A new database launched by Americans for Public Trust has exposed over $5 billion in foreign money flowing into American politics—and the totals are climbing.
The watchdog nonprofit rolled out the first-of-its-kind tracking tool Friday to help lawmakers, reporters, and concerned citizens follow foreign cash as it bankrolls ballot initiatives, voter registration drives, and issue advocacy campaigns across the nation. The public database represents months of research compiling publicly available tax filings, disclosure forms, and financial records that have previously been scattered across multiple government agencies and reporting systems, making it difficult for watchdogs and the public to see the full scope of foreign influence operations.
Executive director Caitlin Sutherland told The Center Square the timing is critical.
“As we enter the height of midterm election season, it is critical that the public is aware of the vast sums of foreign funds flowing across our borders to influence the outcomes of our political battles.”
The database—titled Follow Foreign Money—has already tracked 523 groups, uncovered 12,094 records, and documented more than $5 billion in foreign spending. The tool allows users to search by organization name, donor country, issue area, or funding amount, providing transparency that advocates say has been sorely lacking in discussions about foreign influence in American civic life.
Sutherland said American politics is being shaped by foreign cash “whether through ballot initiatives, issue advocacy, or voter registration.”
“That’s why we’ve created this first-of-its-kind database to help the public untangle the complex web of foreign money bankrolling leftwing nonprofits,” Sutherland said.
Foreign money as a direct political contribution is banned under federal law. But the watchdog says foreign governments, charities, and nationals are exploiting loopholes that allow them to fund lobbying, protests, ballot harvesting, and state ballot campaigns. These activities fall into gray areas of campaign finance law that have grown increasingly controversial as the amounts involved have skyrocketed in recent years. While foreign entities cannot contribute directly to candidates or political parties, current federal law does not prohibit them from funding nonprofit organizations that engage in issue advocacy, as long as those groups are not directly coordinating with campaigns.
Among the biggest recipients: the Sixteen Thirty Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation, and the Gates Medical Research Institute. These organizations operate as fiscally sponsored projects or pass-through entities that can accept foreign donations and then redistribute funds to other advocacy groups working on domestic political issues.
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss appears repeatedly as a donor—including over $300 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund alone. Wyss, who made his fortune in medical device manufacturing, has become one of the most significant foreign funders of American progressive causes, though he maintains homes in the United States and has stated his support for environmental and democratic initiatives.
In 2024, The Center Square reported the Sixteen Thirty Fund helped prop up Missouri’s Amendment 3 campaign that enshrined abortion into the state constitution. Missouri Sen. Ben Brown used the case as a warning about foreigners essentially purchasing amendments to state constitutions. The Missouri campaign highlighted growing concerns among state legislators that ballot initiative processes—originally designed to give citizens direct democratic power—were being influenced by out-of-state and foreign money.
Missouri has since joined many other states in banning foreign money from funding ballot issue campaigns. The wave of state-level restrictions reflects mounting bipartisan concern about foreign influence, though the measures vary widely in scope and enforcement mechanisms.
Other foreign funders include the London-based Arcadia Fund, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, and the IKEA Foundation. These international charitable organizations have justified their U.S. activities as supporting global causes like climate change mitigation and children’s welfare that transcend national boundaries.
Higher education is also awash in foreign cash. According to the database, nearly $12 billion from China and Qatar—countries openly hostile to the United States—has flooded the American higher education system for decades. This funding has raised national security concerns about potential influence over research priorities, academic freedom, and the education of future American leaders.
Climate activism has been heavily backed by foreign money as well. A network of foreign charities has spent almost $2 billion bankrolling U.S. policy fights and advancing what the watchdog calls an extreme climate agenda. These funds have supported litigation against energy companies, campaigns against pipeline construction, and advocacy for regulatory changes that critics say could harm American economic interests.
“Stopping the flow of billions of dollars in foreign funds into our political system should be a top priority for every lawmaker interested in safeguarding the integrity and sovereignty of our elections and political systems,” Sutherland said.
