Over the past two decades, a reclusive Swiss billionaire has poured more than $800 million into left-wing causes across America, and now states are fighting back.
Hansjörg Wyss, 89, a Swiss national with an estimated net worth of roughly five billion dollars, has quietly become one of the most influential donors on the American left. He has spent more than $800 million bankrolling hundreds of left-wing causes across the United States, donating millions to climate change groups, abortion activists, and the Clinton Foundation.
Information about him is sparse, but his sister once wrote that Wyss seeks to “(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.”
Foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to candidates or PACs under federal law. Even though Wyss is not a citizen, or even a green card holder, he has developed a sophisticated system to become a “leading source of difficult-to-trace money to groups associated with Democrats,” according to the New York Times.
A report from election watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT) reveals that Wyss created two nonprofits—the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund — which have funneled close to $500 million into a vast network of Democratic-aligned dark money groups. Much of this funding has gone to organizations managed by Arabella Advisors, the “mothership” of left-wing dark money.
The largest beneficiary has been the Sixteen Thirty Fund (1630), a key Arabella-affiliated group which The Atlantic described as the “indisputable heavyweight of Democratic dark money.” The Berger Action Fund alone has given over $200 million to 1630, which has in turn distributed it to hundreds of progressive organizations.
Though foreign nationals are barred from directly supporting candidates or super PACs, Wyss’ groups have exploited a loophole that allows foreign money to finance state ballot initiatives, according to APT. Namely, 1630 has spent more than $130 million on ballot campaigns in 25 states, advancing policies such as late-term abortion and drug decriminalization by embedding them directly into state constitutions—where they can only be reversed by another constitutional amendment.
In Michigan, 1630 spent over $33 million, where ballot initiatives recently enshrined a right to abortion and a right to no-excuse absentee voting in the state constitution.
The group also funneled almost $13 million into Missouri, where marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion were recently written into the state constitution through ballot initiatives.
When foreign money flows into states, it is also used to support Democratic candidates. Earlier this year, APT uncovered that 1630 gave $1 million to a “progressive communications hub” that spent $9 million boosting the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race.
Multiple states have passed legislation to stop foreign money from financing local ballot campaigns. Even though red states have taken the lead, Janae Stracke, Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy at Heritage Action for America, said the interest in this issue has been bi-partisan.
Five states have already passed bans — Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming — and several others have similar bills currently moving through their legislatures. Stracke expects more to follow.
Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed one of these bans, House Bill 0337 into law March.
“This bill, a key plank of our conservative election integrity agenda, is a landmark piece of legislation and pivotal to ensuring foreign nationals are banned from meddling in Wyoming elections,” Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office wrote on X after Gordon signed the legislation.
“Foreign money in state ballot initiatives thwarts the American voice,” Stracke said. “This is an 80/20 issue.”
Even though the foreign funding loophole has been exploited primarily by billionaire activists, millions of dollars from Chinese entities have gone to groups promoting progressive climate policies.
Why would anyone oppose this legislation?
“It’s the money,” Stracke said.
When reached for comment, a representative for the Wyss Foundation confirmed the Berger Action Fund contributes to 1630 but declined to say if Wyss supports legislation that bans foreign funding of state ballot initiatives.
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