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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View George Soros

George Soros

Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
George Soros is a Hungarian-born American investor, author, left-of-center political donor, and philanthropist. Outside of his political giving and advocacy, he is best known for…
View Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft and a major funder of left-of-center advocacy groups. From 2016-2021, Ballmer donated over $110 million to Los Angeles organizations alone.
View Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton

Activist, Lawyer, Politician, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Hillary Clinton is a former First Lady of the United States, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Secretary of State.
View Joe Biden

Joe Biden

Politician, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr., is a Democratic politician and the 46th President of the United States, serving from January 20, 2021 until January 20,…
View Fred Stanback

Fred Stanback

Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Fred Stanback, Jr., is a North Carolina billionaire and a major donor to organizations that promote abortion access (such as Planned Parenthood South Atlantic), left-leaning…
View Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Activist, Politician, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism), Multi-Issue Advocacy
Barack Obama is a Democratic politician who served as the 44th President of the United States, as U.S. Senator from Illinois, and as an Illinois…
View Megan Hull

Megan Hull

Activist, Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Megan Hull is a left-of-center activist and political donor who regularly contributes to Democratic candidates and left-of-center advocacy causes. Her father is Blair Hull, a billionaire…
View Elon Musk

Elon Musk

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Other, Multi-Issue Advocacy, Tech Policy
Elon Musk is a South African-born American technology entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist best known for his role as a founder or co-founder of several high-profile…
View Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

Lawyer, Politician, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Kamala Harris is Democratic politician from California. Before her election to the Vice Presidency of the United States in the Biden administration, she was a…
View Chase Koch

Chase Koch

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Chase Koch is the son of billionaire Charles Koch of Koch Industries. He is the president of Koch Disruptive Technologies and chairman of Stand Together…
View Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Mark Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Facebook. Zuckerberg founded the company while at Harvard with classmates Andrew McCullum, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes, and…
View Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo

Politician, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Andrew Cuomo is a Democratic politician best known as the former governor of New York. Cuomo resigned as governor in August 2021 after a series…
View Bill Gates

Bill Gates

Board Member or Executive, Other, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Bill Gates is the founder and former CEO of technology giant Microsoft. He is also the co-founder of the Gates Foundation along with his previous…
View Barbara Hostetter

Barbara Hostetter

Donor, Abortion Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Barbara Hostetter is a Boston, Massachusetts-based philanthropist. She is the wife of billionaire cable television entrepreneur Amos Hostetter.
View Brian Krassenstein

Brian Krassenstein

Activist, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Brian Krassenstein is an American left-of-center political-commentary entrepreneur associated with the “#Resistance” movement, a critic of former President Donald Trump, and the brother of Edward…
View Reid Hoffman

Reid Hoffman

Activist, Immigration Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Reid Hoffman is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and left-of-center political activist best known for founding LinkedIn. Hoffman was relatively apolitical prior until 2016, when he…
View Eric Kessler

Eric Kessler

Other, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Eric Kessler is the founder of Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropic consultant group, and previously served as the group's principal and senior managing director….
View Susan Mandel

Susan Mandel

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Environmental Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Susan Mandel is a philanthropist and the wife of hedge fund billionaire Stephen Mandel. They are both co-trustees of the Zoom Foundation and are major…
View Andrew Shechtel

Andrew Shechtel

Board Member or Executive, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Andrew Shechtel is a hedge fund manager and a co-founder of the major center-left funder Wellspring Philanthropic Fund (formerly "Matan B'Seter Foundation").
View Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin

Donor, LGBT Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Sergey Brin is a Russian-American billionaire and the world’s sixth-richest person as of September 2025. Brin is best known as the co-founder of Google and…

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George Soros

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National Students for Justice in Palestine

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Sunita Leeds

Sunita Leeds (sometimes referred to as Sunita Gupta Leeds) is a philanthropist based in Washington, D.C. who has been involved with numerous left-of-center advocacy groups,…

Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI)

Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI) is a labor union representing teachers and other educational employees of the Madison Metropolitan School District in Madison, Wisconsin. Its teachers’…

Democracy Matters Foundation (formerly Franklin Education Forum)

The Democracy Matters Foundation is an activist organization that makes grants in support of left-of-center communications and advocacy campaigns. It was known since its 2013…

D.N. Batten Foundation

The D.N. Batten Foundation contributes millions to a broad array of organizations including left-of-center environmentalist groups focusing on climate change, and other environmentalist priorities. The…