Grassley cited reports that the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund have poured millions into CCP-linked entities.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) is investigating the Gates Foundation and two other left-wing organizations for pouring millions into entities connected to the Chinese Communist Party.
Earlier this week, Grassley wrote letters to the Gates Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund asking those organizations to confirm whether they funded CCP-tied organizations, including projects potentially tied to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
“According to recent reports, the Gates Foundation, through grants and direct payments, have funded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its allies. I am writing today to ask you whether these reports are true or not and, if true, how your organization’s conduct comports with 501(c)(3) requirements,” said Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Grassley used the same language in the letters to the Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. The Iowa Republican is giving each of the foundations until November 10 to respond to his questions about the donations.
Grassley’s letters to each organization cite news reports about their suspected funding of CCP-linked entities. Those news stories are based on publicly disclosed tax forms the nonprofits filed with the IRS.
The Gates Foundation reportedly donated $11.7 million in 2023 to arms of the CCP and gave $2 million to a corporation working with the Chinese military. Additionally, the Gates Foundation poured $6.7 million into state-run Chinese universities in 2023. The year before, the Gates Foundation provided an estimated $23 million to to more than 20 Chinese entities.
“We have received the Senate Judiciary Committee’s letter. The Gates Foundation complies with all laws governing our charitable work and tax-exempt status. Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives,” a Gates Foundation spokesperson said in a statement.
The Ford Foundation reportedly gave nearly $10 million to the Chinese government to further the Belt and Road Initiative, the CCP’s global infrastructure development and geopolitical influence project. Most of the funds went to Chinese universities with ties to the People’s Liberation Army, the CCP’s military.
“The Ford Foundation carries out its philanthropic activities with independence and integrity and in full compliance with all applicable laws. Our grants in China are intended to reduce poverty and injustice, strengthen democratic values, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement—these are fundamental American values and priorities,” the Ford Foundation said in a statement.
“It is of utmost importance to us that our funds are used for charitable purposes in alignment with our mission and values, and we have robust controls in place to ensure that each grant is expended only for its intended objective.”
From April 2020 to August 2024, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund reportedly gave $7.4 million to CCP organizations, groups led by members of the CCP, or entities engaging in partnerships with China.
NR has reached out to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund for comment on Grassley’s investigation.
As 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits, the liberal foundations can only fund foreign entities for charitable purposes, not to promote the interests of a foreign government. Grassley is seeking to determine if the left-wing foundations violated tax laws by funding the CCP-tied entities. All three are major patrons of the left-wing philanthropic world.