{"id":570,"date":"2025-04-23T12:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/?p=570"},"modified":"2025-04-23T12:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T12:17:08","slug":"creepy-swiss-billionaire-secretly-wants-to-flaunt-foreign-donation-laws-to-support-left-wing-causes-in-the-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/creepy-swiss-billionaire-secretly-wants-to-flaunt-foreign-donation-laws-to-support-left-wing-causes-in-the-usa\/","title":{"rendered":"CREEPY SWISS BILLIONAIRE SECRETLY WANTS TO FLAUNT FOREIGN DONATION LAWS TO SUPPORT LEFT WING CAUSES IN THE USA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Hansj\u00f6rg<\/div>\n

Who Is the Mysterious Swiss Billionaire Spending Hundreds of Millions Bankrolling Leftist Causes in the U.S.?<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n

Wansj\u00f6rg 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<\/a> groups, abortion activists<\/a>, and the Clinton Foundation.<\/p>\n

Information about him is sparse, but his sister once wrote that Wyss seeks to \u201c(re)interpret the American Constitution in the light of progressive politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 \u201cleading source of difficult-to-trace money to groups associated with Democrats,\u201d according to the New York Times.<\/p>\n

A report from election watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT) reveals that Wyss created two nonprofits\u2014the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund \u2014 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 \u201cmothership\u201d of left-wing dark money.<\/p>\n

The largest beneficiary has been the Sixteen Thirty Fund (1630), a key Arabella-affiliated group which The Atlantic described as the \u201cindisputable heavyweight of Democratic dark money.\u201d The Berger Action Fund alone has given over $200 million to 1630, which has in turn distributed it to hundreds of progressive organizations.<\/p>\n

Though foreign nationals are barred from directly supporting candidates or super PACs, Wyss\u2019 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\u2014where they can only be reversed by another constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

When foreign money flows into states, it is also used to support Democratic candidates. Earlier this year, APT uncovered<\/a> that 1630 gave $1 million to a \u201cprogressive communications hub\u201d that spent $9 million boosting the Democratic candidate in Wisconsin\u2019s Supreme Court race.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Five states have already passed bans \u2014 Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming \u2014 and several others have similar bills currently moving through their legislatures. Stracke expects more to follow.<\/p>\n

Republican Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon signed<\/a> one of these bans, House Bill 0337 into law March.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d Wyoming Secretary of State\u2019s Office wrote<\/a> on X after Gordon signed the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cForeign money in state ballot initiatives thwarts the American voice,\u201d Stracke said. \u201cThis is an 80\/20 issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Why would anyone oppose this legislation? \u201cIt\u2019s the money,\u201d Stracke said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n