Who is Hansjörg Wyss, 88-year-old Swiss billionaire cast as George Soros’ successor?
From Fortune Magazine:
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss is being cast as the conservative right’s next George Soros, attacking his foreign origins and deep pockets. Republicans are pushing back against dark money in US politics, highlighting Wyss’s connections to liberal politics. Despite donating millions, Wyss maintains he doesn’t seek to influence US political campaigns. Wyss and conservative figures, like Leonard Leo, are trading jabs and accusations about political influence, foreign origins, and meddling with US elections. This is part of a running theme where Republicans have hunted for a figure resembling George Soros, a well-known conservative target for years. Democrats and Republicans are wrestling over dark money, foreign influence, and politically-fraught discussions over investigations into fraudulent elections. Progressive organizations insist they restrict denying donations from being used for campaign purposes, and federal law prohibits foreign nationals from influencing US elections or funding political candidates and parties. Vice versa, Wyss has boarded organizations like the Center for American Progress and has made large contributions to Sixteen Thirty Fund, which specifically doesn’t disclose its funders in electoral politics. Despite attacking Soros for not proving he hasn’t influenced US politics, current conservatives have been making broad claims about Wyss with the same lack of evidence. The Canadian-made Marneé Banks often attacks those who openly criticize Wyss while herself members of nonprofits that do the same. Political hypocrisy and the hunt for the “new George Soros” is a discussion that continues to rage on both sides of the political spectrum.
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