Foreign Billionaires Channel $2.6 Billion to US Advocacy Groups, Watchdog Reports

Foreign entities have channeled over $2.65 billion into U.S. nonprofits, according to a new report released Tuesday by the conservative watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT). The findings come ahead of a House Ways & Means Committee hearing titled “Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond.”

The report highlights a significant loophole in U.S. campaign finance laws. While foreign nationals are prohibited from donating directly to political campaigns, they can funnel money through 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofits to support candidates or political viewpoints “virtually unchecked,” according to APT.

Six major foreign entities from Switzerland, Denmark, and the United Kingdom were identified as the primary sources of this funding. The largest contributor is the Switzerland-based Oak Foundation, established by British retail billionaire Alan Parker, which has donated approximately $753 million to U.S.-based advocacy groups.

The Oak Foundation has supported numerous environmental organizations, including Greenpeace, the Environmental Law Institute, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund. According to the Capital Research Center’s Influence Watch, the foundation has positioned itself as a major supporter of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a program that critics argue serves as China’s geopolitical strategy disguised as infrastructure investment.

The report also reveals that the Oak Foundation has directed tens of millions of dollars to 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 Oak Foundation funding.

Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss’s organizations rank second on APT’s list. The Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund have reportedly channeled more than $673 million to U.S.-based advocacy groups. According to the report, “The groups funded by Wyss utilize their immense resources to advance a progressive agenda, mold policy debates and decisions, and influence American elections.”

The U.K.-based Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), backed by British billionaire Christopher Hohn, has contributed approximately $638.2 million to U.S. advocacy groups. APT accuses CIFF of fostering “alarming ties to groups in China linked to the Chinese Communist Party,” noting that its CEO is part of an organization overseen by the CCP and holds a position with “the Belt and Road International Green Development Coalition.”

The Quadrature Climate Foundation, the philanthropic arm of London-based hedge fund Quadrature Capital (founded by billionaires Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya), has distributed around $532.5 million to U.S. groups. Its largest recipient is reportedly the ClimateWorks Foundation, which received $147 million, including $25 million earmarked “to support the acceleration of electric vehicles” and $6 million for financial regulation efforts related to climate change risks.

Two additional European entities—the Copenhagen-based KR Foundation, established by descendants of Danish businessman Villum Kann Rasmussen, and the Swiss-based Laudes Foundation, created by the German-Dutch Brenninkmeijer family—have together directed $55.6 million to U.S. advocacy organizations.

“For years, foreign organizations and megadonors have quietly poured billions of dollars into the U.S. political sphere with little to no accountability,” APT stated in its report. “Foreign funding has infiltrated nearly every sector of the U.S. political sphere.”

The House Ways & Means Committee hearing addressing these concerns is scheduled to begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. EST. The investigation comes amid growing bipartisan concerns about foreign influence in American politics and institutions, particularly regarding Chinese influence in U.S. research and nonprofit organizations.

The revelation of this extensive foreign funding network raises significant questions about transparency in nonprofit financing and the potential for foreign influence on U.S. policy debates and political outcomes through legal but largely unscrutinized channels.