Hansjorg Wyss, who has an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion and lives in Wyoming, has become a significant donor to Liberal groups in recent years yet remains tight-lipped about his citizenship status.
Foreign nationals who don’t hold U.S. green cards are blocked from making direct donations to candidates for office or Political Action Committees. Yet, they are permitted to contribute to advocacy groups that seek to sway public policy.
In a recently filed lawsuit, watchdog group Americans for Public Trust challenged that distinction, blaming the Federal Election Commission for acting too slowly on a complaint it filed against Wyss in May 2021.
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The lawsuit filed in U.S. district court for Washington DC cites media interviews given by Wyss and a regulatory filing indicating that he is not a U.S. citizen and claims that the FEC has to examine whether his donations violate election laws.
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“Americans for Public Trust is suing the FEC for failing to investigate foreign money in our elections,” Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust, explained to The Hill.
“Mr. Wyss, who is barred from directly or indirectly influencing our elections, has done just that by potentially funneling hundreds of millions of dollars through the Arabella Advisors network to benefit liberal and left-wing causes,” she continued.
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“Until the FEC takes action, we won’t know the full extent of his foreign interference in our electoral process.”
Spokespersons for Wyss have repeatedly insisted that his donations are permissible and go only toward causes he thinks are important instead of backing political candidates.
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Wyss, 86, made headlines recently as part of a joint bid to take over British Premier League team Chelsea from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
He put together a failed takeover bid last year to purchase Tribune Publishing, the company behind the Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News, and many other U.S. newspapers.
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Last year, a New York Times article noted that Wyss had “quietly become one of the most important donors to left-leaning advocacy groups and an increasingly influential force among Democrats.”
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Questions have long swirled about Wyss’ citizenship status. In a 2014 speech, he stated he carried just a Swiss passport and did not have a U.S. green card, according to Swiss outlet Bick.
According to RealClearPolitics, his sister Hedi Wyss wrote in a 2014 book about her brother that he “never applied for citizenship” in the U.S.
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