The Funders of the Right

FEATURED PROFILES

A Special Issue of Right Web News featuring profiles on some of the key foundations and financial backers, past and present, of the U.S. Right.

Bradley Foundation
A major backer of neoconservatism, in 2007 the Bradley Foundation gave $1 million to conservative publisher Encounter Books; nearly $1 million to the Hudson Institute; and $30 million to other projects.

Castle Rock Foundation
A major financier of right-wing causes, the Coors family’s Castle Rock Foundation provided seed money for both the Heritage Foundation and the Free Congress Foundation.

Earhart Foundation
One of the oldest conservative foundations, the Earhart Foundation has funded the work of several key rightists scholars and think tanks, including the American Enterprise Institute and the Hudson Institute, as well as several Nobel-winning economists.

Olin Foundation
When it shuttered in 2005, the Olin Foundation—one of the principal financiers of the rise of the News Right—claimed job well done.

Smith Richardson Foundation
The Smith Richardson Foundation, a backer of militarist defense policies since the 1980s, has supported both neoconservative and centrist policy organizations.

Scaife Foundations
From Cold War anticommunism to the “war on terror,” the Scaife Foundations have been a major patron of U.S. militarism for decades.

Richard Scaife
Beset by a string of marital and legal problems, the iconic financier of the U.S. Right has been forced to cut back his charitable giving in recent years.

Melvin Sembler
A high-powered Republican Party donor and a real estate magnate, Sembler has funded groups like Freedoms Watch and sits on the board of trustees of the American Enterprise Institute.

ALSO NEW ON RIGHT WEB

U.S.-Israeli Relations: Storm Clouds Ahead?
Analysis by Jim Lobe | Posted February 24, 2009

A likely Likud-led coalition government in Israel will likely find itself at loggerheads with an Obama administration intent on talking to Iran and stabilizing southwest Asia. Read story.

Signs of a U.S.-Syria Thaw?
By Ali Gharib | Posted February 23, 2009

Planned U.S. congressional delegations to Syria underscore Obama’s desire to restore diplomatic relations with Damascus. Read story.

Generals Seek to Reverse Obama Withdrawal Decision
By Gareth Porter | Posted on February 9, 2009

President Obama’s decision to stick to his campaign pledge regarding troop withdrawal from Iraq is facing strong opposition within the military. Read story.

More Troops, More Worries, Less Consensus on Afghanistan
Analysis by Jim Lobe | Posted on February 9, 2009

Critics fear that Obama’s potential “surge” in Afghanistan may incite, rather than resolve, violence and resentment from Al Qaeda. Read story.

Israeli Settlements Expanding
By Daniel Luban | Posted on January 30, 2009

The arrival in Israel of U.S. peace envoy George Mitchell, a long time critic of Israeli settlements, coincides with a newly released study detailing settlement expansion. Read story.

Obama’s Quick Start Raises Hopes
By Jim Lobe | Posted on January 30, 2009

Within days of his inauguration, Obama had already begun to take substantive steps toward jumpstarting Arab-Israeli peace process. Read story.

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