Josh Kanter is a left-leaning wealth advisor who uses his inherited family fortune to fund a variety of left-leaning causes, advocacy groups, and Democratic campaigns. Shortly after moving to Utah from Chicago, Kanter became very involved in promoting left-leaning causes in the state. Kanter is the founder of the Alliance for a Better Utah, a left-of-center advocacy group that promotes a variety of left-leaning state policies and conducts opposition research on Republican officeholders in Utah. Kanter is also a member of the left-leaning funding collaborative the Democracy Alliance. ^{1 2}

Background

Josh Kanter is the son of the late Burt Kanter, who amassed a personal fortune while working as a tax attorney to celebrities and billionaires. Among Burt Kanter’s most notable clients Chicago’s Pritzker family, a family made up of the heirs to the Hyatt hotel chain which includes notable democratic donors and politicians such as Obama Administration Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D). ³

Burt Kanter was allegedly deeply associated withCastle Bank and Trust, a scandal-plagued Bahamas-based bank that was ultimately shut down amid allegations that it was used for tax evasion for wealthy families and organized crime members; the bank was also reportedly used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to funnel money towards covert operations. Burt Kanter was acquitted on tax evasion charges stemming from Castle Bank and Trust in 1977 while his law partner was convicted on similar charges. ^{4 5 6}

Legal Career

Josh Kanter was raised in Chicago and completed undergraduate studies at Emory University before following in his father’s footsteps and graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1987. Following law school, Kanter began working in real estate, corporate, and securities law at Chicago-based law firm Barack Ferrazzano. In 1999, he began working as counsel for the firm until he left the firm in 2020. ⁷

Kanter’s most notable case as an attorney was the handling of his own family’s estate following his father’s death which involved several disputes with the IRS causing the ensuing litigation to be elevated to the U.S. Supreme Court. ^{8 9}

Affiliated Organizations

Kanter has also been long involved in wealth management for multiple firms, several of which he founded. Such investment firms include Windy City, Inc.; Chicago Financial, Inc.; and Chicago Investments, Inc. ¹⁰

Kanter remains involved with several aspects of his family fortune aside from his inheritance. He is the president of Art Enterprises, Ltd, the holding company for his family’s art collection which at one point numbered over 1,200 pieces. He is also the vice president of the Kanter Family Foundation, a left-leaning grantmaking foundation run by the family that donates to many left-leaning organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Brookings Institution, and the Progress Now Education Fund. The foundation also donates to many left-leaning Utah-based organizations with which Josh Kanter is involved, including the education fund of the Alliance for A Better Utah, which he founded. ^{11 12}

Alliance for a Better Utah

In 2011, Kanter founded the Alliance for a Better Utah, a left-leaning advocacy group that promotes left-of-center policy in Utah, a staunchly Republican state. The organization operates several projects promoting left-progressive issues including climate change, race, abortion, and taxes as well as promoting its opposition research against elected Republicans in the state. ¹³

1. “Josh Kanter.” Community Foundation of Utah. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://utahcf.org/about-us/board/josh-kanter
2. “Alliance for a Better Utah.” Truth Utah. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://truthutah.com/organizations/alliance-for-a-better-utah/
3. “From the Grave, Tax Lawyer to Rich Beats IRS Again.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, December 15, 2009. https://www.forbes.com/2009/12/15/irs-tax-court-pritzker-billionaire-personal-finance-burton-kanter.html?sh=545c349c1615.
4. “Attorney is Acquitted of Tax Evasion Charges.” New York Times Archives. September 13, 1977. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/13/archives/attorney-is-acquitted-of-taxevasion-charges.html?_r=0
5. “Alliance for a Better Utah.” Truth Utah. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://truthutah.com/organizations/alliance-for-a-better-utah/
6. Drinkhall, Jim. “CIA Helped Quash Major, Star-Studded Tax Evasion Case.” The Washington Post. WP Company, April 24, 1980. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1980/04/24/cia-helped-quash-major-star-studded-tax-evasion-case/a55ddf06-2a3f-4e04-a687-a3dd87c32b82/.
7. “Josh Kanter.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kanter/
8. “Home.” Josh Kanter Wealth Advisory Services. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://joshkanter.com/
9. “Estate of Burton W. Kanter, Deceased, Joshua S. Kanter, Executor, and Naomi Kanter, Petitioners-appellants, v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Respondent-appellee, 337 F.3d 833 (7th Cir. 2003).” Justia US Law. Accessed September 13, 2021.  https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/337/833/588128/
10. “Josh Kanter.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kanter/
11. “IRS form 990.” Kanter Family Foundation. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/363682199/11_2020_prefixes_27-37%2F363682199_201910_990PF_2020112517458465?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_GRs1vXwlt0RT978tCgeFyGIKU.zd1kxzH3tglTA0ZRg-1631301450-0-gqNtZGzNApCjcnBszQpR
12. “Josh Kanter.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-kanter/
13. ^[1] “Author: Josh Kanter.” Alliance for a Better Utah. Accessed September 13, 2021. https://betterutah.org/author/josh-kanter/