Mercer Family Foundation
Background
The Mercer Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) foundation run by Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer.1“What Kind of Man Spends Millions to Elect Ted Cruz?” Bloomberg, January 20, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Oe3hY The Mercer family has funnelled millions of dollars to conservative causes including climate deniers like Arthur Robinson of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).2“Robert Mercer,” Inside Philanthropy. Archived November 1, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/M0nxs
According to a 2013 study by Drexel University sociologist Robert Brulle’s titled “Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations,” the Mercer Family Foundation spent at least $3,824,000 between 2003 and 2010 directly funding groups opposing climate change action. That money went to organizatons including The Heartland Institute, Manhattan Institute, Media Research Center, and Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).3“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
While Mercer and his daughter joined the Koch brothers’ political donor network after the 2010 Citizens United v. FEC, Politico reports it was Rebekah Mercer who decided they should establish their own political foundation. After becoming frustrated with the ineffectiveness of the Koch’s network, the Mercers shifted their focus to their own foundation. Eventually they stopped attending twice-a-year Koch donor summits and dialled back their support of the network. At the same time, the Mercer Family Foundation nearly doubled its giving between 2011 and 2014, donating $34.6 million to 30 nonprofits including The Government Accountability Institute, which produced “Clinton Cash,” a book criticizing Hillary Clinton, and Heritage Foundation where Rebekah sits as a board member.4“The most powerful woman in GOP politics,” Politico, September 7, 2016. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/c2xts
The Washington Post notes that the Mercer Family Foundation is so difficult to find online, that it is often mistaken for the Web site of a West Coast Mercer Family Foundation that gives small grants to aspiring math and physics students.5“How a reclusive computer programmer became a GOP money powerhouse,” The Washington Post, October 6, 2015. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/SBmwI
Offshore Investments
In November 2017, The “Paradise Papers,” a trove of millions of leaked documents reviewed by The Guardian, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and others, revealed how Robert Mercer used offshore investment accounts to shield investements made by the Mercer Family Foundation—which helped the Mercers build a $60m war chest for conservative causes—while legally avoiding US taxes.6Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
Mercer was director of eight Bermuda companies listed in the papers. The Guardian outlined how the Bermuda companies “appear to have been used to legally avoid a little-known US tax of up to 39% on tens of millions of dollars in investment profits amassed by the Mercer family’s foundation, which funded Bannon’s book [Clinton Cash] and a who’s who of conservative groups, along with a $475m retirement fund for the staff of Mercer’s hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies.”7Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
The Paradise Papers suggest that the Mercer Foundation, which has used its investments in Mercer’s Renaissance Technologies to fund its operations, was able to avoid paying unrelated business income tax (UBIT) by routing investments through an offshore company. While Renaissance Technologies’s main fund is based in the U.S. it also maintained “feeder funds” in Bermuda, registered to the office of Appleby, a legal and financial services firm.8Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
The UBIT is a tax designed to prevent nonprofits from competing unfairly with regular businesses, and only applies to investments financed by debt. However, nonprofits can legally route investments through an offshore company known as a “blocker.” The Mercer Family Foundation’s public IRS filings confirm it has never paid UBIT.9Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
The Bermuda-based Medallion Capital Investments was set up to accept investments from American charities or foundations “closely affiliated with an owner or employee” of Renaissance. 2004 and 2005 IRS forms confirmed that the Mercer Family Foundation had sent month through Medallion Capital Investments, suggesting that it was operating as a blocker for the foundation.10Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
Stance on Climate Change
The Mercer Family Foundation spent nearly $4 million between 2003 and 2010 funding groups that devote much of their time to stalling climate change action including groups like The Heartland Institute, Manhattan Institute, Media Research Center, and Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).11“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
In 2018, MapLight highlighted more than $4.4 million in spending by the Mercer Family Foundation to climate change deniers, according to the foundation’s latest tax return. Groups who received donations included Heartland, the CO2 Coalition who received $170,000.12Andrew Pere. “Tax Return Shows Mercer Family Fueled Climate Skeptics Last Year With More Than Million,” Maplight, December 14, 2018. Archived May 13, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pv4J2
“The Energy & Environment Legal Institute, a coal-funded nonprofit that uses lawsuits and public record requests to challenge environmental regulations and climate scientists, emerged as a new recipient of Mercer family largesse in 2017,” MapLight noted.13Andrew Pere. “Tax Return Shows Mercer Family Fueled Climate Skeptics Last Year With More Than Million,” Maplight, December 14, 2018. Archived May 13, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pv4J2
Funding
According to a 2013 study by Drexel University sociologist Robert Brulle’s titled “Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations,” The Mercer Family Foundation spent at least $3,824,000 between 2003 and 2010 directly funding groups opposing climate change action. That money went to organizatons including The Heartland Institute, Manhattan Institute, Media Research Center, And Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).14“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
The following data is compiled from the Conservative Transparency Project as well as public 990 forms as recent as 2016. Note that not all individual funding values have been verified by DeSmog.15“Mercer Family Foundation,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved November 1, 2016.
See the attached spreadsheet for additional details on the Mercer Family Foundation’s donations by year (.xlsx).
| Recipient Name | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | Grand Total |
| Media Research Center | $500,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,194,000 | $1,800,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,972,420 | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $20,466,420 | |||
| George W. Bush Foundation | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $1,000,000 | $5,000,000 | $1,972,245 | $10,072,245 | |||||||
| The Stony Brook Foundation | $2,186,215 | $1,231,067 | $1,263,938 | $2,904,636 | $2,099,970 | $9,685,826 | ||||||||
| Government Accountability Institute | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $1,735,000 | $2,000,000 | $1,725,000 | $7,460,000 | ||||||||
| Heartland Institute | $1,000,000 | $500,000 | $370,000 | $444,000 | $912,000 | $877,000 | $885,000 | $100,000 | $800,000 | $800,000 | $6,688,000 | |||
| The Federalist Society | $1,600,000 | $2,050,000 | $2,300,000 | $500,000 | $6,450,000 | |||||||||
| Reclaim New York | $75,000 | $1,250,000 | $1,600,000 | $1,760,000 | $4,685,000 | |||||||||
| Citizens United Foundation | $2,000,000 | $1,000,000 | $550,000 | $250,000 | $3,800,000 | |||||||||
| Museum of Natural History | $1,250,000 | $575,000 | $625,000 | $625,000 | $3,075,000 | |||||||||
| Donors Trust | $2,250,000 | $500,000 | $2,750,000 | |||||||||||
| Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine | $60,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | $965,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $500,000 | $2,375,000 | |||
| Manhattan Institute for Policy Research | $50,000 | $100,000 | $284,225 | $400,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $450,000 | $2,184,225 | |||||
| Heritage Foundation | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $500,000 | $2,000,000 | |||||||||
| George W. Bush Presidential Center | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | ||||||||||||
| Moving Pictures Institute | $100,000 | $300,000 | $500,000 | $800,000 | $1,700,000 | |||||||||
| Success Academy Charter Schools | $550,000 | $500,000 | $50,000 | $550,000 | $1,650,000 | |||||||||
| American Museum of Natural History | $250,000 | $1,350,000 | $1,600,000 | |||||||||||
| The Becket Fund | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $400,000 | $1,400,000 | ||||||||
| Young America’s Foundation | $50,000 | $50,000 | $1,100,000 | $100,000 | $1,300,000 | |||||||||
| Goldwater Institute | $100,000 | $250,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $1,250,000 | ||||||||
| Cato Institute | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $1,200,000 | |||||||||
| Illinois Policy Institute | $100,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $1,100,000 | ||||||||
| Home Depot Foundation | $1,100,000 | $1,100,000 | ||||||||||||
| Law Enforcement Agency Fund | $231,600 | $204,837 | $635,802 | $1,072,239 | ||||||||||
| Cold Spring Harbor Lab | $250,000 | $750,000 | $1,000,000 | |||||||||||
| Hospital for Special Surgery | $1,000,000 | $1,000,000 | ||||||||||||
| Center for Union Facts | $500,000 | $250,000 | $150,000 | $900,000 | ||||||||||
| King’s College | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $900,000 | ||||||||||
| Mathematical Sciences Research Institute | $400,000 | $400,000 | $800,000 | |||||||||||
| Susan B Anthony Education Fund | $300,000 | $500,000 | $800,000 | |||||||||||
| Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise | $550,000 | $250,000 | $800,000 | |||||||||||
| The Family Leader Foundation | $750,000 | $25,000 | $775,000 | |||||||||||
| Foundation for Cultural Review | $25,000 | $125,000 | $150,000 | $100,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 | $700,000 | |||||||
| Cherish Freedom Foundation | $50,000 | $305,000 | $250,000 | $50,000 | $655,000 | |||||||||
| The Calvin Coolidge Foundation | $25,000 | $108,333 | $273,000 | $80,000 | $130,000 | $616,333 | ||||||||
| Newark Beth Israel Medical Center Foundation | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| John Hancock Committee for the States | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| Rev the Vote Foundation, Inc. | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| Berkely Earth | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | |||||||||||
| The Barry Goldwater Institute | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| World Science Festival | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||
| Cleveland 2016 Host Committee Inc. | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| Cain Foundation | $500,000 | $500,000 | ||||||||||||
| American Transparency | $250,000 | $250,000 | $500,000 | |||||||||||
| Gatestone Institute | $50,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $450,000 | |||||||||
| Empire Center for Public Policy | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $400,000 | |||||||||
| CO2 Coalition | $150,000 | $170,000 | $320,000 | |||||||||||
| National Youth Science Fund | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $300,000 | ||||||||||
| Job Creators Alliance | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $300,000 | ||||||||||
| World Science Foundation | $294,500 | $294,500 | ||||||||||||
| Philanthropy Roundtable | $10,000 | $10,000 | $260,000 | $10,000 | $290,000 | |||||||||
| American Principles Project | $250,000 | $25,000 | $275,000 | |||||||||||
| Council for National Policy | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $25,000 | $275,000 | |||||||
| Families for Excellent Schools | $250,000 | $250,000 | ||||||||||||
| The American Conservative Union | $250,000 | $250,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Energy & Environment Legal Institute | $200,000 | $200,000 | ||||||||||||
| Reason Foundation | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | $150,000 | ||||||||||
| London Center for Policy Research | $150,000 | $150,000 | ||||||||||||
| JDRF | $132,000 | $132,000 | ||||||||||||
| Math for America | $125,000 | $125,000 | ||||||||||||
| Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change | $125,000 | $125,000 | ||||||||||||
| ACU Foundation | $120,000 | $120,000 | ||||||||||||
| Classroom Inc. | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | $120,000 | ||||||||||
| Mount Sinai School of Medicine | $115,000 | $115,000 | ||||||||||||
| Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | |||||||||||
| Columbus Zoo and Aquarium | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| United States Common Sense | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| Walking with the Wounded | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| Alliance for School Choice | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| Lincoln Network | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| Patton Foundation | $100,000 | $100,000 | ||||||||||||
| State Policy Network | $50,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 | |||||||||||
| Special Operations Warrior Foundation | $85,000 | $2,905 | $87,905 | |||||||||||
| Women’s Sports Foundation | $45,000 | $15,000 | $25,000 | $85,000 | ||||||||||
| LPD Commission International | $75,000 | $75,000 | ||||||||||||
| American Association for Aerosol Research | $4,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 | $12,000 | $4,000 | $13,000 | $30,000 | $71,000 | ||||||
| Historical Royal Places Inc. | $60,000 | $60,000 | ||||||||||||
| Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation | $55,000 | $55,000 | ||||||||||||
| International Center for the Preservation of Wild Animals | $50,000 | $50,000 | ||||||||||||
| Encounter for Culture and Education | $25,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||||||||||
| Silver Hill Hospital | $25,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 | |||||||||||
| American Educational Foundation Inc. | $50,000 | $50,000 | ||||||||||||
| Mayo Clinic | $50,000 | $50,000 | ||||||||||||
| Wildlife Conservation Society | $20,000 | $25,000 | $45,000 | |||||||||||
| The Frick Collection | $20,000 | $20,000 | $40,000 | |||||||||||
| Doctors of the World | $40,000 | $40,000 | ||||||||||||
| Texas Freedom Network | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 | $30,000 | ||||||||
| Community Foundation of Hudson Valley | $25,010 | $25,010 | ||||||||||||
| Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Anglosphere Society | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||||||||||
| Vision Mexico | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||||||||||
| 9-1-1 Veterans Inc. | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||||||||||
| James Madison Center for Free Speech | $25,000 | $25,000 | ||||||||||||
| World Wildlife Fund | $20,000 | $20,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Land Trust of Napa County | $20,000 | $20,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Leadership Institute | $15,000 | $15,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Peconic Land Trust | $15,000 | $15,000 | ||||||||||||
| Ovarian Cancer Research | $15,000 | $15,000 | ||||||||||||
| Compact for American Education Foundation | $13,500 | $13,500 | ||||||||||||
| The Leadership Foundation | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| New York Botanical Garden | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| Londonderry Volunter Rescue Squad | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| St. Judge’s Children Hospital | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Rockefeller University | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| William F Buckley Jr Program | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| The Fund for American Studies | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| Massachusetts General Cancer Center | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||||||||||||
| FlowerPower Foundation | $5,000 | $5,000 | ||||||||||||
| Ladies in Red | $3,000 | $3,000 | ||||||||||||
| Grand Total | $69,000 | $174,000 | $292,000 | $1,565,000 | $1,770,000 | $3,889,000 | $7,105,215 | $11,677,197 | $13,492,358 | $18,300,979 | $24,544,570 | $19,025,582 | $15,222,302 | $117,127,203 |
990 Forms
Key People
Rebekah Mercer — Director16“Rebekah Mercer,” LittleSis Profile. Accessed November 1, 2016.
In addition to her role as director of the Mercer Family Foundation, Rebekah Mecer is also a board member of a number of the groups that the Mercer Foundation regularly donates to, including the following:
- Moving Picture Institute — Board Member.17“Staff & Board,” Moving Picture Institute. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/t417f
- Manhattan Institute — Board of Trustees.18“About: Board of Trustees,” Manhattain Institute. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oggU4
- American Museum of Natural History — Board of Trustees.19“Board of Trustees,” American Museum of Natural History, February 8, 2016. Archived August 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/6FvwU
- Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation — Board of Trustees.20“Board of Trustees,” Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/lQsme
Location & Contact Information
According to the Mercer Family Foundation’s 2014 990 form, they held the following address:
119 West 72nd Street 248
New York, NY 10069
Other Resources
- “Mercer Family Foundation,” Wikipedia.
- “Rebekah Mercer,” Littlesis Profile.
Resources
- 1“What Kind of Man Spends Millions to Elect Ted Cruz?” Bloomberg, January 20, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/Oe3hY
- 2“Robert Mercer,” Inside Philanthropy. Archived November 1, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/M0nxs
- 3“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
- 4“The most powerful woman in GOP politics,” Politico, September 7, 2016. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/c2xts
- 5“How a reclusive computer programmer became a GOP money powerhouse,” The Washington Post, October 6, 2015. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/SBmwI
- 6Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
- 7Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
- 8Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
- 9Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
- 10Jon Swaine. “Offshore cash helped fund Steve Bannon’s attacks on Hillary Clinton,” The Guardian, November 7, 2017. Archived November 7, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/df1bt
- 11“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
- 12Andrew Pere. “Tax Return Shows Mercer Family Fueled Climate Skeptics Last Year With More Than Million,” Maplight, December 14, 2018. Archived May 13, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pv4J2
- 13Andrew Pere. “Tax Return Shows Mercer Family Fueled Climate Skeptics Last Year With More Than Million,” Maplight, December 14, 2018. Archived May 13, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/pv4J2
- 14“Study Details Dark Money Flowing to Climate Science Denial,” DeSmog, December 23, 2013.
- 15“Mercer Family Foundation,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved November 1, 2016.
- 16“Rebekah Mercer,” LittleSis Profile. Accessed November 1, 2016.
- 17“Staff & Board,” Moving Picture Institute. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/t417f
- 18“About: Board of Trustees,” Manhattain Institute. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/oggU4
- 19“Board of Trustees,” American Museum of Natural History, February 8, 2016. Archived August 29, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/6FvwU
- 20“Board of Trustees,” Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation. Archived November 2, 2016. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/lQsme
