Eric Kessler

Last updated
Eric J. Kessler
Education University of Colorado
Georgetown University
OccupationFounder of Arabella Advisors
Board member of National Democratic Institute
Sixteen Thirty Fund

Eric Kessler is the founder and senior managing director of Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based for-profit consulting company that advises left-leaning donors and nonprofits about where to give and serves as the hub of a politically liberal "dark money" network. [1]

Contents

Background

Kessler's family owned Fel-Pro, an auto-parts manufacturer in the Chicago area. They sold the company for $750 million when Kessler was 26 years old. [2] Kessler worked for the Family Alliance Foundation, a philanthropic organization formed with some of the proceeds of the Fel-Pro sale. Kessler also worked for the League of Conservation Voters. He was a United States Department of the Interior appointee during the presidency of Bill Clinton. He then spent six years working for the National Democratic Institute. In 2005, Kessler founded Arabella Advisors. [2] Since its founding, Arabella Advisors has distributed billions of dollars to various liberal political causes. [3]

Kessler was the president and board chair of the Hopewell Fund at its September 2015 founding. [4]

Kessler is Jewish. [5]

See also

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References

  1. Bland, Scott; Severns, Maggie (November 19, 2019). "Documents reveal massive 'dark-money' group boosted Democrats in 2018". Politico. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 ""Be the Change" an Interview with Arabella Advisors' Eric Kessler". Philanthropy New York. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  3. Birnbaum, Emily (15 August 2023). "US 'Dark Money' Donor Groups Accuse Each Other of Abusing System". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  4. "Hopewell Fund (2015 Form 990)". ProPublica. 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2023-10-04.
  5. Fuchs, Marek (2006-12-30). "To Tithe or Not? These Days the Issue Only Starts There". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2024-08-09.