The True Story of Dark Mney Network ARABELLA of Leftist Billionaires

Scott Walter, author of Arabella: The Dark Money Network of Leftist Billionaires Secretly Transforming America.(Encounter Books)

Exposes Arabella Advisors as a major "dark money" operation that channels billions into progressive causes through opaque networks and deceptive grassroots groups, revealing its significant influence on U.S. politics and its far-reaching impact on issues from Supreme Court nominations to election manipulation.

The Gates Foundation decided in late June to halt making grants to nonprofit funds administered by the consulting firm Arabella Advisors. 

Some nonprofits that work with Arabella are already seeking distance from the firm in order to preserve their relationships with the Gates Foundation, which primarily supports health initiatives around the globe.In addition to its consulting work on behalf of nonprofits and philanthropists, Arabella also manages several “dark money” funds that support Democrats and the progressive movement.

The Gates Foundation has disbursed or pledged about $450 million to nonprofit funds administered by Arabella over the last sixteen years, according to the foundation’s records. It is one of the earliest, and largest, backers of nonprofit funds managed by Arabella.

 

Over the last few years, Arabella has become a target of conservative watchdogs because of its work with groups that funnel money toward progressive causes. With President Trump back in the White House, the political risks have only mounted.They, and others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal and sensitive conversations.

While billionaires like George Soros, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett are well known as left-wing megadonors transforming the country’s politics, few Americans know about Arabella Advisors, a “dark money” operation that channels much of this money into particular causes via pop-up groups designed to look like grassroots outfits. Citizens across the spectrum will be shocked to learn how Arabella’s empire secretly operates using arrangements that produce the darkest of “dark money.”

Thanks to the author and his colleagues at the Capital Research Center, which first exposed Arabella, even the mainstream press have begun to report on this scandalous story. As this book reveals, Arabella is a major player in battles over Supreme Court nominations, environmentalism, abortion, Medicare for All, fake local news outlets, “Zuck Bucks” that manipulate election offices, lawsuits brought by Democratic super-lawyer (and Steele dossier booster) Marc Elias, and much more.

The money is staggering. In the 2018 election cycle, Arabella’s nonprofits took in $1.2 billion, more than double the fundraising of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee combined. In the 2020 election cycle, Arabella’s fundraising spiked to $2.4 billion.

This mountain of money explains why the left-leaning major media are alarmed. Arabella is “the indisputable heavyweight of Democratic dark money,” warns the Atlantic. A “dark-money behemoth,” says Politico. An “opaque network,” says the New York Times, that funnels “hundreds of millions of dollars through a daisy chain of groups supporting Democrats and progressive causes.”

Scott Walter is president of Capital Research Center. He served in the George W. Bush Administration as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and was vice president at the Philanthropy Roundtable, editing Philanthropy magazine and producing donor guidebooks on aid to the poor, public policy research, and other topics. Walter has testified on “dark money” nonprofits to the US House and Senate, IRS, and state legislatures. He has written for and been quoted in such outlets as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.