People Profiles

Learn how specific individuals are influencing public policy. Each profile below is carefully curated by an InfluenceWatch contributor, and includes funding data where appropriate.

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Leah Greenberg

Board Member or Executive, Other, Economic Policy, Elections Policy

Leah Greenberg is the co-founder and co-executive director of the Indivisible Project, a left-of-center political nonprofit created in late 2016 as a response to the…

Bernie Sanders

Activist, Politician, Abortion Policy, Economic Policy, Elections Policy, Firearms Policy, Healthcare Policy, Labor Policy

Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is a Vermont politician, serving as the state's senior United States Senator. Sanders ran for the Democratic Party nomination for President of…

Christopher Koob

Other, Economic Policy, Housing Policy

Christopher Koob is a political consultant who works as a principal for MBA Consulting Group. He has previously worked for left-of-center and Democratic Party organizations…

Hasan Piker

Other, Economic Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)

Hasan Piker is a 34-year-old radical-left political streamer and content creator. As of September, 2025, his twitch channel, a streaming platform popular among young audiences…

Medea Benjamin

Activist, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy

For more information, see Code Pink (Nonprofit)

Francis Najafi

Activist, Board Member or Executive, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)

Francis Najafi is a billionaire Iranian immigrant who owns an asset management firm as well as part of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. He is…

James “Fergie” Chambers

Activist, Donor, Economic Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy

James Chambers, who goes by “Fergie Chambers,” is a member of the billionaire Cox family, the heirs to the Cox Enterprises cable company fortune. He…

Neera Tanden

Board Member or Executive, Other, Economic Policy

Neera Tanden is a long-time confidante of the Clinton political family and a former Obama administration aide who served as president and CEO of the…

Paul E. Singer

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, LGBT Policy

Paul E. Singer is a billionaire hedge fund manager who is also the founder, president, and co-CEO of Elliott Management. Singer, who is a major…

Tench Coxe

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Housing Policy

Tench Coxe is a billionaire Democratic Party donor, philanthropist, venture capitalist, and board member of technology firm Nvidia. In 2024, he was estimated to have…

Charles Koch

Donor, Economic Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy

Charles G. Koch is an American businessman, political and charitable donor, and the current chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, the second largest privately held…

Jeff Bezos

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Education Policy, Environmental Policy

Jeff Bezos is the founder and CEO of Amazon and was estimated by Forbes to be the richest person in the world as of March,…

Rachel Gelman

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)

Rachel Gelman is a member of the billionaire Strauss family, the heirs to the Levi Strauss & Co. clothing fortune.

Susan A. Buffett

Board Member or Executive, Abortion Policy, Criminal Justice Policy, Economic Policy, Education Policy, Healthcare Policy

Susan A. Buffett, known as "Susie," is the eldest daughter of billionaire investor Warren Buffett and a major force in left-of-center philanthropy. As chair of…

Stephen Heintz

Board Member or Executive, Economic Policy, Elections Policy, Energy Policy, Environmental Policy

Stephen Heintz is the long-time president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) as well as the co-founder and ex-president of Demos. Heintz played key roles…

Marc Benioff

Donor, Economic Policy, Firearms Policy, Immigration Policy

Marc Benioff is founder, chairman, and co-CEO of Salesforce.com, a leading software company. Benioff engages in a substantial amount of advocacy-philanthropic giving, and he has…

Vijay Prashad

Journalist, Scholar, Economic Policy

Vijay Prashad is a Marxist journalist and historian. An ardent supporter of communism, Prashad is the author of many books defending the ideology’s legacy and…

Liesel Pritzker Simmons

Donor, Economic Policy, Education Policy

Liesel Pritzker Simmons is a member of the wealthy and politically involved Pritzker family and an impact investor and donor to left-leaning political causes. Pritzker…

Morris Pearl

Activist, Economic Policy, Elections Policy, Environmental Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)

Morris Pearl is a left-of-center financier and activist. He is the board chair of The Patriotic Millionaires, an organization of wealthy individuals who advocate for…

David DesJardins

Donor, Economic Policy, Elections Policy, Environmental Policy

David desJardins is an American mathematician, software engineer, investor and philanthropist. He was the 20th employee of Google, joining in 1999. After leaving the company…

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