U.S. Politicians Can’t Stop Taking Len Blavatnik’s Money

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U.S. Politicians Can’t Stop Taking Len Blavatnik’s Money

October 21, 2019By Casey Michel

Last month, leading anti-kleptocracy voices in the U.S., Ukraine, Russia, and elsewhere sounded the alarm about a massive donation that Len Blavatnik, a Soviet-born businessman with close ties to sanctioned Russian figures, made to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Blavatnik’s donation was, as one expert said, a clear instance of the “soft enabling of kleptocracy,” and fit firmly in Blavatnik’s history of using his funds for “image launder[ing].”

As new documents show, Blavatnik’s financial offer to CFR wasn’t the only substantial donation he’s made recently.

According to new filings with the Federal Election Commission, Blavatnik — who is estimated to be worth approximately $19 billion, and who has U.S. citizenship — has been offering record-breaking donations to American politicians and political committees on both sides of the aisle. Thus far, it appears that Democrats and Republicans alike are willing to take his money, despite major concerns from those who’ve followed Blavatnik’s career and/or those who work in the sphere of anti-kleptocracy.

As the filings show, just last month Blavatnik issued a $200,000 donation to the “McCarthy Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising committee for House GOP leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Blavatnik additionally offered two further donations to McCarthy’s reelection campaign, totaling $5,600.

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Sir Leonard "Len" Blavatnik (Ukrainian: , Leonid Valentinovich Blavatnik; born June 14, 1957) is a Soviet-born Jewish-American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He made his fortune through business via diversified investments in myriad companies through his conglomerate company, Access Industries.

As of January 2018, Blavatnik was the wealthiest man in the United Kingdom, and the 50th wealthiest in the world, with a net worth of US$21.2 billion.[3] In 2017, Blavatnik received a knighthood for services to philanthropy.

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Political donations
In 2011, Blavatnik donated to both President Barack Obama and his GOP rival, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.[31]

Blavatnik is a supporter of the US Republican Party, and in 2015–2016 donated a total of $7.35 million to six Republican political candidates, including South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and Arizona Senator John McCain.[32] In February 2016, Blavatnik donated over $1 million to an anti-Donald Trump GOP group.[33] He also donated $1 million to the committee for the inauguration of Donald Trump.[32] In August 2017, political scientist Bo Rothstein resigned from the Blavatnik School of Government out of opposition to Blavatnik's politics.[34]

Blavatnik and his American wife, Emily, also donated to Democratic Party candidates Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton.[35]

In 2017, after two senior Trump administration officials went on record as being lobbyists for Blavatnik’s Access Industries[36], Blavatnik was mentioned in investigations led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russian donations to the administration.[37] Since April 2016 Blavatnik contributed $383,000 to the Republican National Committee and $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. However, he did not give directly to the Trump campaign.[38] Between 2015 and 2017, Blavatnik contributed $3.5 million to Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell's super PAC.[39]