Conservative watchdogs may be plotting to label a Swiss-born billionaire who has funneled hundreds of millions to left-leaning US groups ‘the new George Soros’.
Hansjorg Wyss, 88, who has an estimated net worth of $10 billion and in lives in Wyoming, has given over $800 million to liberal groups in recent years, with particular focus on donations toward President Joe Biden’s climate agenda.
However, many of his donations have also gone to trying to stop former President Donald Trump and his successful nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
‘It’s high time for the conservative movement to be among the ranks of George Soros, Hansjörg Wyss, Arabella Advisors and other left-wing philanthropists, going toe-to-toe in the fight to defend our Constitution and its ideals,’ Leonard Leo, a conservative billionaire with links to Americans for Public Trust, said in May.
Hansjorg Wyss (pictured right), 88, who has an estimated net worth of $10 billion and in lives in Wyoming , has given over $800million to liberal groups in recent years, with particular focus on donations toward President Joe Biden ‘s climate agenda
Wyss is worth even more than Soros with $10billion to Soros’ $7billion, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index claims.
The Wyss Foundation has donated over $807million in the United States since 2016, with much of it going to either environmental causes or to support the environmental efforts of Biden’s presidency.
He’s even a part of a $5billion international ‘conservation pledge’ with the likes of Michael Bloomberg and Jeff Bezos.
The foundation has a specific arm for lobbying and political advocacy called the Berger Action Fund, which has donated $343million to groups trying to stop Republican gerrymandering efforts, as well as Dem-aligned super PACs.
In fact, over $60million of the Berger fund’s $72million went to drumming up support for the president’s programs.
The Wyss Foundation and BAF claim that they never directly donate to campaigns or candidates, which is prohibited by federal law as it is believed Wyss is still a Swiss national. Wyss’ daughter Amy has previously served on the board of the Wyss Foundation and is a US-Swiss dual citizen.
Much of the consternation over Wyss’ spending is that he remains tight-lipped about his citizenship status.
Outside of politics, Wyss was involved in the 2022 takeover of the English Premier League’s Chelsea FC after Roman Abramovich was forced out.
Wyss, a Swiss-born billionaire, has funneled hundreds of millions to left-leaning US groups, leading conservatives to attempt to label him ‘the new George Soros’
The Wyss Foundation has donated over $807million in the United States since 2016, with much of it going to either environmental causes or to support the environmental efforts of Joe Biden’s presidency
Many of his donations have also gone to trying to stop former President Donald Trump and his successful nomination of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
Outside of politics, Wyss was involved in the 2022 takeover of the English Premier League’s Chelsea FC after Roman Abramovich was forced out
He’s also on the board for the left-leaning Center for American Progress and once employed John Podesta, the former Chief of Staff to Bill Clinton with ties to President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Perhaps most controversially, his group has admitted giving $208 million to the left-leaning Sixteen Thirty Fund.
The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee are considering targeting Wyss by making laws banning foreign nationals from launching advocacy groups tax-free. It has the support of 127 Republicans in the House of Representatives.
Regardless, questions remain about whether Wyss has operated completely above board in his funding.
In a lawsuit filed in 2022, APT challenged Wyss’ donations with regard to his citizenship, accusing the Federal Election Commission of acting too slowly on a complaint it filed against Wyss in May 2021.
Wyss’ daughter Amy (pictured right) has previously served on the board of the Wyss Foundation and is a US-Swiss dual citizen
Allan Joseph Bankman, the father of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been allegedly linked to a so-called ‘dark money’ network that pours billions into politically liberal causes, including one linked to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has taken over $200million from Wyss
Wyss, pictured here
‘Americans for Public Trust is suing the FEC for failing to investigate foreign money in our elections,’ Sutherland told The Hill at the time.
‘Mr. Wyss, who is barred from directly or indirectly influencing our elections, has done just that by potentially funneling hundreds of millions of dollars through the Arabella Advisors network to benefit liberal and left-wing causes,’ she added.
‘Until the FEC takes action, we won’t know the full extent of his foreign interference in our electoral process.’
Spokespersons for Wyss have repeatedly insisted that his donations are permissible, and go only toward causes he believes in, rather than supporting political candidates.
Wyss also put together a failed takeover bid in 2021 to buy Tribune Publishing, the company behind the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, and numerous other US newspapers.
Wyss is a native of Switzerland who now lives in Wilson, Wyoming, where his property holdings include this $3.75 million mansion, public records show
A New York Times article that same year noted that Wyss had ‘quietly become one of the most important donors to left-leaning advocacy groups and an increasingly influential force among Democrats.’
As well, his sister Hedi Wyss wrote in a 2014 book about her brother that he ‘he never applied for citizenship’ in the US, according to RealClearPolitics.
Wyss’ sister Hedi Wyss wrote in a 2014 book about her brother that he ‘he never applied for citizenship’ in the US
‘What was important for him was to find out that he could exert influence through his foundations,’ she added.
The Americans for Public Trust lawsuit cited a 2021 Securities and Exchange Commission filing in which Wyss listed his citizenship as a ‘citizen of Switzerland’.
It also quoted from an interview Wyss gave Bick in 2021, in which he said that he ‘can’t’ donate to American political candidates.
The suit alleges that Wyss used his two nonprofit organizations, the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund, to funnel millions to the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund.
The recipients of the funds were so-called dark money groups that fund liberal causes through advocacy groups including The Hub Project and Demand Justice, according to the suit.
The suit alleges that if some of the funds went to campaigns opposing or supporting election candidates, Wyss could be in violation of federal election laws.
According to the Times, the Wyss’ two non-profits from 2016 to 2020 donated $208 million to ‘a wide array of groups that backed progressive causes and helped Democrats in their efforts to win the White House and control of Congress.’
Hansjorg Wyss is seen with Roz Zander and Michael Bloomberg in 2015. A lawsuit alleges that his hundreds of millions in donations to liberal groups violated elections laws
A native of Switzerland who now lives in Wilson, Wyoming, Wyss (second from right) first came to America as an exchange student in 1958
Wyss dismissed the report in an interview with Bick, calling the Times reporter ‘a well-known conservative editor who keeps writing fact-less articles.’
A native of Switzerland who now lives in Wilson, Wyoming, Wyss first came to America as an exchange student in 1958.
He later returned to attend the Harvard Business School, from which he graduated in 1965.
In 1977, Wyss founded Synthes USA, a medical device manufacturer that makes implants to mend bone fractures.
He sold the company to Johnson & Johnson in 2012 in a deal worth $19.7 billion, but still holds stakes in biotech firms NovoCure and Molecular Partners.
Previously, several former Synthes executives were jailed after the firm’s use of an untested medical procedure led to the deaths of three people.
Wyss was not charged or named by prosecutors, but an indictment made reference to the ‘CEO of Synthes’ – a position he held at the time.
Forbes considers Wyss as ‘among the most philanthropic people in the world’, and he has donated hundreds of millions of dollars to environmental charities and universities.
In 2013, he signed The Giving Pledge, thereby agreeing to give away the majority of his fortune. Other moguls to have signed the pledge include Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett.
In 2008, he donated $125 million to Harvard University, in what was then the largest donation in its history.
But he has generated controversy for his funding of groups looking to exert behind-the-scenes influence on American politics.
These include the Hub Project, which seeks to ‘dramatically shift the public debate and policy positions of core decision makers’ by influencing media and public opinion in a ‘progressive’ direction.