The Rich Are Hoarding Their Wealth Using Charity Funds
Wall Street–backed charity funds provide ultrawealthy donors with massive charitable tax breaks — yet operate without any requirement to ever distribute the money to working charities.
33 Articles by: Helen Santoro
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Helen Santoro is a journalist based in Colorado.
Joe Biden Is Giving More Leniency to Corporate Lawbreakers
The Biden Justice Department just announced it is making it easier for corporate lawbreakers to avoid prosecution — even if they have committed multiple crimes, earned significant profit from their wrongdoing, and failed to self-disclose the misconduct.
The Secret Toxins Left Behind After Hurricane Helene
Lobbying by the chemical industry and weak regulations are obscuring details about industrial toxins contaminating areas hit by disasters like Hurricane Helene. If Trump takes office, his administration will likely weaken disclosure rules further.
Amid Hurricane Milton, GOP Reps Are Blocking Climate Action
As Hurricane Milton bears down on their districts, two Republican representatives backed by fossil fuel companies are pushing legislation that claims the climate crisis is a “false emergency.”
Dark Money Is Flooding Kamala Harris’s Campaign Coffers
Before Kamala Harris became vice president, she had a clear message about dark money groups: they play a dangerously influential role in our political system. Now her campaign is reaping the rewards of massive donations from these very sources.
Dark Money Advocates Want Tax Breaks for Campaign Donations
A new lawsuit backed by Trump-linked operatives seeks to make dark money donations tax-deductible. The rich already face no spending limits on influencing elections and, if successful, the suit could turbocharge dark money in politics.
How Dark Money Groups Bought a Tax Cut in Colorado
Dark money groups extracted huge tax cuts from Colorado lawmakers by threatening to push ballot initiatives that would slash taxes even further. Referenda should promote democracy — yet billionaires are using them to blackmail the state.
Will Kamala Harris Finally Kill the Billionaire Tax Break?
Kamala Harris has signaled she supports closing the carried interest tax loophole, an enormous boon to rich investors looking to avoid higher taxes. But she’s also received $80 million this year from finance, insurance, and real-estate sectors.
White Nationalists May Be Behind GOP Worker Surveillance
An anti-immigration nonprofit with ties to hate groups is pushing GOP lawmakers to expand the use of a government website designed to screen workers’ immigration status.
Big Tech Consolidation Amplified the CrowdStrike Outage
On Friday, an update to a cybersecurity program took down Microsoft systems across the globe. Microsoft has resisted efforts to regulate a root cause of this chaos: the concentration of digital infrastructure in the hands of a few tech giants.
Trump Was Shot With a Gun PA Republicans Refused to Ban
Just months before an assassin tried to kill Donald Trump, Pennsylvania Republicans blocked an attempt to ban the type of assault rifle used in the attack. It’s lunacy that these guns are on the streets — and that you can buy them at only 18.
Most Large US Public Charities Are Now Dark-Money Funds
Finance giants like Fidelity and Schwab are pushing “donor-advised funds” that enable the ultrawealthy to funnel cash to far-right extremist groups anonymously under the guise of charitable giving. Project 2025 has benefited enormously.
J. D. Vance Wants to Crack Down Harder on Abortion Access
GOP vice presidential nominee J. D. Vance has pressured lawmakers to kill a rule that blocks police from accessing the medical records of people seeking abortions — an indication of the threat a Trump-Vance administration would pose to reproductive health.
Wall Street Is Profiting From Deadly Asbestos Exposure
Private equity firms are scoring huge payouts from manufacturers to take on the financial risks of people getting sick from asbestos poisoning — and using ruthless legal maneuvers to delay and deny compensation to victims.
Boeing Has Allies in the Biden Justice Department
Boeing is facing scrutiny from the Justice Department that could lead to criminal charges. But a department official involved in the case formerly consulted on behalf of the company — just one among many such officials with close corporate connections.
The Rail Industry Is Still Lobbying Against Safety Rules
Since the 2023 East Palestine derailment disaster, the railroad industry has continued to lobby against federal safety regulations, even as new data suggests that recent increases in train length have made derailments more likely.
Why NY Governor Kathy Hochul Killed Congestion Pricing
A historic congestion pricing plan for New York City was slated to go into effect this month. NY governor Kathy Hochul suddenly blocked it this week — and has taken tens of thousand of dollars in campaign funding from auto groups opposed to the plan.
Universities Are Profiting From Blocking Drug-Price Reform
Teaming up with Big Pharma and Wall Street, universities are profiting by fighting government efforts to curtail soaring drug prices. A case in point: UCLA has reaped more than a billion dollars from its development of Xtandi, a lifesaving cancer drug.
Generic Drugmakers Want to Keep Medicine Prices High
The generic drug industry is pushing back against a government effort to lower the cost of lifesaving medications, even though the plan is built around letting them make more generic drugs.
Key Bridge Collapse Shipowner Could Legally Skirt Liability
Big Oil and shipping interests have lobbied for years to keep a law on the books that caps their liability following deadly disasters. The company linked to the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse aims to use it to avoid paying damages and compensation.