Earlier this year internal documents from the Heartland Institute, a major hub of climate change denial and right-wing extremism, were publicly leaked. The documents exposed the Heartland Institute’s funders and strategies for attacking climate science, and led to a mass exodus of Heartland’s corporate funders.

Today, a newly updated report based in large part on Heartland’s internal documents has revealed two new insights into the way in which the anti-climate science movement has been supported and financed over the last decade.

1. A billionaire named Barre Seid is the Heartland Institute’s main sugar daddy. He is the “Anonymous Donor” listed in Heartland’s fundraising plan who finances climate science denial operations to confuse children, the general public and policymakers over global warming. Seid has been the biggest booster behind Heartland’s attacks on climate science, donating millions of dollars to keep the Heartland Institute’s anti-science work afloat.
2. The Koch brothers and other ultra-wealthy industrial ideologues are now hiding much of their donations to conservative political outlets through an obscure group of foundations that specialize in secrecy.

In total over $311 million has been put through twin organizations known as Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund which share an address in Alexandria, Virginia. Continue reading →