NYC's Robin Hood Charity Condemns Newly-Passed Senate Bill. Its Billionaire Donors Are Staying Mum
O n Tuesday afternoon, Robin Hood, which describes itself as the largest anti-poverty philanthropy in New York City, issued a statement condemning the U.S. Senate's passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The bill has been widely criticized as a 'billionaire bill' for cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans and removing access to Medicaid for millions of poor Americans.
Robin Hood CEO Richard R. Buery, Jr, who receives over $1 million annually in compensation, called the act 'deeply regressive' and denounced it for 'pull[ing] the rug out from under everyday working and poor Americans in a moment of widespread economic strain.' Noting that the poverty rate in New York City is the highest in a decade, Buery added, 'At its core, the bill violates everything we know about fighting poverty and sparking economic opportunity.'
What about the seven billionaires on Robin Hood's board–and 10 more billionaire former board members or leadership council members? Forbes reached out to each of them–plus four billionaire donors–for their feedback on the bill, which awaits a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. None responded with a comment. Six, including hotel and real estate mogul Barry Sternlicht (a board member) and hedge fund founder Clifford Asness (a leadership council member), declined to comment.
Robin Hood was founded in 1988 by hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, who Forbes estimates is now worth $8.1 billion. Since its establishment, Robin Hood has raked in billions from New York City's wealthiest people–and says it has invested nearly $3 billion to help the city's poorest improve their lives.
"The only reason I'm working right now is so I can continue my philanthropy…I certainly don't want any more money for myself" Tudor Jones told Forbes in 2013.
A representative for Tudor Jones said Wednesday he was "unavailable to comment' on the foundation's statement about the Senate bill. Robin Hood did not respond to multiple requests to clarify whether Tudor Jones was involved in the statement condemning the bill.
Hedge fund billionaire George Soros was one of the first billionaire donors to put his name behind the initiative back in the late 1990s, with a $4.5 million grant, which he then followed with a $50 million matching grant in 2019, then the largest single contribution to the foundation. Robin Hood's board matched the donation, for a total of $100 million raised. A representative for Soros has not responded to a request for comment.
Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and a former mayor of New York, has also been public in his support for Robin Hood, praising it for continuing to 'strengthen the city's safety net and promote economic opportunity' and calling his foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, one of Robin Hood's 'champions.' He declined to comment on their statement. Pershing Square, hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman's foundation, pitched in $25 million to help Robin Hood reach a $100 million donation milestone at their annual gala in 2015. Ackman, too, declined to comment. So did Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin (estimated net worth: $46.2 billion), who donated $15 million to Robin Hood in 2017.
Among Robin Hood's former board members: Jeff Bezos' mother Jacklyn Bezos and his brother Mark. Forbes was not able to reach either of them for comment. While Jeff Bezos has not publicly commented on the Big Beautiful Bill, he has appeared to support the Trump administration, attending Trump's inauguration in January. Last year, he told The New York Times he was 'very hopeful' about Trump's second term as 'he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation.'
If signed into law, the bill would make permanent provisions first introduced in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, benefitting the top 0.1% of households with an average tax break of over $250,000, according to Tax Policy Center. That would likely benefit all the Robin Hood billionaire donors. The Senate bill also includes a generous tax subsidy for private jet buyers, a common must-have for the billionaire set.
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