Also see Sea Change Foundation (Nonprofit)

Nathaniel “Nat” Simons is a billionaire, hedge fund manager, and major donor to left-of-center causes and organizations, much of it through the Sea Change Foundation, a San Francisco-based grantmaking foundation he co-founded in 2006 with his wife, Laura Baxter-Simons. ¹ Simons is the son of James Simons, a billionaire, mathematician, retired manager of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, and major Democratic Party donor. ²

Between 2006 and 2018, Simons donated $480 million through the Sea Change Foundation, almost all of it to left-of-center environmentalist groups including the pass-through funder Energy Foundation, League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Sierra Club Foundation, and Natural Resources Defense Council. ^{3 4}

Background

Family Relations

Nathaniel Simons is the son of James “Jim” Simons, a billionaire listed by Forbes as the second-highest-earning hedge fund manager in the United States in 2018 whose net worth is estimated at $21.5 billion (as of 2019). ⁵ James Simons is the founder of Renaissance Technologies, which was an early adopter of quantitative models based on statistical analysis; the firm’s most profitable portfolio, the Medallion Fund, which is available only to employees, is one of the most profitable investment funds in history. ⁶ James and his wife, Marilyn, co-founded the Simons Foundation in 1994, now one of the largest foundations in the United States. ⁷

Nathaniel Simons is married to Laura Baxter-Simons. Baxter-Simons is general counsel and chief compliance officer for Meritage Group, an investment management group and Renaissance Technologies spin-off. Baxter-Simons and her husband co-founded Prelude Ventures, a “cleantech” investment firm, in 2009. Prior to that, she was associate counsel and a principal at Renaissance Technologies. ⁸

Liz Simons is Nathaniel Simons’ sister and, together with her husband Mark Heising, is the primary donor to the Heising-Simons Foundation, a major left-of-center grantmaking foundation formed in 2007. She is also on the board of the Foundation for a Just Society, a foundation created by her half-sister, Audrey Cappell, that makes grants to LGBT organizations. ⁹

Audrey Cappell is Nathaniel Simons’ sister and founder of the Foundation for a Just Society, a left-of-center grantmaking foundation created in 2011 to fund LGBT and feminist organizations. Much of the funding for the Foundation for a Just Society comes from the Audrey Simons Delaware Trust, a trust set up by James Simons in Cappell’s name. ¹⁰ She is married to Jacob Cappell, a web producer for the Simons Foundation. ¹¹

Hedge Fund Management Career

Simons worked for Cylink Corporation from 1989 to 1992, a Baltimore-based “secure e-business solutions” firm. ¹² From 1994 to 2007, Simons worked at Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund management firm founded by his father, James Simons. ¹³

As of October 2020, Simons has been managing director of the Meritage Group, an investment management group that “spun out” of Renaissance Technologies, since 2007. Laura Baxter-Simons is general counsel and chief compliance officer for the Meritage Group. ¹⁴ Simons and his wife co-founded Prelude Ventures in 2009, an investment firm “committed to novel solutions that address climate change and a net reduction of CO2 [carbon dioxide]” by investing in the “cleantech sector.” ¹⁵

General Philanthropy

Nat and Laura Simons are signatories to the Giving Pledge, a commitment to donate the majority of their wealth started in 2010 by billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Nat and Laura Simons joined in 2017. While the Giving Pledge does not specify particular recipients for its signatories’ donations, many of its signatories are left-leaning and support traditionally left-leaning issues such as global warming and abortion access. ¹⁶ The Simons said of their pledge: ¹⁷

We decided that we wanted to create a foundation [Sea Change Foundation] that would focus on what we felt was the most pressing problem facing the world. At the time, we had young children and were (and remain) deeply worried that the world they will inhabit will be fundamentally compromised due to unchecked greenhouse gas emissions. We also appreciated the long-term benefits associated with moving toward a low carbon economy and determined that this issue needed to be urgently addressed, regardless of politics. As such, our efforts to date have been primarily focused on climate change and clean energy policy in the U.S. and internationally.

Views on Climate Change and Environmentalism

In 2014, Forbes named Simons one of the “world’s top 25 eco-innovators.” ¹⁸ Simons is a major donor to global warming and environmentalist causes and left-wing organizations and is involved in a number of such groups.

In 2015, Simons and his wife became members of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a collection of high-profile environmentalist donors, tech industry executives (including Bill Gates, the coalition’s founder), and investors that aims to “money into early-stage startups that promise to provide ‘everyone with affordable, reliable energy’ that produces zero carbon emissions.” Other notable members include Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, Arnold Foundation donor John D. Arnold, billionaire hedge fund manager Tom Steyer, and billionaire donor George Soros. ¹⁹

Simons spoke at the Washington, D.C.-based Newseum in a February 2009 National Clean Energy Project roundtable alongside former President Bill Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, a leading global warming theory advocate, on the necessity of philanthropists funding climate change infrastructure development. A C-SPAN-generated transcript of Simons’ remarks is below (main points bolded for clarity): ²⁰

I don’t have anything really prepared to say today because I really was thinking about everything that everybody was saying around the room. But in thinking about the conversation today, I have been struck with a couple of things. I’ve only been working on this issue, and the issue of climate change and energy is really what we’re focused on entirely a tthis point, for a short time. I don’t have the perspective of many of the people in this room.And it is interesting because I remember talking to many people. And the first really large thing I got involved with was with the Energy Foundation — and I see Rose McKinney-Jones and Eric Heitz in the back there — on the issue of renewable [portfolio] standard, renewable energy standard and also CAFE standard and tried to push that through in [2007], and we didn’t get the RES through, as people all around this table know. We did get the CAFE through, and that was very exciting. And to me it was like, well, okay, well, that was good, now let’s keep going. And to see the reaction of everybody in the environmental community, in this energy community, as to how dramatic that was, I didn’t feel that. I’m, like, “Okay, well, that’s just the first step.We have many things to do, obviously.” And I think that to see a group of people around the table and to see the consensus that’s around this table that we have to get moving is obviously very exciting, but as Governor [George] Pataki [R-NY] so eloquently said, when the rubber hits the road, or I suppose when the electrons hit the grid, I suppose, is a better way of saying it, then it’s a different game.

And I think that the role of philanthropy is more than anything to just facilitate the process. There are many different stakeholders, and they all have to be brought together. The grid is perhaps the best example that we can think of, I think, where there are many disparate interests. And to get it done quickly is going to take a herculean effort from all sides, because it’s not really a question of whether we move to a low-carbon economy. I think it’s clear that we’re moving there and it’s clear that we’re going there.I think there’s probably complete consensus around the room that that’s going to happen. The question is how quickly. So the role of philanthropy is really to facilitate that proces sin every respect, because it’s not going to be ramming something down the throats of certain people. We know that that’s not going to work. We’ve seen that. We’ve watched that movie before, and we know it’snot going to happen. And we can’t take this momentum and let it stall.

So philanthropists, foundations have a huge responsibility. They can’t put the steel in the ground. They can’t build the windmills. We can’t build the new generation of efficient cars. We can help to facilitate the process. We don’t have any stakeholders that we have to represent. We can represent the United States. We can represent humanity. We can do the things that need to happen to bring people together, to find common ground and to move the ball forward. And I think that that’s really the role that philanthropy needs to continue to do. And I — just last note. You know, again, there are many great work — much great work has been done by philanthropists, and certainly by NGOs in working with Carl Pope’s Sierra Club and many, many others. But there does need to be more capital to move in from philanthropy. There need to be more funders. And I think that foundations are starting to understand that, but they have many legacy positions. Some of them are constrained by their mandate. But everything which they do is going to be jeopardized by climate change. All the good work that they do — feeding people,clothing people, educating people, trying to raise up the world from poverty — is all jeopardized by climate change. So it’s in everybody’s interest that this happens. And I certainly hope that more capital comes in from existing foundations and from new foundations. And hopefully we can — because it’s needed. It’s clearly needed [emphasis added].

Sea Change Foundation

For more information, see Sea Change Foundation (Nonprofit)

Simons’ grantmaking is largely channeled through the San Francisco-based Sea Change Foundation, which he founded in 2006. ²¹

The website Inside Philanthropy has described the Sea Change Foundation in 2018 as “a powerful, low-key friend to green groups,” and “one of the biggest funders of climate and clean energy work” which has operated “with almost no public profile,” making it a “target for conservatives.” According to the interview, the couple “said they intend to give between $50 million and $75 million per year toward climate mitigation and clean energy work for the foreseeable future.” ²²

Simons has noted that much of Sea Change’s rate of giving is motivated by “urgency of the issue and the momentum generated by the Paris Climate Accord,” an international agreement joined by the United States in 2015 under President Barack Obama; President Donald Trump signaled his intent to leave the Paris Climate Accord in 2017. ^{23 24}

While Sea Change funds a handful of groups that are not primarily focused on environmentalist issues (such as the multi-issue liberal think tank Center for American Progress), the foundation’s largest grant recipient is the Energy Foundation, a major left-of-center nonprofit that acts as a pass-through for foundations like Sea Change to support liberal environmental groups. Between 2007 and 2018, Sea Change paid out $125 million to the Energy Foundation. Other major grantees include the Sierra Club, World Wide Fund for Nature (formerly the World Wildlife Fund), Natural Resources Defense Council, Food and Water Watch, the League of Conservation Voters, and Center for American Progress (CAP). ²⁵

Major recipients of Sea Change Foundation grants between 2006 and 2018 include: ^{26 27}

• Energy Foundation ($125 million)
• Partnership Project ($36 million)
• League of Conservation Voters Education Fund ($39 million) ²⁸
• Sierra Club Foundation ($26 million)
• Natural Resources Defense Council ($21 million)
• American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy ($16 million)
• European Climate Foundation ($15 million)
• World Wildlife Fund ($14 million)
• Alaska Conservation Foundation ($12 million)
• Center for American Progress ($11 million)
• Western Resource Advocates ($11 million)
• US Climate Action Network ($9 million)
• Alliance to Save Energy ($8 million)
• Tides Foundation ($8 million), Tides Center ($1.1 million) Tides Center and Foundation are related entities; for more information, see Tides Nexus
• Regulatory Assistance Project ($7.9 million)
• Ceres ($7.6 million)
• World Resources Institute ($6 million)
• New Buildings Institute ($5.6 million)
• Environmental Defence ($4.7 million)
• National Wildlife Federation ($4.6 million)
• Southwest Energy Efficiency Project LLC ($4.3 million)
• Northwest Energy Coalition ($3.4 million)

Controversies and Accusations of Hypocrisy

Commuting to Work on a Yacht

In 2014, the Washington Free Beacon reported that Simons commuted between his home in Berkeley, California, and the San Francisco offices of the Meritage Group, his hedge fund management company, aboard a “1,550-horsepower, 54-foot yacht” called Elan. This led the Free Beacon to opine: ²⁹

Simons also did not respond to questions about his yacht, and how commuting to work on a boat with two 775 horsepower engines drawing from a 550 gallon gas tank squares with his environmentalist views.

Russian Connections, Bermuda “Dark Money,” and the Environmentalist “Billionaire’s Club”

In 2014, the Sea Change Foundation came under scrutiny in a report released by the Republican staff of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee titled, “The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and their Foundations Control the Environment and Obama’s EPA” (archived here). The report notes that “an elite group of left-wing millionaires and billionaires . . . . directs and controls the far-left environmental movement, which in turn controls major policy decisions and lobbies on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),” identifying Sea Change Foundation as a “dominant organization in this movement” that “relies on funding from a foreign company with undisclosed donors” to funnel “tens of millions of dollars to other large but discreet foundations and prominent environmental activists who strive to control both policy and politics.” ³⁰

Klein Ltd., the “foreign company with undisclosed donors” identified in the report that allegedly “exists on paper only,” is a Bermuda-based company noted as a donor to the Sea Change Foundation in its annual IRS Form 990 financial filings (private foundations, unlike other types of nonprofits, are required to disclose the names of their donors). Between 2010 and 2011, Klein Ltd. donated $23 million to Sea Change, accounting for 49 percent of its total contributions in 2010 and 33 percent of its total contributions in 2011. ³¹ As the report put it: ³²

As a practical matter, an overseas company contributing tens of millions to organizations dedicated to abolishing the use of affordable fossil fuels is highly problematic. This is only compounded by the fact it is deliberately and completely lacking in transparency. However, it is likely this lack of transparency shields Klein Ltd. from any responsibility to the American businesses and families it hurts. . . .

The role Sea Change plays as a member of the Billionaire’s Club is deeply troubling, especially in light of recent revelations that environmental activists, many of whom are clearly
benefiting from this extreme “dark money,” do not have any moral qualms over where their money comes from – so long as it supports the far-left cause.

A graphic in the report further illustrates Sea Change Foundation’s pass-through system and how it benefits left-wing environmentalist groups such as the League of Conservation Voters and Sierra Club: ³³

It should be pointed out that the vast majority of Sea Change’s funding (before, during, and after 2010-2011) comes from Nathaniel and Laura Simons as well as a handful of trusts under his name. ³⁴ Nevertheless, Sea Change’s role as a pass-through to major left-wing activist groups has earned it scrutiny from conservative observers and watchdog groups.

In December 2015, the center-right Environmental Policy Alliance released a follow-up report to the 2014 Senate committee report that alleged Klein Ltd. connections to Russia and Russian president Vladimir Putin, proposing that Klein Ltd. and Sea Change Foundation acted as a conduit for funneling Russian government money to U.S. environmental groups in order to undermine American natural gas and oil production to Russia’s benefit (Russia remains a major oil and gas producer): ³⁵

According to its Articles of Incorporation, Klein was formed by two employees of Wakefield Quin (WQ), a Bermuda law firm. A Klein director and WQ senior counsel, along with another WQ senior counsel, have pasts that should be considered questionable at best. Both held directorship positions in a group, owned by Russian minister of telecommunications and longtime Putin friend Leonid Reiman, which was the subject of a 2008 money laundering case. The group was ultimately convicted in British Virgin Islands court. WQ’s Russian involvement doesn’t stop there. Marcuard Spectrum, a Moscow-based investment firm, operates a hedge fund in Bermuda based out of WQ’s office. Both of the aforementioned WQ lawyers are listed in leadership positions. Further, one of the founders of Marcuard is also the chair of Russian-owned oil giant Rosneft.

According to the report, the shell company Klein Ltd. was established in March 2011 by Wakefield Quin; Bermuda law allows such entities to conceal foreign sources of funding. As of 2018, Simons had renamed Klein Ltd. “Sea Change International,” reportedly in response to the negative publicity Klein Ltd. received. ³⁶ However, Sea Change International (formerly Klein Ltd.) shares the same address as Wakefield Quin and, at the time, “more than 20 other companies apparently run through the law firm.” ³⁷ The Environmental Policy Alliance illustrated this relationship as follows:

In September 2018, Daily Signal investigative journalist Kevin Mooney submitted a background report to the Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee titled, “Foreign Involvement on Natural Gas Development in the US & Pennsylvania” (archived here).³⁸ Mooney’s report cited the Sea Change Foundation as a major example of foreign involvement in efforts to disrupt natural gas development in the United States, noting that firms and entities associated with the Simons family and Renaissance Technologies have been “domiciled in Bermuda, using multiple law firms, primarily Wakefield Quin” and Appleby Ltd., the former of “which has been found guilty in international court of aiding a Russian money laundering scheme.”

Sea Change and the other Simons family ventures based in Bermuda have numerous ties to Russia, most notably sharing board directors who also serve as directors of Russian banks, investment funds, and companies. Nat Simons sits on the board of Planar Technologies (which he has funded) alongside Roderick Forrest, senior counsel at Wakefield Quin. who was implicated in a money laundering scheme at Russia’s IPOC Group in 2008.

. . .

Subsequent investigations have found that lawyers and employees with Wakefield Quin have been associated with Russian energy companies and have worked with Leonid Reiman, a former Russian minister of telecommunications and longtime [Vladimir] Putin ally. There is what members of Congress describe as a “paperless money trail” that flows from Putin’s government in Russia into the shell company in Bermuda, from there into the Sea Change Foundation and from the Sea Change Foundation into U.S. environmental groups in the form of grants.

Political Spending

Nathaniel Simons is a major donor to the Democratic Party, Democratic politicians, and left-wing PACs, donating $981,231 to such groups and campaigns between 2010 and 2020 (as of October 2020).

In the 2020 election cycle, Simons donated $147,931 (as of October 2020): ³⁹

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2019-2020)	Amount	Year
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$35,500	2020
Iowa Democratic Party	$10,000	2020
Cindy Axne for Congress	$5,600	2019
Victory Now PAC	$5,000	2019
Treasure State PAC	$5,000	2019
Oceans PAC	$5,000	2020
Impact	$5,000	2019
All for Our Country Leadership PAC	$5,000	2019
Lobo PAC	$5,000	2019
Shaheen for Senate	$2,800	2020
Shaheen for Senate	$2,800	2020
Dean Phillips for Congress	$2,800	2020
Dean Phillips for Congress	$2,800	2020
Arballo for Congress	$2,800	2020
Mark Kelly for Senate	$2,800	2020
Harley Rouda for Congress	$2,800	2019
Harley Rouda for Congress	$2,800	2019
Jaime Harrison for US Senate	$2,800	2020
Jaime Harrison for US Senate	$2,800	2020
Jeff Merkley for Oregon	$2,800	2019
Jeff Merkley for Oregon	$2,800	2019
Christy Smith for Congress	$2,800	2020
Christy Smith for Congress	$2,800	2020
People for Ben	$2,800	2020
Susie Lee for Congress	$2,800	2019
Susie Lee for Congress	$2,800	2019
Max Rose for Congress	$2,800	2019
Max Rose for Congress	$2,800	2019
Josh Harder for Congress	$2,800	2019
Josh Harder for Congress	$2,800	2019
Friends of Mark Warner	$2,800	2019
Friends of Mark Warner	$2,800	2019
Bullock for President	$1,301	2019
Amy for America	$1,125	2019
Actblue	$5	2020
Total:	$147,931

In the 2017-2018 election cycle, Simons donated $92,500: ⁴⁰

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2017-2018)	Amount	Year
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$33,900	2018
Colorado Democratic Party	$10,000	2018
Dinicola for Congress	$2,700	2018
MJ for Texas	$2,700	2018
Susie Lee for Congress	$2,700	2018
Joe Cunningham for Congress	$2,700	2018
Josh Harder for Congress	$2,700	2018
Carper for Senate	$2,700	2018
Cindy Axne for Congress	$2,700	2018
St. Clair for Congress	$2,700	2018
Swalwell for Congress	$2,700	2018
Swalwell for Congress	$2,700	2018
Max Rose for Congress	$2,700	2018
Stabenow for US Senate	$2,700	2018
Stabenow for US Senate	$2,700	2018
Colin Allred for Congress	$2,700	2018
Martin Heinreich for Senate	$2,700	2018
Martin Heinreich for Senate	$2,700	2018
Friends of Chris Murphy	$2,700	2018
Friends of Chris Murphy	$2,700	2018
Total:	$92,500

In the 2015-2016 election cycle, Simons donated $382,600, including donations to Republican politicians Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) and Ryan Costello (PA-6): ⁴¹

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2015-2016)	Amount	Year
Democratic National Committee	$100,200	2016
Democratic National Committee	$50,100	2015
Democratic National Committee	$50,100	2015
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$33,400	2015
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$33,400	2016
Democratic National Committee	$33,400	2016
Democratic National Committee	$33,400	2016
Ros-Lehtinen for Congress	$2,700	2016
Ros-Lehtinen for Congress	$2,700	2016
Friends of Dave Reichert	$2,700	2016
Pat Meehan for Congress	$2,700	2016
Ryan Costello for Congress	$2,700	2016
Carlos Curbelo for Congress	$2,700	2016
Lobiondo for Congress	$2,700	2016
Lobiondo for Congress	$2,700	2016
Tom Reed for Congress	$2,700	2016
Friends of Schumer	$2,700	2015
Deborah Ross for Senate	$2,700	2016
People for Patty Murray	$2,700	2016
People for Patty Murray	$2,700	2016
Kirk for Senate	$2,700	2015
Van Hollen for Senate	$2,700	2016
Strickland for Senate	$2,700	2016
Friends of Schumer	$2,700	2015
Friends of Kelly Ayotte	$2,700	2015
Total:	$382,600

In the 2013-2014 election cycle, Simons donated $164,200: ⁴²

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2013-2014)	Amount	Year
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$32,400	2013
Democratic National Committee	$32,400	2013
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$32,400	2014
Democratic National Committee	$32,400	2014
Jeff Merkley for Oregon	$5,000	2013
Orman for US Senate	$2,600	2014
Alexander for Senate	$2,600	2014
Udall for Us All	$2,600	2014
Shaheen for Senate	$2,600	2014
Walsh for Montana	$2,600	2014
Udall for Colorado	$2,600	2013
Udall for Colorado	$2,600	2014
Alaskans for Begich	$2,600	2013
Alaskans for Begich	$2,600	2013
Romanoff for Congress	$1,600	2014
Friends of Mark Warner	$1,600	2014
Romanoff for Congress	$1,000	2014
Friends of Mark Warner	$1,000	2014
Friends of Mark Warner	$1,000	2013
Total:	$164,200

In the 2011-2012 election cycle, Simons donated $124,800: ⁴³

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2011-2012)	Amount	Year
Obama Victory Fund 2012	$40,000	2012
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$30,800	2011
Democratic National Committee	$30,800	2012
Obama Victory Fund 2012	$4,000	2012
Montanans for Tester	$2,500	2012
Montanans for Tester	$2,500	2012
Obama for America	$2,500	2012
Obama for America	$2,500	2012
Solidarity PAC	$1,000	2011
Democratic Executive Committee of Florida	$714	2012
Democratic Executive Committee of Florida	$680	2012
Ohio Democratic Party	$672	2012
Ohio Democratic Party	$640	2012
Pennsylvania Democratic Party	$546	2012
Pennsylvania Democratic Party	$520	2012
Colorado Democratic Party	$462	2012
Democratic Party of Virginia	$462	2012
North Carolina Democratic Party	$462	2012
Colorado Democratic Party	$440	2012
Democratic Party of Virginia	$440	2012
North Carolina Democratic Party	$440	2012
Democratic Party of Wisconsin	$252	2012
Nevada State Democratic Party	$252	2012
Democratic Party of Wisconsin	$240	2012
Nevada State Democratic Party	$240	2012
Iowa Democratic Party	$210	2012
Iowa Democratic Party	$200	2012
New Hampshire Democratic Party	$168	2012
New Hampshire Democratic Party	$160	2012
Total:	$124,800

In the 2009-2010 election cycle, Simons donated $69,200: ⁴⁴

Nathaniel Simons: FEC Donations (2009-2010)	Amount	Year
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	$30,400	2009
California Senate 2010	$13,900	2010
Giffords for Congress	$2,400	2010
McNerney for Congress	$2,400	2009
Friends of Barbara Boxer	$2,400	2010
Friends of Barbara Boxer	$2,400	2010
Friends of Schumer	$2,400	2009
Friends of Schumer	$2,400	2009
Friends of Blanche Lincoln	$2,400	2010
Friends for Harry Reid	$2,400	2009
Friends for Harry Reid	$2,400	2009
Friends of Byron Dorgan	$2,300	2009
Markey for Congress	$1,000	2010
Total:	$69,200

1. Williams, Tate. “The Quiet Hedge Fund Heir Who’s Engaged in Massive Climate Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. April 3, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/wall-street-wallets/2014/4/3/the-quiet-hedge-fund-heir-whos-engaged-in-massive-climate-gi.html
2. “Jim Simons.” Forbes. Accessed March 01, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-simons/#5493c6f63b6a
3. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Sea Change Foundation. 2006-2018. Schedule I.

   Note that Sea Change Foundation’s fiscal year runs from July 31 to August 1; consequently, its Form 990 reports run from July 31, 2005 to August 1, 2019. The recorded Form 990 years are used here.

   For a complete grant list (2006-2018), see Sea Change Foundation.

4. Information provided by Foundation Search. Search conducted October 26, 2020. www.FoundationSearch.org
5. “Jim Simons.” Forbes. Accessed March 01, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/profile/jim-simons/#5493c6f63b6a.
6. Zuckerman, Gregory. “Renaissance’s Man: James Simons Does The Math on Fund.” The Wall Street Journal. July 01, 2005. Accessed March 01, 2019. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB112018150042875023.
7. “Foundation Stats: Guide to the Foundation Center’s Research Database – Foundation Center.” Accessed March 01, 2019. http://data.foundationcenter.org/#/foundations/all/nationwide/top:giving/list/2014.
8. “Laura Baxter-Simons.” Prelude Ventures. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.preludeventures.com/laura-baxter-simons
9. “Liz Simons.” Heising-Simons Foundation. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.hsfoundation.org/person/liz-simons/
10. “Grants Directory.” Foundation for a Just Society. Accessed October 20, 2019. https://www.fjs.org/grants-directory.
11. “Jacob Cappell, M.A.” Simons Foundation. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/team/jacob-cappell/
12. “Cylink Corporation.” Crunchbase. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/cylink-corporation

    Note that Cylink appears to be defunct as of 2020.

13. “Famous Alumni” University of California, Berkeley. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://alumnius.net/university_of_califo-7940-665#id36902121
14. “Laura Baxter-Simons.” Prelude Ventures. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.preludeventures.com/laura-baxter-simons
15. “Nat Simons: LinkedIn Profile.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nat-simons-48943710/
16. “About.” The Giving Pledge. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://givingpledge.org/About.aspx
17. “Nat Simons and Laura Baxter-Simons.” The Giving Pledge. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://givingpledge.org/Pledger.aspx?id=339
18. Bryan Dumaine, Anne Vandermey. “The World’s Top 25 Eco-Innovators.” Forbes. May 1, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://fortune.com/2014/05/01/the-worlds-top-25-eco-innovators/
19. David Goldman. “The 30 rich and powerful people Bill Gates signed on to save the Earth.” CNN.com. November 30, 2015. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/30/technology/bill-gates-climate-change/index.html
20. “National Clean Energy Project.” C-SPAN. February 23, 2009. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www.c-span.org/video/?284239-1/national-clean-energy-project
21. Williams, Tate. “The Quiet Hedge Fund Heir Who’s Engaged in Massive Climate Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. April 3, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/wall-street-wallets/2014/4/3/the-quiet-hedge-fund-heir-whos-engaged-in-massive-climate-gi.html
22. Tate Williams. “Top Climate Change Donors Pull Back the Curtain on Their Past and Future Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. July 20, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/7/20/top-climate-change-donors-pull-back-the-curtain-on-their-past-and-future-giving
23. “Statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord.” White House (Trump administration). June 1, 2017. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-trump-paris-climate-accord/
24. Tate Williams. “Top Climate Change Donors Pull Back the Curtain on Their Past and Future Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. July 20, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/7/20/top-climate-change-donors-pull-back-the-curtain-on-their-past-and-future-giving
25. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Sea Change Foundation. 2006-2018. Schedule I.
26. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Sea Change Foundation. 2006-2018. Schedule I.

    Note that Sea Change Foundation’s fiscal year runs from July 31 to August 1; consequently, its Form 990 reports run from July 31, 2005 to August 1, 2019. The recorded Form 990 years are used here.

27. Information provided by Foundation Search. Search conducted October 26, 2020. www.FoundationSearch.org
28. Note that a number of Sea Change Foundation grants list League of Conservation Voters instead of League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, improperly referring to LCVEF’s 501(c)(4) advocacy arm. As private foundations are largely barred from donating to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations and these grants misidentify LCV as a “public charity,” they have been counted as benefiting LCVEF.
29. Lachlan Markay. “Dem Mega-Donor Commutes to Work on Gas-Guzzling Yacht.” Washington Free Beacon. November 3, 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://freebeacon.com/politics/dem-mega-donor-commutes-to-work-on-gas-guzzling-yacht/
30. United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Minority Staff Report. “The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and their Foundations Control the Environment and Obama’s EPA.” July 30, 2014. Accessed October 28, 2020. Original URL: https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6ce8dd13-e4ab-4b31-9485-6d2b8a6f6b00/chainofenvironmentalcommand.pdf. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/chain-of-environmental-command-2014-report.pdf
31. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Sea Change Foundation. 2010, 2011. Schedule B.

    For a complete list of Sea Change’s donors between 2006 and 2018, see Donors to Sea Change Foundation.

32. United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Minority Staff Report. “The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and their Foundations Control the Environment and Obama’s EPA.” July 30, 2014. Accessed October 28, 2020. Original URL: https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6ce8dd13-e4ab-4b31-9485-6d2b8a6f6b00/chainofenvironmentalcommand.pdf. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/chain-of-environmental-command-2014-report.pdf

    See PDF page 72.

33. United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Minority Staff Report. “The Chain of Environmental Command: How a Club of Billionaires and their Foundations Control the Environment and Obama’s EPA.” July 30, 2014. Accessed October 28, 2020. Original URL: https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6ce8dd13-e4ab-4b31-9485-6d2b8a6f6b00/chainofenvironmentalcommand.pdf. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/chain-of-environmental-command-2014-report.pdf

    See PDF page 74.

34. Return of Foundation Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990-PF). Sea Change Foundation. 2010, 2011. Schedule B.

    For a complete list of Sea Change’s donors between 2006 and 2018, see Donors to Sea Change Foundation.

35. “From Russia With Love? Examining Links Between US Environmental Funder and the Kremlin.” Environmental Policy Alliance. December 2015. https://www.biggreenradicals.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Klein_Report_12-2015.pdf
36. Tate Williams. “Top Climate Change Donors Pull Back the Curtain on Their Past and Future Giving.” Inside Philanthropy. July 20, 2018. Accessed October 27, 2020. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2018/7/20/top-climate-change-donors-pull-back-the-curtain-on-their-past-and-future-giving.
37. Kevin Mooney. “Foreign Involvement on Natural Gas Development in the US & Pennsylvania”. Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Submitted September 25, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2020. Original URL: https://environmental.pasenategop.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2018/09/mooney.pdf. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Mooney.-Foreign-Involvement-on-Natural-Gas-Development-in-the-US-PA.pdf

    See PDF page 7.

38. Kevin Mooney. “Foreign Involvement on Natural Gas Development in the US & Pennsylvania”. Pennsylvania Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. Submitted September 25, 2018. Accessed October 28, 2020. Original URL: https://environmental.pasenategop.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2018/09/mooney.pdf. Archived: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/10/Mooney.-Foreign-Involvement-on-Natural-Gas-Development-in-the-US-PA.pdf
39. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2019-2020. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2019&max_date=12%2F31%2F2020
40. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2017-2018. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2018&max_date=12%2F31%2F2018
41. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2015-2016. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2015&max_date=12%2F31%2F2016
42. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2013-2014. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2013&max_date=12%2F31%2F2014
43. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2011-2012. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2011&max_date=12%2F31%2F2012
44. FEC Report: Nathaniel Simons. 2009-2010. Search conducted October 27, 2020. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=nathaniel+simons&min_date=01%2F01%2F2009&max_date=12%2F31%2F2010