Leonard Leo, a billionaire conservative philanthropist who runs a vast network of conservative nonprofits, called on his organizations to start “weaponizing” ideas that have long been advocated by the left.
A letter sent Wednesday to organizations supported by Leo's 85 Fund said the fund would conduct a “comprehensive review” of the organizations it supports and “adjust the extent to which it funds idea and policy development.” The goal, according to Leo's letter, is to ensure the philanthropy is not overly focused on “ideation,” or, as Leo puts it, “the development and education of conservative ideas and policies.” Instead, Leo wants his organization to adopt more aggressive tactics that “weaponize” ideas to produce more tangible results, a strategy Leo suggests liberals have been effective in pushing for causes.
“Leftists have built powerful networks of activists, academics, journalists, philanthropists, and experts in other fields who can work together to influence public attitudes and exert political pressure on public officials,” Leo said. “They have invested in talent pipelines to pump talent into the centers of power in government where policies are implemented. They have cultivated litigation as a means to use the law to create change. And beyond politics and the law, left-wing philanthropies have built or hijacked vast infrastructures to control a variety of cultural bottlenecks.”
“In contrast, there is woefully inadequate funding to implement and weaponize[conservative]ideas and policies to undermine liberal dominance,” Leo continued.
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Leonard Leo spoke at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC on April 23, 2019.
Leo's letter cited the George Soros-funded Taiz Foundation and the Hansjörg Wyss-backed Arabella Advisors as examples of organizations that “foster action-oriented campaigns.” Leo pointed to support for national NGOs such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH). SJP has been at the forefront of stoking anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses across the country since the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack that left more than 1,000 innocent Israelis dead and hundreds taken hostage. Meanwhile, WPATH has been at the forefront of the transgender movement, publishing treatment standards that doctors and public officials use to justify “gender-affirming treatment” for minors.
“With billions of dollars at their disposal by donors like Hansjörg Wyss and the Arabella Advisors Network, the left can significantly outspend the conservative movement to change American society,” Leo told Fox News Digital. “So if they want to be successful, they need to focus on doing more with less and leveraging the talents of the conservative movement to exert influence.”
Leo is co-chair and former vice-chair of the Federalist Society, an organization focused on advancing the principles of limited constitutional government, especially in the legal profession. Leo is credited with transforming the Society into a powerful legal organization that now has over 70,000 members. Meanwhile, Leo is also considered one of the most influential figures in former President Trump's Supreme Court nominations. Leo compiled the list of judicial nominees that Trump announced during his 2016 campaign, before Trump nominated Federalist Society-backed Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
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After Trump was elected, Leo stepped down from the day-to-day work of the Federalist Society but remained as co-chair. Meanwhile, in 2022, Leo's Marble Freedom Trust received $1.6 billion in donations from American businessman and Republican donor Bare Said. The Financial Times reported this week that an analysis of publicly disclosed financial information indicates Leo still has about $1 billion left to spend. A representative for Leo declined to disclose the total number of NGOs funded by the 85 Fund.
“If we want to be successful, we need to focus on leveraging the talents of the conservative movement to exert influence and do more with less.”
“We will increase our support for organisations that criticise companies and financial institutions for succumbing to the 'woke mind' virus spread by regulators and NGOs, and for having to pay the price for putting far-left ideology above consumers,” Leo told the Financial Times in a rare interview.
Leo told the outlet that his Marble Freedom Trust is increasingly focusing on going after “woke” banks and pro-China companies in a variety of sectors, including food production and artificial intelligence. Leo also hinted that he plans to invest in local U.S. media outlets over the next year.
Protesters hold signs against conservative billionaire philanthropist Leonard Leo.
Leo's calls for his group to “run with the gun” and “weaponize” their ideas angered liberal critics.
“Leonard Leo's bold call to 'weaponize' the conservative movement further exposes his strategy of using his dark money network to impose a right-wing agenda on ordinary Americans and manipulate it to favor the powerful few,” said Carolina Ciccone, executive director of the nongovernmental organization watchdog Accountable US. “To be clear, this isn't just about shaping conservative ideology; it's about weaponizing the very institutions established to protect the rights of ordinary Americans and making them serve the interests of right-wing special interests.”
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Jay Willis, a former GQ writer who is now editor-in-chief of the progressive commentary website Balls & Strike, accused Leo of trying to rebrand himself as “an Elon Musk-style culture warrior ranting about the 'woke mind virus.'”
