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.

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. ¹

Susquehanna International Group

In 1987, Yass, along with friends who had taken part in his horse race betting ventures, cofounded Susquehanna International Group, naming the company after a river connecting Binghamton, New York, and Pennsylvania. The company, of which Yass owns approximately three-quarters, uses rapid computer-driven trading methods to buy and sell options and other securities, often acting as a sort of middleman in connection with consumer trading applications such as Robinhood and E-Trade. Notably, on October 19 of the year of the company’s founding, which later became known as the Black Monday Stock Market Crash, Susquehanna made a particularly lucrative 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. ²

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. ³

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. ⁴

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. ⁵

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. ^{6 7}

Philanthropy and Political Donations

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. ⁸

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
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.  “Susquehanna Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/232732477
4. ^[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
5. 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
6. 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/
7. “Cato Leadership.” Cato Institute. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.cato.org/about/leadership
8. 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