 | |
| Formation | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jeneye Abele, Chris Abele, Alex Abele, John Abele, Mary Abele | |
Key people | Jeneye Abele, President and Chief Executive [1] |
Formerly called | Abele Family Charitable Trust |
The Argosy Foundation, founded in 1997, [2] is currently based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [3] It was formerly known as the Abele Family Charitable Trust.
The foundation was established in 1995 with a $9 million endowment from John Abele. [3] In 2002, it was reported that the foundation would move to Milwaukee with a net worth of over $450 million and that it had a history of supporting "liberal social and environmental causes." [3] It was also reported that the foundation trustees were the five members of the Abele family: Chris, Alex, Jennifer, John Abele, and his wife. [3]
These are among the grants awarded:
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes.
Philip Frederick Anschutz is an American billionaire businessman who owns or controls companies in a variety of industries, including energy, railroads, real estate, sports, newspapers, movies, theaters, arenas and music. In 2004, he purchased the parent company of the Journal Newspapers, which under Anschutz's direction became the American conservative editorial newspaper Washington Examiner.
Jon Meade Huntsman Sr. was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was the founder and executive chairman of Huntsman Corporation, a global manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemicals. Huntsman plastics are used in a wide variety of familiar objects, including (formerly) clamshell containers for McDonald's hamburgers. Huntsman Corporation also manufactures a wide variety of organic and inorganic chemicals that include polyurethanes, textiles, and pigments. Huntsman's philanthropic giving exceeded $1.5 billion, focusing on areas of cancer research, programs at various universities, and aid to Armenia.
The John M. Olin Foundation was a conservative American grant-making foundation established in 1953 by John M. Olin, president of the Olin Industries chemical and munitions manufacturing businesses. Unlike most other foundations, it was charged to spend all of its assets within a generation of Olin's death, for fear of mission drift over time and to preserve donor intent. It made its last grant in the summer of 2005 and officially disbanded on November 29, 2005. It had disbursed over $370 million in funding, primarily to conservative think tanks, media outlets, and law programs at influential universities. It is most notable for its early support and funding of the law and economics movement and the Federalist Society. "All in all, the Federalist Society has been one of the best investments the foundation ever made," wrote the Foundation to its trustees in 2003.
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Bruce Stanley Kovner is an American billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist. He is chairman of CAM Capital, which he established in January 2012 to manage his investment, trading and business activities. From 1983 through 2011, Kovner was founder and chairman of Caxton Associates, a diversified trading company. As of April 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$6.2 billion.
Charles Bartlett Johnson is an American billionaire businessman, with an estimated current net worth of around $6.1 billion.
John E. Abele is an American businessman, and the co-founder and a director of Boston Scientific, a medical device company. He was awarded the ASME Medal in 2010. As of May 2022, his net worth was estimated at US$640 million. He was first a billionaire on the Forbes 400 list in 1996, but has since given away much of his wealth.
Harold Clark Simmons was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist whose banking expertise helped him develop the acquisition concept known as the leveraged buyout (LBO) to acquire various corporations. He was the owner of Contran Corporation and of Valhi, Inc.,. As of 2006, he controlled five public companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange: NL Industries; Titanium Metals Corporation, the world's largest producer of titanium; Valhi, Inc., a multinational company with operations in the chemicals, component products, Waste Control Specialists, titanium metals industries; CompX International, manufacturer of ergonomic products, and Kronos Worldwide, leading producer and marketer of titanium dioxide.
Paul Elliott Singer is an American hedge fund manager, activist investor, philanthropist, and the founder, president and co-CEO of Elliott Management. As of October 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$4.3 billion.
Foster Stephen Friess was an American investment manager and prominent donor to the Republican Party and to Christian right causes. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Wyoming in the 2018 election, losing in the primary to State Treasurer Mark Gordon.
Thomas Fahr Steyer is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and former co-senior-managing-partner of Farallon Capital and the co-founder of OneCalifornia Bank, which became Beneficial State Bank, an Oakland-based community development bank. Farallon Capital manages $20 billion in capital for institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The firm's institutional investors include college endowments and foundations. Steyer served on the board of trustees at Stanford University from 2007 to 2017. Since 1986, he has been a partner and member of the executive committee at Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.
Jon Lloyd Stryker is an American architect, philanthropist, and billionaire heir to the Stryker Corporation medical technology company fortune.
Christopher Seton Abele is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. He served as the 6th Milwaukee County Executive from 2011 to 2020. Abele is the son of American businessman John Abele, the co-founder of Boston Scientific. Abele serves as a trustee of the Argosy Foundation, a charitable trust established with an endowment from his father.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environment, public health, the arts, government innovation and education. According to the Foundation Center, Bloomberg Philanthropies was the 10th largest foundation in the United States in 2015, the last year for which data was available. Bloomberg has pledged to donate the majority of his wealth, currently estimated at more than $54 billion. Patti Harris is the CEO of Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Toby R. Neugebauer is an American businessman and political donor based in the state of Texas.
The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is a Super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Super PAC, which was closely linked to former House Speaker John Boehner and House GOP leadership, was founded in 2011 and spent nearly $10 million in the 2012 cycle electing Republican candidates. Following Boehner's resignation from the U.S. Congress and the election of Paul D. Ryan as Speaker of the House, Congressional Leadership Fund became closely linked to Ryan.
Richard Ellis Uihlein and Elizabeth Uihlein are American billionaire businesspeople, founders of Uline and conservative donors. Richard is also an heir to the Schlitz brewing fortune.
CSA Partners is a venture capital fund backed by Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Executive, and former president and CEO of the Argosy Foundation Abele invested 10 million dollars into the fund. The firm leases 35,000 square feet at remodelled space inside the historic John Pritzlaff Hardware Company building.
Douglas E. Goldman is an American businessman, philanthropist, and member of the Haas family.
His daughter, Jeneye, who shares Abele's environmental passions, serves as Argosy's chief executive.
In 1997 he founded the Argosy Foundation
plans to relocate its headquarters to Milwaukee
The groups are also linked to a super PAC called the Congressional Leadership Fund.
