3 Mystery Donors to $10-Billion Philanthropy Revealed

The country’s fourth-largest philanthropy, with nearly $10-billion in assets, has given in near secrecy to both liberal and conservative causes, says Bloomberg Businessweek, which reveals three of the men behind the funding.

The charity, which has supported causes like human rights, the environment, politics, and Huntington’s disease, has been funded in part by three investors—Andrew Shechtel, David Gelbaum and C. Frederick Taylor, founders of the hedge fund TGS Management—who have used subsidiaries and shell companies to shield gifts adding up to of billions of dollars.

Their two charitable funds, Gabriel Trust and Endurance Funding Trust, make up a pool of philanthropic money that is bigger than the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations combined and has given $700-million to fight Huntington’s Disease, more than the National Institutes of Health devotes to the condition.