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.