Hungarian-born US investor and philanthropist George Soros answers to questions after delivering a speech on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 24, 2022.
Fabrice Coffrini | AFP | Getty Images
A nonprofit financed by billionaire George Soros quietly donated $140 million to advocacy organizations and ballot initiatives in 2021, plus one other $60 million to like-minded charities.
Soros, who personally donated $170 million through the 2022 midterms to Democratic candidates and campaigns on top of that, spread the extra largess through the Open Society Policy Center — a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that falls under the Soros-funded Open Society Foundations network, in response to a replica of its 2021 tax filing, which was obtained by CNBC and is probably the most recent data available. The Open Society Policy Center also doled out $138 million to advocacy groups and causes in 2020. Two of Soros’ children sit on its board, the tax filings and its website show.
The donations bring Soros’ contributions to political campaigns and causes since January 2020 to roughly half a billion dollars — in any case — most of it steered through dark money nonprofit groups and going largely toward political causes aligned with the Democratic Party.
Soros’ nonprofit donations don’t at all times go on to political causes. The funds sometimes flow from one among his nonprofits, then to a different, before being spent on the promoting, organizing and social media campaigns that directly reach voters.
Lots of the Open Society Policy Center’s 2021 donations weren’t necessarily earmarked to assist sway the midterm elections, in response to the muse’s website. At the identical time, Tom Watson, an editorial director on the Open Society Foundations, conceded in an email to CNBC that “there are definitely some OSPC grants that went to organizations working to combat voter suppression, support voter registration and expand civic participation.” Those are all core Democratic principles.
Complex network of nonprofits
The muse network includes several affiliated 501(c)(4) groups, a variety of nonprofit under the U.S. tax code that is allowed to interact in political activities, in addition to more traditional 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, its website and tax filing show.
The entire nonprofits fall under Soros’ Open Society Foundations network, which spans the globe. It describes itself as “the world’s largest private funder of independent groups working for justice, democratic governance, and human rights,” and it has dozens of offices within the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.
It moreover runs the Open Society University Network, which incorporates greater than two dozen colleges the world over, sponsoring research projects through its Democracy Institute, amongst other initiatives. While not illegal, the complex network of related nonprofits, research funding and charities financed by Soros obfuscates the unique origin of the donations.
Through the network, Soros has donated greater than $32 billion through the years, in response to its website. It says it gives “1000’s of grants every yr toward constructing inclusive and vibrant democracies,” with energetic projects in greater than 120 countries.
Wealthy special interests
“Wealthy special interests and individuals attempt to hide their influence in elections, including by funding politically energetic nonprofits, because they know that the messenger matters,” Aaron McKean, an attorney on the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said. “Voters have a right to know who’s attempting to influence elections in order that they’ll make informed selections when filling out their ballot.”
The Open Society Policy Center’s budget in 2021 was funded by a single $196 million donation from the Open Society Foundation network, in response to foundation officials. An affiliated 501(c)(3) charitable group called the Open Society Institute received a $1.78 billion donation in “QECL shares” from the Foundation to Promote Open Society, which was founded and is funded by the billionaire businessman.
Within the U.S., the Open Society Policy Center donated to quite a lot of politically energetic groups and causes because the start of the 2020 election cycle, including $4.5 million in September to Reproductive Freedom for All, in response to data from the nonpartisan watchdog OpenSecrets. The campaign backed Michigan’s successful ballot initiative called Proposition 3 that enshrined abortion rights into the state’s structure.
The group also gave $1 million in 2020 toward a campaign that supported an Oklahoma prison sentencing ballot measure titled Yes on 805. The ballot initiative would have ended repeat sentence penalties for nonviolent offenses within the state; it didn’t pass through the 2020 election.
Helping Democrats
The overwhelming majority of Soros’ personal donations through the 2022 cycle went to 2 super PACs: Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II, in response to Federal Election Commission filings. Each of those groups are run by the billionaire’s son Alexander Soros who also sits on the boards of the Open Society Institute and Open Society Policy Center. Politico reported that these PACs were meant to assist Democratic candidates and groups in 2022, and in future election cycles.
Records show that the Democracy PACs, which by law can raise and spend a vast sum of money, donated tens of millions of dollars within the midterms to organizations that actively helped Democrats running for office, including support for the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC.
The Open Society Policy Center’s other donations listed on its 2021 990:
- America Votes: $16.9 million
A voting rights group focused on educating people on easy methods to vote by mail. - Demand Justice: $4.5 million
A liberal judicial advocacy group. It recently raised just below $6 million, in response to a tax return acquired by Politico. Demand Justice announced a $1 million ad buy this yr supporting Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination. - Equis Labs: $6.48 million
A bunch dedicated to increasing Latino voting. - Future Forward USA Motion: $5.5 million
This 501(c)(4) group donated over $60 million through the 2020 election to its sister PAC, Future Forward USA, which spent tens of millions backing Joe Biden’s run for president. The Open Policy Center’s website says its 2021 donations were meant, partly, to “support policy advocacy on the Construct Back Together legislative package and a worldwide vaccine campaign.” A pared-back version of the bill was renamed the Inflation Reduction Act; it passed and was signed into law in August. - Sixteen Thirty Fund: $23.9 million
The group acts as a “dark” money fund for “progressive changemakers” and groups that always align with the Democratic Party. It provides operational support, like HR and legal resources, to progressive candidates. It recently raised greater than $189 million and made $107 million in grants.
Emerson Morrow, a spokesman for America Votes, told CNBC that funding from the Open Society Policy Center “has provided critical support for America Votes’ mission.” The group says it took on “voter suppression and engaged latest and hard-to-reach voters” in 2021, specializing in expanding voting access in the important thing states of Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Open Society Policy Center’s website lists a single donation of $23.9 million to the group in 2021 to “support nonpartisan voter engagement in multiple states,” in response to its website.
America Votes, a 501(c)(4), raised greater than $245 million and doled out over $170 million in grants from July 2020 through June 2021, in response to its most up-to-date tax disclosure. Its top contributions included a $14 million donation to Family Friendly Motion PAC, an excellent PAC that spent $7.2 million backing Democratic candidates running for Congress through the 2022 election cycle, in response to OpenSecrets. It also donated $9.7 million toward Black PAC, an excellent PAC that spent $9.5 million through the recent midterms supporting Democrats.
Empowering advocates
Amy Kurtz, president of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, pointed to the Open Society Foundations website for more information on its donations from the Soros-backed groups. The Sixteen Thirty Fund raised over $189 million in 2021, in response to its latest 990 disclosure.
“At a time when the intense right wing is healthier funded than ever and threatening our rights and democratic institutions like never before, Sixteen Thirty Fund is meeting these threats head on,” Kurtz said in an email. “As a fiscal sponsor, Sixteen Thirty Fund empowers advocates and philanthropists to quickly and efficiently launch campaigns to tackle today’s hardest challenges. The executive, legal, and HR support we provide is critical so public-interest efforts can deal with working to enhance the lives of all Americans.”
All the opposite organizations mentioned on this story who received funding from the Open Society Policy Center didn’t return a request for comment.
Correction: The headline and two references within the story were updated to correct the yr wherein the donations were made. They were made in 2021.