A reclusive Swiss billionaire has quietly funneled more than $800 million into America’s left-wing political machine — and red states are stepping in to stop it.
Hansjörg Wyss, an 89-year-old foreign national worth over $5 billion, has emerged as one of the top financiers of progressive causes in the United States, despite not holding U.S. citizenship or even a green card. Now, lawmakers are moving swiftly to shut down his influence over ballot measures that have radically reshaped state constitutions across the country.
According to a report from election watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT), Wyss set up two nonprofit vehicles — the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund — that have pushed close to half a billion dollars into left-wing dark money groups. Most of those funds have flowed into the sprawling Arabella Advisors network, particularly the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the “heavyweight of Democratic dark money,” as even The Atlantic once described it.
Through the Sixteen Thirty Fund, foreign cash has flooded into state-level initiatives legalizing late-term abortion, expanding absentee voting, legalizing drugs, and embedding those policies directly into state constitutions — where they’re all but impossible to undo.
In Michigan alone, Wyss-linked groups spent $33 million to pass ballot measures that enshrined abortion-on-demand and no-excuse absentee voting into the state constitution. In Missouri, they dropped $13 million to help pass marijuana legalization and Medicaid expansion.
This tactic — using ballot measures as a backdoor for leftist policy — allows foreign money to sidestep federal restrictions on campaign contributions while still steering the outcome of U.S. elections. And although these initiatives are technically nonpartisan, the results have overwhelmingly benefited Democratic candidates.
“It’s a dangerous loophole,” said Janae Stracke, vice president of Heritage Action. “Foreign money in state ballot initiatives thwarts the American voice. This is an 80/20 issue. Americans don’t want foreign nationals reshaping their laws.”
In response, several red states are taking action. Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming have already passed legislation banning foreign money from influencing local ballot initiatives, and more states are expected to follow suit. Wyoming’s ban, House Bill 337, was signed into law in March by Republican Governor Mark Gordon and hailed by the state’s Secretary of State as a “landmark” win for election integrity.
Stracke believes bipartisan momentum is growing: “Once Americans understand how much foreign money is pouring into their state to change their laws, they want it to stop — fast.”
Wyss has made no secret of his ideology. His sister once wrote that he’s interested in “reinterpret[ing] the American Constitution in light of progressive politics.” Reports suggest he’s done exactly that by quietly rewriting state constitutions through coordinated ballot campaigns.
Even so, his representatives remain evasive. When asked if Wyss supports legislation banning foreign money in state ballot measures, the Berger Action Fund acknowledged its contributions to the Sixteen Thirty Fund but declined to take a position on the new laws.
According to APT, Wyss’s influence isn’t limited to state initiatives. In 2023, the Sixteen Thirty Fund funneled $1 million into a left-wing media operation that later spent $9 million boosting the Democrat candidate in Wisconsin’s pivotal Supreme Court election.
“Wyss and his network are deeply embedded in the Democratic political machine,” said an APT spokesperson. “They’re driving the most radical policies of the left while hiding behind layers of nonprofit legal shields.”
Several other troubling revelations have surfaced. Chinese-backed groups have quietly pumped millions into U.S.-based climate organizations connected to Arabella’s network, raising additional questions about foreign interference via the nonprofit route.
“It’s the money,” Stracke said. “That’s the only reason anyone would defend this. If we don’t act now, they’ll rewrite the Constitution in state after state before anyone notices what’s happening.”
As red states move to outlaw foreign-funded ballot campaigns, attention is turning to Congress. Republicans are signaling they may soon pursue federal reforms to end what many now call the “foreign dark money pipeline.”
For now, the fight is state by state — and gaining steam.
