Jeff Yass

Jeff Yass
Born	1958 (age 65–66) New York City, US
Education	Binghamton University (BA) New York University
Political party	Registered Libertarian; donates primarily to Republican candidates and causes
Spouse	Janine Coslett Yass
Children	4

Jeffrey S. Yass (born 1958) is an American billionaire businessman. According to Forbes , Yass had a net worth of $27.6 billion in April 2024 ^[1] which grew to $49.6 billion by September 2024 ^[2] and is the richest man in Pennsylvania. ^[3] He is a registered Libertarian ^[4] who gives money to conservative super-PACs including Club for Growth Action and the Protect Freedom Political Action Committee. ^[3] He and his wife Janine Yass are supporters of school choice, a cause to which they have donated tens of millions of dollars. ^[5]

He is the co-founder and managing director of the Philadelphia-based trading and technology firm Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and a major investor in TikTok. ^[6] In 2002, he joined the executive advisory council of the Cato Institute ^{[7] [8]} and now is a member of the executive advisory council. ^[9]

As of March 2024, he was the largest donor in the 2024 US election cycle, having donated $46 million to Republican groups and campaigns, primarily to school choice groups and rivals of Donald Trump. ^[6] However, after Yass and Trump met in March 2024, Trump went from supporting a ban on TikTok to opposing a ban. ^[6] SIG had a significant market maker role in the 2024 merger of Digital World Acquisition Corp. and Trump Media & Technology Group. ^{[10] [11]} Yass added another $6 million in political contributions in 2024 via the Commonwealth Leaders Fund PAC supporting Republican Dave Sunday over Democrat Eugene DePasquale in the 2024 Pennsylvania Attorney General election. ^[12]

Early life

Yass was born in 1958 in Queens, New York City, and grew up there in a middle-class Jewish family. ^{[13] [14]} He is the son of Gerald Yass and Gerald's "childhood sweetheart" Sybil. ^{[15] [16]} He has a sister, Carole. ^[17]

Sybil Yass died in December, 2001. ^[18] Gerald Yass died on January 6, 2024, aged 94, in Boca Raton, Florida. ^[17]

Yass was educated at public schools in Queens. ^[19] He earned a B.S. in mathematics and economics from Binghamton University. ^{[20] [21]} He pursued graduate studies in economics at New York University, ^[21] but did not graduate.

Career

While at the State University of New York at Binghamton in the 1970s, Yass and five fellow students became friends and later co-founded Susquehanna International Group (SIG), the largest trader of liquid stocks in the US. ^{[15] [22]} In the 1970s and early 1980s, before establishing his trading firm, Yass was a professional gambler, winning sums from poker and horse betting. ^[22]

Trader Israel Englander sponsored Yass for a seat on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, and SIG was initially run from an office at the Exchange. ^[15] His father, Gerald Yass, also helped to found the company. ^[15] As of 2021, SIG generates almost one-tenth of the market making trade volume in exchange-traded funds. ^[22]

Political activities

Yass has contributed significant sums to political efforts. In 2015, Yass donated $2.3 million to a super PAC supporting Rand Paul's presidential candidacy. ^[23] He and his wife contributed just over $5 million in 2016. ^[6] In 2018 he donated $3.8 million to the Club for Growth, and $20.7 million in 2020. ^[24] In the 2020 election cycle, Yass was one of the ten largest political donors in the United States donating $25.3 million, all to Republican candidates ^[25] including 47 lawmakers who sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election. ^{[24] [26]} During the 2022 primary elections, Yass spent at least $18 million, including contributions in support of Republican Bill McSwain, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. ^[4] While primarily donating to Republicans, he also donated $1 million to the Moderate PAC which was set up to support Democratic incumbents against progressive primary challengers during the 2024 election cycle. ^[27] During 2024 he has donated $46 million to Republican causes as of March 2024. ^[6]

Yass and his wife strongly support school choice, ^{[5] [6]} with Janine Yass writing a 2017 opinion piece for The Washington Examiner in support of then-incoming Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos's views at school choice ^[28] and the couple writing an op-ed in The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2023 advocating for parental school choice in Pennsylvania. ^[29] In November 2021, he donated $5 million to the School Freedom Fund, a PAC that runs ads for Republican candidates running in the 2022 election cycle nationwide. ^[30] From 2010 to 2022, Yass contributed $41.7 million to Students First political action committee; Yass co-founded the PAC, which supports the school choice movement. ^[4]

In September 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that Yass, an investor in TikTok's parent firm ByteDance, is a major donor to US politicians who have opposed restrictions on TikTok. ^[31] After Yass and Trump met in March 2024 at a Club for Growth event, Trump went from supporting a ban on TikTok to opposing a ban. ^{[6] [10]} At the same time Yass's SIG bought a substantial share in Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), which it had been acquiring since 2021, providing Trump with a massive influx of money at a time when he faced mounting legal expenses. ^[10] DWAC merged in 2024 with Trump Media, the company that launched Truth Social in 2022. A subsequent article by The Philadelphia Inquirer explained that as a market-maker, SIG also shorted the stock, per common market-maker practice, and did not hold an economic position in Trump Media but profited by managing trades in shares and derivatives. According to SIG filings with the SEC, the company sold its shares and liquidated the shorts after the merged company began trading as Trump Media. ^[11]

In March 2021, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Jeff Yass and Arthur Dantchik were behind a large portion of the donations to the Kohelet Policy Forum in Israel. ^[32] Also according to Haaretz, Yass is a major supporter of Israeli right-wing think tanks. ^[32] In April 2024, The Guardian reported that Jeff Yass donated $16 million to anti-Muslim and pro-Israel groups. ^[33]

Wealth and taxes

As of 2022–2023, Yass was the richest resident of Pennsylvania. ^{[4] [27]}

In 2022, an investigation by ProPublica, based on a review of tax returns it obtained, court documents, and securities filings, found that Yass engaged in tax avoidance, through Susquehanna trading strategies that "push legal boundaries" to reduce tax liability. ^[26] ProPublica estimated "that if Yass' tax returns had resembled those of his competitors" (specifically, Ken Griffin, John Overdeck, and David Siegel), Yass "would have paid $1 billion more in federal income taxes" during the period 2013 to 2018. ^[26]

Recognition

In 2001, Yass appeared as one of 76 Revolutionary Minds in Philadelphia magazine. ^[34]

Personal life

Yass is married to Janine Coslett. ^{[35] [36]} They have lived in Haverford in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, for some years. ^[25] They have four children, two sons and two daughters. ^[37]

Philanthropy

In December 2001, following the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, he announced a donation to the charitable fund established by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to assist the victims. ^[38] He has supported Save the Children, ^{[39] [40]} "Spirit of Golf Foundation", ^[41] People's Emergency Center Families First building, ^[42] and the Franklin Institute's Franklin Family Funfest Committee. ^[43]

Jeff and Janine Yass founded the Yass Prize for Sustainable, Transformational, Outstanding, and Permissionless (STOP) education, which was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative aims to recognize and support innovative, non-traditional education models. In 2022, the Yass Prize awarded over $20 million, including a $1 million grand prize to the Arizona Autism Charter Schools for their individualized learning programs. ^{[44] [45]}

References

1. LaFranco, Rob; Chung, Grace; Peterson-Withorn, Chase (eds.). "Forbes World's Billionaires List The Richest in 2024". Forbes . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
2. "Jeff Yass | Real Time Net Worth". Forbes . Retrieved September 16, 2024.
3. Tindera, Michela (April 16, 2021). "This Secretive Billionaire Is One Of America's Biggest Conservative Donors". Forbes .
4. Stephen Caruso, Pa.'s richest person has spent at least $18 million on the 2022 primary — mostly to influence one issue, Spotlight PA (May 16, 2022).
5. Wolfman-Arent, Avi (January 26, 2021). "As the Trump era ends, the school choice movement reckons with its conservative ties". WHYY.
6. Ulmer, Alexandra (March 21, 2024). "Republican trading firm owner and TikTok investor Yass emerges as top donor in US election". Reuters .
7. "Board of Directors". Cato Institute. 2006. Archived from the original on August 17, 2005. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
8. Segal, Geoffrey F.; Samuel R. Staley (September–October 2002). "News Notes" (PDF). CATO Policy Report. Cato Institute. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
9. "Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives". Cato Institute. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
10. Terruso, Julia (March 22, 2024). "Pa. billionaire Jeffrey Yass' firm has a large holding in company that merged with Trump's Truth Social". Philadelphia Inquirer . ProQuest   2973398817.
11. DiStefano, Joseph N. (April 10, 2024). "How Jeff Yass' firm makes money from companies like Trump's Truth Social". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest   3038017978.
12. McGoldrick, Gillian (September 16, 2024). "Pa.'s richest man, Jeff Yass, is spending millions to elect the Republican AG candidate in November". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest   3104987657.
13. Stieb, Matt (March 27, 2024). "Who Is Jeff Yass, the GOP Billionaire Donor Dominating 2024?". New York Magazine. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
14. "Beating the Odds – Susquehanna International – Jeff Yass". Philly Mag. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
15. "Susquehanna International Group LLP Stands To Make Billions Off TikTok". The Intellectualist. October 2020. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
16. "LIU Brooklyn Alum Gerald Yass Endows Scholarship for Accounting Majors". LIU Magazine. Spring 2018. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
17. "GERALD YASS Obituary". New York Times. January 9, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
18. "Sybil Yass Obituary". New York Times. December 6, 2001. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
19. Bunch, Will (March 24, 2015). "It's the libertarianism, stupid". www.inquirer.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
20. "Bloomberg profile: Jeff Yass". Bloomberg LP. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
21. "MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Speaker | Jeffrey Yass". www.sloansportsconference.com. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
22. Gara, Antoine. "How Trader Jeff Yass Parlayed Poker And Horse Race Handicapping Into A $12 Billion Fortune". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
23. "Million-Dollar Donors in the 2016 Presidential Race". New York Times. August 25, 2015. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
24. "Billionaires backed Republicans who sought to reverse US election results". The Guardian . January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
25. Knickerbocker, Ken (November 5, 2020). "Bala CEO's $25 Million Contribution to Republican Candidates and Groups Makes Him One of America's Top Political Donors". MontCo Today. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
26. Justin Elliott, Jesse Eisinger, Paul Kiel, Jeff Ernsthausen and Doris Burke (2022). "Meet the Billionaire and Rising GOP Mega-Donor Who's Gaming the Tax System". ProPublica. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2002.
27. Lacy, Akela (January 25, 2023). "Centrist Democratic PAC's Sole Funder Is a Republican Megadonor". The Intercept. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
28. "DeVos isn't opposed to public education, she opposes failing schools". February 7, 2017. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
29. Yass, Jeff; Yass, Janine (July 15, 2023). "Jeff and Janine Yass: Educational freedom is the right thing to do". The Philadelphia Inquirer. ProQuest   2837692103.
30. "School Freedom Fund PAC Donors". Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
31. McKinnon, John D.; Woo, Stu (September 20, 2023). "The Billionaire Keeping TikTok on Phones in the U.S." . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
32. Slyomovics, Nettanel (March 11, 2021). "The U.S. billionaires secretly funding the right-wing effort to reshape Israel". Haaretz . Archived from the original on June 28, 2022.
33. Clifton, Eli (April 24, 2024). "Billionaire Jeff Yass linked to $16m in donations to anti-Muslim and pro-Israel groups". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved May 16, 2024.
34. Jordan, Sarah (November 2001). "76 Revolutionary Minds". Philadelphia Magazine . Archived from the original on June 29, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
35. "Margaret Coslett Obituary (2015) - Times Leader". www.legacy.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
36. "Class of 1981". www.muhlenbergconnect.com. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
37. "2009 Men's Water Polo: Robbie Yass". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
38. "Port authority establishes world trade center memorial fund to aid victims and their families". Port Authority of NY and NJ. September 29, 2001. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
39. "Protecting Children in a Time of Crisis - Annual Report 2008" (PDF). Save the Children . Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
40. "Revitalizing Newborn and Child Survival - Annual Report 2009" (PDF). Save the Children . Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
41. "SGF Advisory Board Members". Spirit of Golf Foundation. 2006. Archived from the original on May 14, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
42. "Families First Contributors". People's Emergency Center (PEC). 2006. Archived from the original on October 9, 2006. Retrieved September 15, 2006.
43. "Franklin Family Funfest" (PDF). 7th Annual Franklin Family Funfest. Franklin Institute. October 22, 2004. Retrieved September 15, 2006.^{[ dead link ]}
44. Haines, Erica (March 1, 2023). "Excellence and Empowerment: A Philanthropic Approach to Education Reform". Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
45. "Janine Yass "Yass Prize" Highlights New Education Models". Stand Together Trust. January 26, 2023. Archived from the original on January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.

Further reading

• Schwager, Jack D. (1995). The New Market Wizards. 13 pages: Wiley; New Ed edition. ISBN   0-471-13236-5.