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Person

Jeffrey Yass

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Investor, Philanthropist
Employer:

Susquehanna International Group

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Jeffrey ‘Jeff’ Yass is an American investor, co-founder of the Susquehanna International Group, and vice chairman of the libertarian-aligned think tank Cato Institute. As of April 2023, Forbes estimates his total new worth at roughly $28.5 billion. 1

Background

Before Yass became involved in finance, he spent a year and a half after graduating from college playing poker at a professional level in Las Vegas, and in July 1985, along with three friends, he developed a statistics-based trading strategy to successfully bet on the outcomes of horse races. 2

Susquehanna International Group

In 1987, Yass, along with friends Arthur Dantchik and Joel Greenberg, cofounded Susquehanna International Group, naming the company after a river connecting Binghamton, New York, and Pennsylvania. 3 The company utilized rapid computer-driven trading methods to buy and sell options and other securities, often acting as a middleman in connection with consumer trading applications such as Robinhood and E-Trade. Notably, on October 19, 1987, known as Black Monday, Susquehanna made an investment on options that would rise in value if stocks went down in value, making it one of the few firms to profit on the day. 4

The Susquehanna Foundation, which was founded in April 1994 and makes grants to libertarian-aligned causes and charter school programs, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt counterpart of the Susquehanna International Group based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. 5

It was reported by The Wall Street Journal that by 2020, the Susquehanna Foundation owned at least 15% of ByteDance, a digital technology firm and the parent company of social media platform TikTok, with a stake estimated as much as $15 billion. Further data used by the Journal showed that Susquehanna was part of a $5 million investment towards ByteDance in 2012 when the firm was founded. 6 7 8

Taxes

According to a report published by ProPublica on June 21, 2022, Yaas, uses the “same prowess” he has in financial markets to reduce his tax bill. In the six years prior to the report’s publication, Yass reportedly saved at least $1 billion in taxes, paying an average federal income tax rate of 19%, which is lower than that paid by other Wall Street traders. 9

Yaas’s tax accounting has reportedly been the subject of multiple audits conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, sometimes involving multi-year litigation in federal court. Reportedly, Yass’s low rate of taxation is particularly notable because Susquehanna International Group specializes in short-term trading, which is typically taxed at rates of roughly 40 percent. 10

Cato Institute

Jeff Yass is the vice chairman of the board of directors of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Libertarian Party activist Ed Crane, economist Murray Rothbard, and businessman Charles Koch. The Cato Institute conducts policy research in support of libertarian policies. 11 12

Philanthropy and Political Donations

Charter School Programs

Yass has donated to right-of-center causes such as advocacy for reducing taxes and charter school programs.  He also donates to political candidates, spending over $100 million on election campaigns alone. To that end, Yass has also made over $32 million in donations to the economically conservative Club for Growth; $2.5 million to the Protect Freedom PAC; and 15 million as the sole funder of the School Freedom Fund, a political action committee. Notably, however, Yass also donates to Democratic politicians. For instance, a ProPublica report describes him as a “longtime financial patron of a Democratic state senator, Anthony Williams,” a state legislator notable for his support for tax-incentives benefitting charter school programs. 13

Kohelet Policy Institute

Reports by The Washington Post claim that Susquehanna Foundation co-founder Arthur Dantchik is a donor towards The Kohelet Policy Institute, an Israeli think-tank that reportedly helped with the authoring of several controversial judicial policy reforms introduced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that had been delayed from being implemented as of March 2023. 14 15 Although a 2021 investigation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz claimed that Yaas had also donated millions to Kohelet Policy Institute through third party groups, an anonymous source close to the men reported to the Washington Post that even though Dantchik is not the sole funder Yaas had never donated to the Israeli think tank. 16 As of March 2023, neither Dantchik nor Yaas have confirmed to be donors to the think tank. 17

2022 Political Donations

According to Business Insider, Yaas and his wife Janine Yaas contributed roughly $54 million in political donations towards candidate campaigns and Super PACs during the 2022 election cycle. 18

The Claws Foundation

According to Inside Philanthropy, Yaas co-founded, with Dantchik, and sits on the board of The Claws Foundation, a private organization and primary philanthropic vehicle for both men. In addition, Inside Philanthropy reported that the Claws Foundation had provided donations to several libertarian and right-of-center organizations including Institute for Justice, the Cato Institute, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), Students for Liberty, the Mercatus Center, the Atlas Network and the Ayn Rand Institute. Donations have also been reported going top public charity group Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund (Fidelity Charitable). 19

References

  1. “Jeff Yaas.” Forbes, Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-yass/?sh=4fc6fcdd5f1a
  2. Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  3. Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  4.  Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  5.  “Susquehanna Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/232732477
  6. Duffy, Kate. “A US trading firm reportedly owns 15% of TikTok-owner ByteDance, a stake potentially worth more than $15 billion.” Business Insider, October 2, 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/us-trading-firm-reportedly-owns-15-of-tiktok-owner-bytedance-2020-10
  7. Winkler, Ron, Jing Yang, and Alexander Osipovich. “Secretive High-Speed Trading Firm Hits Jackpot With TikTok.” The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/secretive-high-speed-trading-firm-hits-jackpot-with-tiktok-11601544610
  8. Rojc, Philip. “Jeff Yass Is One of America’s Biggest Political Donors. What Does His Philanthropy Look Like?” Inside Philanthropy, March 30, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/3/30/jeff-yass-is-one-of-americas-biggest-political-donors-what-does-his-philanthropy-look-like?utm_source=Funding+News+%26+Tips&utm_campaign=f7a5e09c81-newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c776dbf0df-f7a5e09c81-95102205
  9. [1] Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  10. Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  11. Mullins, Luke. “The Battle for the Cato Institute: Washingtonian (DC).” Washingtonian. May 30, 2012. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.washingtonian.com/2012/05/30/the-battle-for-cato/
  12. “Cato Leadership.” Cato Institute. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.cato.org/about/leadership
  13. Elliott, Justin; Jesse Eisinger; Paul Kiel; Jeff Ernsthausen; and Doris Burke “Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who’s Gaming the Tax System.” ProPublica. June 21, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023.  https://www.propublica.org/article/jeff-yass-susquehanna-tiktok-tax-avoidance
  14. Rubin, Shira. “The secretive Israeli think tank behind Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul.” The Washington Post, March 24, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/24/israel-kohelet-judicial-reform-netanyahu/
  15. Zion, Ilan Ben and Tia Goldenberg. “Netanyahu delays controversial judicial overhaul after mass protests in Israel.” Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2023. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-03-27/israel-netanyahu-suspend-judicial-overhaul#:~:text=A%20powerful%20partner%20in%20Israeli%20Prime%20Minister%20Benjamin,parliament%20reconvenes%20for%20its%20summer%20session%20April%2030.
  16. Rubin, Shira. “The secretive Israeli think tank behind Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul.” The Washington Post, March 24, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/03/24/israel-kohelet-judicial-reform-netanyahu/
  17. Rojc, Philip. “Jeff Yass Is One of America’s Biggest Political Donors. What Does His Philanthropy Look Like?” Inside Philanthropy, March 30, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/3/30/jeff-yass-is-one-of-americas-biggest-political-donors-what-does-his-philanthropy-look-like?utm_source=Funding+News+%26+Tips&utm_campaign=f7a5e09c81-newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c776dbf0df-f7a5e09c81-95102205
  18. Rojc, Philip. “Jeff Yass Is One of America’s Biggest Political Donors. What Does His Philanthropy Look Like?” Inside Philanthropy, March 30, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/3/30/jeff-yass-is-one-of-americas-biggest-political-donors-what-does-his-philanthropy-look-like?utm_source=Funding+News+%26+Tips&utm_campaign=f7a5e09c81-newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c776dbf0df-f7a5e09c81-95102205
  19. Rojc, Philip. “Jeff Yass Is One of America’s Biggest Political Donors. What Does His Philanthropy Look Like?” Inside Philanthropy, March 30, 2023. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2023/3/30/jeff-yass-is-one-of-americas-biggest-political-donors-what-does-his-philanthropy-look-like?utm_source=Funding+News+%26+Tips&utm_campaign=f7a5e09c81-newsletterdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c776dbf0df-f7a5e09c81-95102205
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