Dalio Philanthropies

Dalio Philanthropies grants over $100 million to nonprofits a year, giving its largest grants to elite universities, scientific research projects, and general charities in the Northeast, particularly in Connecticut.

History

Dalio Philanthropies was founded in 2003 by Ray and Barbara Dalio. As signatories of left-of-center advocacy philanthropist Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge—a promise to give away most of their wealth before they pass away—the couple has used Dalio Philanthropies as the means towards that goal. ¹

Its grant expenses have massively increased over the years, going from $3.8 million in 2005 to its peak of $840 million in 2013. ² It has since reduced its expenditures, hovering around $100 million a year in its most recent tax filings. ³

Some of its most sizable grants include a$25 million donation towards polio eradication with the National Philanthropic Trust in 2013 and a $185 million ocean-mapping partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2018. ⁴

Its largest grant is a $100 million donation to the state of Connecticut for early education, named the “Partnership for Connecticut.”

Present Activities

Grantmaking

Dalio Philanthropies gives its largest individual grants to elite universities and scientific research projects, especially those done through the National Philanthropic Trust. ³

University grant recipients include Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Chicago, John Hopkins University, Columbia University, and Stanford University. It places special emphasis on educational programs that encourage stronger ties with China, such as the University of Chicago’s Paulson Institute and China’s Tsinghua University’s Schwartzman Scholars program. ³

Partnership for Connecticut

In July 2019, it announced its largest individual grant to date: $100 million to the state of Connecticut to go towards improving educational outcomes among disadvantaged populations.

The so-called “Partnership for Connecticut” has received heavy bipartisan criticism for not being transparent with its spending—its operations would not be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests—considering that the state is also spending taxpayer money on the project. ⁵

The Hartford Courant noted that the program’s closed board would be composed of 13 members: five high-ranking state officials, three appointed by the governor, four appointed by Dalio Philanthropies, and one president hired by the collective board. ⁶ Given the 2019 makeup of Connecticut’s state legislature, the Partnership for Connecticut’s board would resultantly be disproportionately Democratic, with a minimum of 6 Democratic elected or appointed members versus two Republican members.

Leadership

Though Dalio Philanthropies’ chief investment officer Bruce Zimmerman handles the regular operations of the foundation, Ray Dalio still holds its chief leadership position.

Dalio has been critiqued as hypocritical for his negative comments against capitalism. In an April 2019 interview with CNBC, he admitted that capitalism “worked for [him],” but also said that it is “denying the American dream.” ⁷

Zimmerman was appointed to his position in July 2019. He was the former chief executive officer at the University of Texas Investment Management Company, the fund that oversees investments made by the University of Texas’ endowment. ⁸

Finances

The most recent available tax filings by Dalio Philanthropies show total revenues of $66,967,365 and total expenses of $124,686,794. ³