug Administration . Use of the bone cement resulted in the deaths of three people. Wyss was not indicted, but four top executives of Synthes were convicted and sentenced to prison terms. In 2012, Wyss sold the company for $ 19.7 billion in cash and stock to Johnson & Johnson . According to Bloomberg , he received 97.4 million shares in Johnson & Johnson and $ 3.2 billion cash from

1495-454: The Trump administration and to organize opposition to numerous Republican politicians and policies. According to The Atlantic , Arabella Advisors has "undeniably benefited from the rush of panicked political giving on the left during the Trump years ." In 2020, the Sixteen Thirty Fund donated $ 410 million toward defeating Trump and winning Democratic control of the U.S. Senate. Because of

1560-688: The Western United States . In October 2018, Wyss published an article in The New York Times stating that he was contributing $ 1 billion to environmental causes. Wyss has said that he became passionate about the American West and land preservation after visiting the U.S. in 1958 as a student and taking a summer job as a surveyor with the Colorado Highway Department. In 1998, he created

1625-760: The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University . In 2012–13, he announced the creation of the Campus Biotech and of its Wyss Center for Bio- and Neuro-engineering in Geneva , Switzerland. In 2014, Wyss donated $ 120 million to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the University of Zurich for the Wyss Translational Center Zurich. In 2019, Wyss donated

1690-764: The Alliance for Global Justice, a group with Palestinian terrorism ties, the New Venture Fund and Windward Fund announced they would discontinue funding of the group. Arabella Advisors Organizations incubated by and affiliated with Arabella Advisors include the Sixteen Thirty Fund , the New Venture Fund , the Hopewell Fund , the Windward Fund , and the North Fund . These groups have been active in various efforts to oppose

1755-476: The Berger Action Fund's $ 72 million expenditures in 2021 went to building public support for Joe Biden's agenda and thereby "cementing Wyss' status as a Democratic-aligned megadonor." In 2014, Wyss said he carried only a Swiss passport and did not have a U.S. green card . As of 2021, The New York Times wrote, he "has not disclosed publicly whether he holds citizenship or permanent residency" in

1820-1067: The Court bought several Internet domain names related to Kavanaugh and redirected them to websites including End Rape On Campus, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center , and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network . Fix the Court's executive director, Gabe Roth, said he purchased and redirected the websites because he believed the sexual assault allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh and by Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas . Defend American Democracy spent six figures on television advertisements pressuring Republican members of Congress to vote to impeach President Donald Trump for what they called "abusing his office and risking national security for his own gain." This group "primarily targets swing-district Republicans, prominently features military veterans in its ads and presents itself as

1885-491: The Investigation doesn't legally exist — it's one of dozens of fictitious names registered by the Sixteen Thirty Fund." The Hub Project was started in 2015 with funding from the Wyss Foundation , operated by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss . The Hub Project seeks "to shape media coverage to help Democratic causes." The goal of The Hub Project is to help Democrats be more effective at conveying their arguments through

1950-401: The New Venture Fund "has fiscally sponsored at least 80 groups and acted as a pass-through agency funneling millions of dollars in grants for wealthy donors to opaque groups with minimal disclosure." According to Axios , the New Venture Fund has been "criticized for obscuring information about the scores of subsidiary groups they sponsor." Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is a major donor to

2015-456: The New Venture Fund. The New Venture Fund has given money to Acronym , a partial owner of Courier Newsroom , which The New York Times described as "a network of news media outlets that was criticized by a nonpartisan disinformation watchdog for slanting coverage to favor Democrats." In October 2023, after a Washington Examiner investigation revealed that the New Venture Fund and the Windward Fund had given $ 473,000 between 2020 and 2021 to

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2080-515: The Norian project testified before a grand jury that "for somebody who is at his level and his level of success, I would say he [Wyss] has a surprising amount of contact with what's going on". Staff recalled meetings in which he intensively probed their projects. In 2009, top executives at Synthes were indicted by U.S. Attorneys for Eastern Pennsylvania for using an untested calcium-phosphate-based bone cement on human patients without authorization from

2145-439: The Sixteen Thirty Fund "sponsored social media pages and digital operations for five pseudo local news outlets." These outlets appeared to be independent but ran nearly identical digital ads. Associated Facebook pages "gave the impression of multiple free-standing local news outlets with unique names and disclaimers...But the sponsors of those ads are merely fictitious names used by the Sixteen Thirty Fund." The Sixteen Thirty Fund

2210-512: The Sixteen Thirty Fund "the indisputable heavyweight of Democratic dark money," noting that it was the second-largest super-PAC donor in 2020, donating $ 61 million of "effectively untraceable money to progressive causes." The Sixteen Thirty Fund supports Democratic lawmakers and candidates and criticizes Republicans. The group spent money opposing the nomination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and other Trump judicial nominees and supporting various ballot measures. The Sixteen Thirty Fund

2275-456: The Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund since 2016. The Sixteen Thirty Fund gives directly to political committees and pays for TV ads that back specific candidates and causes. In 2022, the FEC said the Sixteen Thirty Fund should be required to register as a political committee, which would require more disclosure. The New Venture Fund underwrites Acronym , which owns the Courier Newsroom ,

2340-518: The Sixteen Thirty Fund had "thirteen multi-million dollar secret donors." One donor gave $ 51.7 million to the group in 2018, while another donor gave $ 26.7 million and a third gave $ 10 million. The group is not required by law to reveal its donors and it has not disclosed who its funders are. Known donors to the group include Nick Hanauer , the American Federation of Teachers , and the Wyss Foundation . Michael Bloomberg gave $ 250,000 to

2405-593: The U.S. Wyss lives in Wyoming. His daughter, Amy , is a resident of Wyoming also. Wyss is a hiker, skier, and backpacker. He also is a hobby pilot. He is involved in outdoor education programs and he funds local efforts to conserve wildlife habitat and public lands in the Rocky Mountains. In 2000, Wyss purchased the 900-acre (3.6 km ) Halter Ranch and Vineyard in western Paso Robles, California . The ranch includes an 1,800-acre wildlife reserve and

2470-413: The U.S. Supreme Court. The group "projected a video of Christine Blasey Ford accusing Kavanaugh of assault on the side of a truck outside a Washington gala where Kavanaugh was speaking." The New Venture Fund provides all of the funding for Fix the Court , a judicial advocacy group that seeks reform of the U.S. federal court system . When Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court , Fix

2535-465: The United States, Wyss is a major donor of the Democratic Party . He is the co-owner of Premier League football club Chelsea . And he is one of the anchor shareholders of Lalique Group, with Müller Handels AG Schweiz, Dharampal Satyapal Limited, Hansjörg Wyss and Claudio Denz, they hold 42.67% of Lalique Group shares. In 2019, Hansjörg Wyss and Swiss entrepreneur Silvio Denz acquired

2600-539: The Windward Fund shared $ 715 million in 2019 with the New Venture and Hopewell funds. Windward is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible charity. Windward hosts several charities, including the Heartland Fund and Rewiring America. Demand Justice is a courts-focused group headed by former Hillary Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon . The group spent millions of dollars opposing Brett Kavanaugh 's confirmation to

2665-483: The Wyss Foundation. The objective of the foundation was to establish and sponsor informal partnerships between non-governmental organizations and the United States government, in order to place large swathes of land under permanent protection in the American West. The organization sponsors the Wyss Scholars Program for graduate-level education in conservation. The landscape protection strategies of

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2730-598: The accusations". In 2018, Wyss donated $ 1 billion to the Wyss Campaign for Nature, aiming to conserve 30% of the world's land and oceans by 2030. In 2007, he received the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, and in the fall of 2008, it was announced that Wyss donated the largest single endowment from one source in the history of Harvard, when he gave $ 125 million to found a multidisciplinary institute,

2795-409: The country, many with vaguely sympathetic names like Keep Iowa Healthy, New Jersey for a Better Future and North Carolinians for a Fair Economy. The Hub Project then used them to mobilize volunteers and run advertising on policy issues against Republican members of Congress many months before the election." The Sixteen Thirty Fund gave America Votes , which describes itself as "the coordination hub of

2860-549: The deal. According to Forbes , Wyss is "among the most philanthropic people in the world". Between 2004 and 2008, Businessweek estimated that Wyss personally donated nearly US$ 277 million. His giving increased subsequent to the sale of Synthes in 2012. In 2013, he signed The Giving Pledge , agreeing to give away the majority of his fortune. The assets of his charitable foundations equal nearly $ 2 billion. He has made major donations to environmental and scientific causes, as well as progressive organizations, including

2925-764: The foundation have included assisting the purchase of mineral leases from oil and gas companies. Other causes the Wyss Foundation supports include river restorations, ocean conservation in Peru and Canada, anti- poaching efforts in Africa and environmental journalism . In 2017, the organization announced a charitable commitment of $ 65 million to African Parks, a conservation nonprofit overseeing ten parks in seven African nations, to help create new protected areas in Africa. In 2010, Wyss gave The Nature Conservancy $ 35 million to purchase 310,000 acres in Montana as part of one of

2990-532: The fund raised $ 137 million. The Sixteen Thirty Fund spent $ 410 million in 2020, largely focused on helping Democrats defeat President Donald Trump and winning back control of the United States Senate . The group financed attack ads against Trump and vulnerable Republican senators and funded various issue advocacy campaigns. Funding went to groups opposing Trump's Supreme Court nominees, supporting liberal ballot measures and policy proposals at

3055-489: The group Colorado Families First to support a proposed ballot initiative requiring paid family leave in the state. The New Venture Fund had revenue of $ 405 million in 2018, up from $ 350 million annually in the three preceding years. According to OpenSecrets , the New Venture Fund "has fiscally sponsored at least 80 groups and acted as a pass-through agency funneling millions of dollars in grants for wealthy donors to opaque groups with minimal disclosure." Founded in 2015,

3120-420: The groups structure their funding creates "an incomplete picture of where support for candidates and ballot initiatives are coming from" and allows these groups to "avoid public scrutiny by registering trade names to carry out their work. The groups pose as grassroots activist organizations... while being connected to much larger organizations." They adopt 'trade names' meaning voters have little way of knowing who

3185-569: The historic Glenturret Distillery in Scotland. Wyss was born in Bern , Switzerland, in 1935. His father sold mechanical calculators and his mother was a homemaker. He was brought up in a flat with two sisters. After receiving a master's degree in civil and structural engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich in 1959, Wyss earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1965. Following that, he worked in various positions in

3250-651: The largest private conservation purchases in the United States. In 2013, he donated $ 4.25 million to The Trust for Public Land for the purchase of oil and gas leases in Wyoming to prevent development in the Hoback Basin. In 2016, Wyss made another donation to the Trust for Public Land that resulted in the expansion of Saguaro National Park in Arizona by 300 acres, including a mile and a half of Rincon Creek. Wyss

3315-476: The left embraced the use of 'dark money' to fight for its causes in recent years. After decrying big-money Republican donors over the last decade, as well as the Supreme Court rulings that flooded politics with more cash, Democrats now benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars of undisclosed donations as well." Arabella Advisors and its affiliated entities utilize tax regulations in which groups who use

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3380-546: The medical device industry. He then founded and became president of Synthes USA in 1977. In 1977, Wyss founded and became president of Synthes USA, the U.S. division of the Switzerland-based Synthes , a medical device manufacturer making internal screws and plates for broken bones. He founded the company after meeting Martin Allgoewer, the founder of AO Foundation , and obtaining permission to sell

3445-470: The money machines built by conservatives including the Kochs ". In May 2023, Arabella laid off 10% of its workforce. In July 2023, the company announced that CEO Rick Cruz would depart on August 1. Between 2020 and 2021, the New Venture Fund and the Windward Fund directed $ 473,000 to the Alliance for Global Justice, a group which funds and organizes anti-Israel protests across the United States. Following

3510-584: The news media and directly to voters. It seeks to "dramatically shift the public debate and policy positions of core decision makers." The Hub Project engaged in paid advertising campaigns that criticized Republican congressional candidates in 2018. The Hub Project is housed within the Arabella-sponsored groups the New Venture Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund. Between 2007 and 2020, the Wyss Foundation donated approximately $ 56.5 million to these groups. The New Venture Fund underwrites Acronym , which owns

3575-756: The organization's devices in the Americas. In an early initiative, Wyss opened a Synthes USA manufacturing plant in Colorado. Prior to that, another Swiss company manufactured Synthes' devices and exported them to the U.S. Under Wyss' control, the U.S. division expanded its sales team and trained surgeons how to use its products. Wyss served as Synthes' worldwide CEO and chairman until his resignation as CEO in 2007. He maintained his post as company chairman until Johnson & Johnson acquired Synthes in 2012. During his tenure, Wyss said discussions of new products made up one-third of board meetings. A manager assigned to

3640-543: The progressive community", $ 27 million in 2018. The $ 27 million grant was nearly twice the amount America Votes had previously ever raised in a single year. The Sixteen Thirty Fund urged passage of a Nevada ballot measure promoting automatic voter registration and a Michigan redistricting ballot measure. The group also supported a Florida constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to felons and minimum wage increases in Arkansas, Missouri, and other states. The way

3705-457: The public debate and policy positions of core decision makers". The Hub Project engaged in paid advertising campaigns in 2018 that criticized Republican congressional candidates. The Hub Project is part of Arabella Advisors , a leading vehicle for funneling " dark money " on the political center-left. The Hub Project is housed within the Arabella-sponsored groups the New Venture Fund and the Sixteen Thirty Fund . Wyss has donated $ 245 million to

3770-573: The state level, and opposing Republican tax and health care policies. The Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $ 10.5 million to the conservative anti-Trump group Defending Democracy Together, which was founded by Bill Kristol in 2018. In 2020, the Sixteen Thirty Fund raised $ 390 million, with half of that amount coming from just four donors. Billionaire Pierre Omidyar disclosed that he gave the group $ 45 million that same year. The group also received mystery donations as large as $ 50 million and disseminated grants to more than 200 groups. It gave $ 0.5 million to

3835-556: The statute of limitations has passed. The Associated Press found that Wyss's "influence is still broadly felt through millions of dollars routed through a network of nonprofit groups that invest heavily in the Democratic ecosystem. Such groups don't have to disclose the source of their funding — or many details about how they spend it." One vehicle for Wyss's political donations is the Berger Action Fund, which has donated $ 339 million to left-leaning nonprofits since 2016. The majority of

3900-611: The textile industry, including as a factory engineer and project manager for Chrysler in Pakistan, Turkey and the Philippines. Wyss also worked in the steel industry in Brussels, Belgium. During his time working in that industry, Wyss ran a side business selling airplanes. Through one sale, he met a surgeon who had co-founded Swiss medical device manufacturer Synthes . After that meeting, Wyss spent two years learning about

3965-637: The top bidder. On April 17, 2021, Wyss backed out of the potential deal while Bainum Jr. continued to seek alternate investors in his bid to buy Tribune Publishing. In 2023, the Associated Press published an article about the steering of Wyss's wealth into U.S. politics and policy. As a Swiss citizen, Wyss is legally prohibited from directly donating to U.S. political candidates or committees. Between 1990 and 2006, he donated $ 119,000 directly to candidates and political committees. The Federal Election Commission declined to take action against him, and

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4030-410: The way they are legally structured, Arabella Advisors and its affiliated groups are not required to disclose their donors, and they have not opted to do so. Billionaires George Soros and Pierre Omidyar have disclosed multi-million donations to the network. Politico has described the Sixteen Thirty Fund as a "left-leaning, secret-money group", writing that the group "illustrates the extent to which

4095-655: Was at the time an advisor on environmental issues to the Obama administration , of an alleged ethics violation for pushing the advocacy agenda of a former employer because, previously, he had received $ 87,000 as a consulting fee for work he did in 2013 for the HJW Foundation (a Wyss organization that later was merged with the Wyss Foundation). According to the High Country News , "nothing ever came of

4160-410: Was behind several groups that ran issue advocacy ads to benefit Democrats during the 2018 midterms. The group also funded Demand Justice , which spent millions of dollars on ads attacking Brett Kavanaugh 's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. According to OpenSecrets , the Sixteen Thirty Fund and New Venture Fund "have fiscally sponsored at least 80 of their own groups, bankrolling those entities in

4225-414: Was the full owner of Courier Newsroom , a digital for-profit media company which publishes "websites that appear to be free-standing local news outlets" but that are "actually part of a coordinated effort with deep ties to Democratic political operatives." According to the CRP, "Courier has faced scrutiny for exploiting the collapse of local journalism to spread 'hyperlocal partisan propaganda.'" In 2018,

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