PoliticsDistrict of ColumbiaTrending NewsU.S. News How Swiss Billionaire’s Money is Being Used to Support Liberal Causes by Madison Thomas April 4, 2023 written by Madison Thomas April 4, 2023 0 comments Bookmark 65 The Berger Action Fund is a group that helps spread the money of Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss around in American politics and policy. Wyss, who is not a citizen of the United States, cannot give money to politicians or political organizations. However, he still has an impact through millions of dollars that are channeled through certain nonprofits. These nonprofits don’t have to say who donated the money and what it was used for. Recent records say that billionaire Hansjörg Wyss has given a lot of money to an organization called the Berger Action Fund. The Berger Action Fund is trying to fix some serious world problems. In 2021, he gave a whopping $72 million to this cause, which makes him a very generous donor for Democratic groups. People working for Wyss try to follow rules about foreign countries giving money, and they have clear policies that limit the donations they get to “issue advocacy” instead of political campaigns. The problem is that it’s hard to know if the money is being used according to those laws because we can’t check where the money comes from. Several organizations were financially backed to help get President Joe Biden’s plans off the ground. These same groups had enough money to pay for advertisements that supported Democratic congressional candidates before last year’s election. One of these ads was funded by somebody who supported green energy and praised Sen. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat from New Hampshire, for her efforts in passing Biden-backed bills. The ad declared that while some leaders ignore climate change issues, Hassan is doing something about it. Democrats spent more ‘dark money’ in 2020 than they had ever criticised the Republicans for doing. It’s hard to know if money from foreign countries made it into politics too, as there’s no one to properly look out for it. Saurav Ghosh, a director at the Campaign Legal Center – a group that makes sure money isn’t used unfairly in elections – said this is true. Hansjörg Wyss was born in Bern, Switzerland. But he fell in love with the United States when he saw its beautiful and wild lands. After finishing college at Harvard Business School, Hansjörg got jobs related to textiles and cars until he gained lots of money by creating a company called Synthes USA, which sold to Johnson & Johnson for around $20 billion. His net worth is currently estimated to be around $5 billion! Hansjörg Wyss created the Wyss Foundation in 1998 to protect the beautiful Western landscapes that inspired him. He also set up the Berger Action Fund in 2007 and since 2016, it has donated a total of $339 million to charities that favor the left. His sister wrote a biography about him called “My Brother” where she talks about his attempt to have an impact on politics. Heidi Wyss said it was important to him that he could make a difference using his foundation. At their meetings, the board of trustees often give away millions of dollars, so this person from Switzerland had a big impact on American politics without anyone noticing it. In 2021, the Wyss Berger Action Fund donated a total of $72.7 million to two groups that aimed to help President Biden achieve his goals. Out of this amount, $62.7 million went directly to these groups according to their tax documents and official statement. Two organizations, Berger Action Fund and the Wyss Foundation, have made promises that they won’t break any rules. They also stated that their money will not be used for activities such as getting people to vote, helping with voter registration, or supporting political candidates or parties. From 1990 to 2006, someone called Wyss donated a whopping $119,000 to different politicians and political organizations. That’s a lot! Unfortunately, Wyss never said anything about it and its too late for anyone to do anything about it because of something called the ‘statute of limitations’. Even though the Federal Election Commission wanted to take action against Wyss, they couldn’t. When he changed his focus to nonprofit causes, two Democratic politics-related organizations got some of the biggest donations from Wyss. These two groups are called the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund, they have the same founder and address. Together, they earned $245 million since 2016 donated by Wyss’ groups based on what tax records explain. About 10 years ago, Eric Kessler, an important guy from the Clinton administration and heir to an auto parts business, created a few organizations. These organizations will only accept donations for specific projects or ideas and not let them be used for elections activities. Amy Kurtz, who is head of the group called Sixteen Thirty Fund, said they always follow all the laws and regulations when it comes to how they use any donations they get. The New Venture Fund is set up to help nonprofits, while the Sixteen Thirty Fund has really gotten big with over 200 million dollars given by Wyss. Molly McUsic was the director of the Sixteen Thirty Fund and now leads the Berger Action Fund at Wyss. Sixteen Thirty Fund is an organization that donates money to both political committees and other organizations. These other groups use the donated money to fund TV ads that support certain candidates or causes. Government records show that they should be registered as a political committee, which would require them to share more information about their donations. A group made a complaint about the Wyss family, two organizations called the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund. Investigators from the FEC (Federal Election Commission) looked into it and said that even though it looks like money from Wyss and his nonprofits was used for political campaigns, there was not enough evidence to prove this. The investigators also noted that no one was able to explain how they can make sure this won’t happen again. The commissioners said ‘no’ to the complaint, but two of them promised to be more strict with those types of groups. What the two lawsuits said against the New Venture Fund was that they were either not telling donors the truth or not following their own rules. Sarah Walker, a former contractor, was the executive director of a project hosted by New Venture Fund. In 2022, Sarah filed a federal lawsuit claiming that this organization used money which people had donated with the intention that it would be tax-exempt to cover overhead and pay employees who did political work. She additionally argued that there was racial discrimination present in the hostile workplace environment she experienced. When asked for comment on the situation, Sarah declined. Lee Bodner, president of New Venture Fund, said that the allegations against them have no truth in them. He also mentioned that as a 501(c)(3) organization they do not get involved in any partisan activities. Another charity named ‘Fund For A Better Future’ has received $101 million since 2016 and one of their projects called ‘Climate Power’. This particular project helped to finance ads which promoted US President Biden’s plan – Build Back Better Agenda. Climate Power spent around 5.3 million dollars on supporting ads for about 30 House Democrats during the 2022 midterms election, records showed. A spokesperson named Niki Woodard said that they make sure their income and expenses are legal with restrictions given by donors. You Might Be Interested In Major dam collapses in southern Ukraine, flooding villages as Moscow and Kyiv trade blame NBA Hands Ja Morant a 25-Game Suspension Due to Second Incident with Gun on Social Media The Lack of Women in the Expanding 2024 Republican Presidential Field President Putin Visits Occupied Mariupol: How the Russian Leader has Changed the Region Sweltering Heat Wave Hits US South, Devastating Tornado in West Texas and Waterspout in Florida Beach Scorching Temperatures Challenge Texas’ Power Grid and Test Patience as Southern Residents Remain Without Electricity District of ColumbiaPoliticsTrending NewsU.S. News Share 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail Madison Thomas Follow Author Madison Thomas is a food journalist who covers the latest news and trends in the world of cuisine. She enjoys exploring new recipes and culinary trends, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting flavors to try. previous post Tragic End to EagleCam Story as Heavy Winds Blow Nest From Tree and Eaglet Dies next post Sunday’s NCAA Women’s Championship Game Breaks Ratings Records You may also like Bookmark A woman who burned Wyoming’s only full-service abortion... December 28, 2023 Bookmark Argument over Christmas gifts turns deadly as 14-year-old... December 28, 2023 Bookmark Pro-Palestinian protesters block airport access roads in New... December 28, 2023 Bookmark Trump ballot ban appealed to US Supreme Court... December 28, 2023 Bookmark Nikki Haley, asked what caused the Civil War,... December 28, 2023 Bookmark Trump transformed the Supreme Court. Now the justices... December 27, 2023 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ