Richard (Dick) Uihlein is the founder of Uline and a major Republican donor. In the 2021-2022 election cycle, Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, contributed $60 million to Republican candidates and PACs, making them the largest Republican donors. ¹

Background

Dick Uihlein is a descendant of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company fortune. In 1969, Uihlein worked for the successful special election campaign of Phil Crane (R-IL), a hardline anti-communist. ² In 1980, Dick and his wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, founded Uline, which grew into one of the largest private companies in the United States. ³

Uline saw tremendous growth during the late 2010s due to the boom in online shopping, resulting in Uihlein and his wife’s income reportedly increasing from $18 million in 2002 to $712 million in 2018. ⁴ In 2021, Uline had 7,000 employees and an estimated $5.8 billion in revenue. ⁵

Family

Dick Uihlein’s wife, Elizabeth Uihlein, is the president of Uline and a prominent Republican donor. Since 1996, she has donated at least $21,176,929 to candidates and PACs. ⁶ She was also an outspoken opponent of COVID-19 lockdowns; in July 2021, Elizabeth emailed Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) advising him to cut welfare payments to incentivize people to return to work. ⁷

Uihlein’s father, Edgar Uihlein Jr., was a member of the national finance committee of the John Birch Society, a prominent far-right group that opposed the New Deal welfare programs and the civil rights movement. Uihlein’s grandfather was a donor to the pre-World War II America First Committee, which advocated for strict American neutrality until the attack on Pearl Harbor. ⁸

Political Views

In 2018, the New York Times called Uihlein “the most powerful conservative you’ve never heard of.” ⁹ Despite his influence in the Republican Party, Uihlein reportedly “shuns the spotlight” and has said little publicly about his beliefs. The Washington Post has described him as having “anti-union, free-market and small-government views.” In a court testimony, Uihlein described his political priorities as “freedom of speech, limited government, sanctity of life and, also, Second Amendment rights.” ¹⁰

In an interview with National Review, Uihlein said his political views were shaped by his father who “would talk about the importance of capitalism and the evils of socialism.” ¹¹

Though Uihlein has not spoken publicly on the issue, he has supported candidates and PACs associated with opposing laws designed to benefit transgender individuals. ¹²

Political Donations

Since 1990, Dick Uihlein has donated at least $210,239,592 to candidates and PACs. The largest recipient has been Club for Growth, which since 2010 has received $69,250,680, followed by Restoration PAC, which since 2015 has received $65,955,335. ¹³

Uihlein has considerably increased his political activity over the previous decade. In the 2010 election cycle, Uihlein and his wife contributed $319,000 making them the 34^th largest Republican donors. In the 2016 cycle, they contributed $22 million; in the 2018 cycle, they contributed $38 million; in the 2020 cycle, they contributed $75 million; as of October 2022, they have contributed $60 million, making them the largest Republican donors of the cycle. ^{14 15}

Uihlein also donates money to conservative organizations through the Ed Uihlein Family Foundation, a grantmaking nonprofit run by Uihlein, including the Federalist Society, Conservative Partnership Institute, and the Foundation for Government Accountability. ¹⁶ In 2020, the foundation donated $17.7 million. ¹⁷

Uihlein has supported numerous candidates considered far-right by their opponents. In the 2022 election cycle, Uihlein spent $50 million in support of Illinois state Senator Darren Bailey’s (R-IL) unsuccessful gubernatorial run. Senator Bailey was considered a far-right candidate, and once claimed that abortion law in the United States had caused more deaths than the Holocaust. In 2020, Uihlein supported former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore’s (R-AL) unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate. In 2018, Uihlein contributed $750,000 to Mississippi state Senator Chris McDaniel’s (R) U.S. Senatorial campaign which featured maintaining a confederate symbol on the state flag as a key issue. ¹⁸

Support for President Trump

In the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, Dick Uihlein initially supported the campaigns of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and then-Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (R) but supported Donald Trump after they dropped out. Uihlein and his wife attended President Trump’s 2016 inauguration. ¹⁹ In the 2016 and 2020 election cycles, Uihlein donated $750,000 to President Trump’s America First Action, ²⁰ and $900,000 to Trump Victory. ²¹

According to the left-of-center Brennan Center for Justice, Uihlein and his wife donated almost $63 million to candidates and PACs who rejected the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the state level, recipients include the American Principles Project, the People Who Play by the Rules PAC, and Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey (R). Federally, the Uilleanns have donated to over three dozen U.S. Senatorial and Congressional candidates who rejected the election results, as well as the Restoration PAC. Through his charitable foundation, Uihlein also contributed $1.2 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute, which employs a lawyer who worked on President Trump’s election lawsuits. ²²

Though Uihlein has been a supporter of President Trump, according to GRID, his support has been moderate and might only represent a preference over Democrats rather than enthusiastic support. Allegedly, the Uihleins contributed “only a fraction of what they regularly pour into other candidates for office. They did not make a habit of visiting the White House during Trump’s tenure.” ²³

In late 2022, Uihlein donated to multiple groups that supported the re-election campaign of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). ²⁴

1. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
2. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
3. “Company History.” Uline. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.uline.com/Corporate/About_History.
4. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
5. “Uline Revenue.” Zippia. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.zippia.com/uline-careers-42735/revenue/.
6. “Federal Elections Commission Search: Elizabeth Uihlein.” Federal Elections Commission. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=elizabeth+uihlein.
7. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
8. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
9. Saul, Stephanie; Hakim, Danny. “The Most Powerful Conservative Couple You’ve Never Heard Of.” The New York Times. June 7, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/liz-dick-uihlein-republican-donors.html.
10. Ye He Lee, Michelle; Scherer, Michael. “Meet the little-known ‘big fish’ megadonor setting the tone for GOP primary races.” The Washington Post. April 30, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-the-little-known-big-fish-megadonor-setting-the-tone-for-gop-primary-races/2018/04/29/2e784d76-3215-11e8-94fa-32d48460b955_story.html.
11. Ye He Lee, Michelle; Scherer, Michael. “Meet the little-known ‘big fish’ megadonor setting the tone for GOP primary races.” The Washington Post. April 30, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-the-little-known-big-fish-megadonor-setting-the-tone-for-gop-primary-races/2018/04/29/2e784d76-3215-11e8-94fa-32d48460b955_story.html.
12. Armiak, David. “Uline Chairman Funnels $2.5 Million to Anti-Abortion PACs.” Exposed by CMD. July 19, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2022/07/19/uline-chairman-funnels-2-5-million-to-anti-abortion-pacs/.
13. “Federal Elections Commission Search: Richard Uihlein.” Federal Elections Commission. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=dick+uihlein&contributor_name=richard+uihlein&contributor_occupation=uline
14. Elliot, Justin; O’Matz, Megan; Burke, Doris. “That Cardboard Box in Your Home Is Fueling Election Denial.” ProPublica. October 26, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.propublica.org/article/uline-uihlein-election-denial.
15. “Influence Peddler for August 2022 – Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein.” Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. August 1, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.wisdc.org/news/press-releases/136-press-release-2022/7161-influence-peddler-for-august-2022-richard-and-elizabeth-uihlein.
16. Ye He Lee, Michelle; Scherer, Michael. “Meet the little-known ‘big fish’ megadonor setting the tone for GOP primary races.” The Washington Post. April 30, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-the-little-known-big-fish-megadonor-setting-the-tone-for-gop-primary-races/2018/04/29/2e784d76-3215-11e8-94fa-32d48460b955_story.html.
17. “Ed Uihlein Family Foundation.” ProPublica. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/205723621.
18. Saul, Stephanie; Hakim, Danny. “The Most Powerful Conservative Couple You’ve Never Heard Of.” The New York Times. June 7, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/us/politics/liz-dick-uihlein-republican-donors.html.
19. ^[1] Ye He Lee, Michelle; Scherer, Michael. “Meet the little-known ‘big fish’ megadonor setting the tone for GOP primary races.” The Washington Post. April 30, 2018. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/meet-the-little-known-big-fish-megadonor-setting-the-tone-for-gop-primary-races/2018/04/29/2e784d76-3215-11e8-94fa-32d48460b955_story.html.
20. ^[1] “Federal Elections Commission Search: Richard Uihlein.” Federal Elections Commission. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=dick+uihlein&contributor_name=richard+uihlein&contributor_occupation=uline
21. Zahn, Max. “Billionaire donors are defecting from Trump. Here’s who to watch.” ABC News. November 17, 2002. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/billionaire-donors-defecting-trump-watch/story?id=93409938.
22. Fishman, Julia; Vanderwalker, Ian. “Big Donors Working to Overturn the 2020 Election Are Backing Election Denial Candidates in 2022.” Brennan Center. November 3, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/big-donors-working-overturn-2020-election-are-backing-election-denial.
23. Severns, Maggie. “Republican megadoners are backing MAGA candidates – even if they don’t like Trump.” GRID. November 7, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/11/07/republican-megadonors-are-backing-maga-candidates-even-if-they-dont-like-trump/
24. ^[1] Severns, Maggie. “Republican megadoners are backing MAGA candidates – even if they don’t like Trump.” GRID. November 7, 2022. Accessed November 29, 2022. https://www.grid.news/story/politics/2022/11/07/republican-megadonors-are-backing-maga-candidates-even-if-they-dont-like-trump/