In the largest known political advocacy donation in U.S. history, industrialist Barre Seid funded a new group run by Federalist Society co-chair Leonard Leo, who guided Trump’s Supreme Court picks and helped end federal abortion rights.
By Andrew Perez, The Lever, and Andy Kroll and Justin Elliott, ProPublica
An elderly, ultra-secretive Chicago businessman has given the largest known donation to a political advocacy group in U.S. history — worth $1.6 billion — and the recipient is one of the prime architects of conservatives’ efforts to reshape the American judicial system, including the Supreme Court.

Through a series of opaque transactions over the past two years, Barre Seid, a 90-year-old manufacturing magnate, gave the massive sum to a nonprofit run by Leonard Leo, who co-chairs the conservative legal group the Federalist Society.
Recent Posts
Israel Continues To Starve, Target Gaza Civilians In Ongoing Genocide
July 6, 2025
Take Action Now Israeli commanders continue deliberately to starve the civilian population, continuing in some form a blockade on staples they began…
As Flood Deaths Rise, Texas Officials Blast Faulty Forecast By DOGE-Gutted National Weather Service
July 5, 2025
Take Action Now “Experts warned for months that drastic and sudden cuts at the National Weather Service by Trump could impair their forecasting…
“Arrest Now, Ask Questions Later”: Why Did L.A. ICE Agents Arrest and Jail U.S. Citizen Andrea Velez?
July 3, 2025
Take Action Now “They didn’t have vests that said ICE or anything. Their cars didn’t have license plates. … Just because of the color of our…
Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill Is Naked Class War
July 3, 2025
Take Action Now Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” trades tax cuts on millionaires for the dissolution of society.By Hamilton Nolan, In These Times…