On Monday morning, netizens expressed fury over a New York Times article detailing a $1.6 billion donation received by well-known conservative activist Leonard Leo. Businessman Barre Seid has provided money to a new group led by Federalist Society co-chairman Leonardo, which has advised Trump’s Supreme Court picks and helped repeal federal rights to the abortion.
The amount donated for political advocacy is the largest ever in American history. Find out how an underground billionaire gave his money to the right-wing justice takeover leader.
Leonard Leo
Leonard Leo’s net worth: How rich is the Federalist Society’s executive vice president?
Leonard Leo’s transparent net worth only shows 5 million USD, although he has accumulated much more over the years. As an example, excluding their Marble Freedom Trust, Leo and his partners earned around $450 million between 2005 and mid-2021.
The Federalist Society has been paying Leo more than $400,000 (per year) for several years, according to a 2019 article in The Washington Post. Leo allegedly helped conservative groups raise $250 million from numerous anonymous contributors in the same year, according to reports. He made the donation recently to support Conservative Justices and their causes.
Because the unprecedented $1.6 billion donation made headlines, the Conservatives took advantage. A low-key Republican investor has committed his money to a brand new company run by ruthless oligarch Leonard A. Leo.
Specifically, a new conservative nonprofit received a $1.6 billion windfall from a little-known donor last year. Republicans and their causes could benefit greatly from this unusual donation in the upcoming midterm elections and for years to come.
One of the largest contributions ever made to a political nonprofit in America, according to the donor, electronics millionaire Barre Seid.
Leonard Leo Career Biography
American lawyer and conservative legal activist Leonard Leo. He served as vice president of the Federalist Society for a long time and now shares chairmanship of the board with Steven G. Calabresi.
In the recent Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, Leonard’s name has gained notoriety. The majority of Americans favored abortion rights, but a handful of dedicated conservative activists fought for years to overturn Roe v. Wade. Leonard Leo in particular had been a key player in this fight.
Leo has nominated a number of people to the Supreme Court, including John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Leo also backed Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearings. Leo also took the initiative to promote the appointments of these people.
Leonard Leo marries Sally Leo
Leonard Leo: wife Sally Leo and children
Sally and Leonard Leo get married, and the two have a total of seven children. He did not provide any other information about his wife or children, although he lives in Northern Virginia with his family.
Leonard started the Cornell Law School student chapter of the Federalist Society in 1989, and in 1991 he moved to Washington, D.C., to work for the organization.
While clerking at the Court of Appeals, Leonard first met Clarence Thomas, and over time they grew closer. Leo postponed his Federalist Society debut so he could support Thomas in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. For more than 25 years he has worked with the Federalist Society in a variety of roles.
Leonard Leo Bio
Lawyer and conservative legal activist Leonard A. Leo is from the United States of America. He previously served as long-term vice president of the Federalist Society, and he currently serves as co-chair of the organization’s board of directors, along with Steven G. Calabresi.
Leo was an aide to Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, and he also led efforts for the Supreme Court nominations of John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. . .
| Born | 1965 (56-57 years old)
Northport, New York, USA |
|---|---|
| Education | Cornell University (BA, JD) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Exit |
| Children | seven |
Early life and education
Leo was raised in a devoutly Catholic family and grew up in suburban New Jersey. He was born in Long Island, New York, in 1965. His grandfather, who came to the United States from Italy, worked for Brooks Brothers and rose to the position of vice president. He received his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1986 after completing his studies there and interning in the office of Senator Orrin Hatch at the time. After earning his Juris Doctor degree from Cornell Law School in 1989, Leo then worked as a law clerk for the Honorable A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Career
Leo started a student chapter of the Federalist Society in 1989 while a student at Cornell Law School. After graduating in 1991, he worked for the Society at its headquarters in Washington, District of Columbia. While working as a clerk at the Court of Appeals, he met Clarence Thomas and the two became good friends. Leo’s start date with the Federalist Society has been pushed back so he can help Thomas with his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Over the course of more than 25 years, Leo has held various positions for the Federalist Society. It was reported in 2019 by The Washington Post that Leo had been receiving an annual salary from the Federalist Society in excess of $400,000 for several years.
Leo took time off from his position as a member of the Federalist Society so he could organize efforts to have John Roberts and Samuel Alito confirmed as justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. Miguel Estrada was appointed to a position in the judiciary branch by the Bush administration with the help of Leo.
In 2003, when George W. Bush planned to criticize the practice of affirmative action in a speech but praise racial diversity, Leo called White House officials to complain; he said the praise of racial diversity would be misconstrued as an endorsement of the practice of affirmative action “I have nothing but contempt for conservatives who think this is a matter of principle. According to what Leo shared with The Washington Post, he “conveyed the generally held view that discrimination based on race is always wrong and incompatible with the dignity and worth of every individual in the world. This is a belief widely shared by conservatives.
Leo began collecting donations in 2016 so George Mason University Law School could be renamed Antonin Scalia Law School after Justice Antonin Scalia of the United States Supreme Court passed away. Leo worked alongside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to thwart President Barack Obama’s appointed replacement Merrick Garland. Leo is also the one who initiated contact between Gorsuch and President Donald Trump regarding the latter’s potential nomination of Gorsuch to the seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia.
The Judicial Crisis Network, which has ties to Leo and claimed to have spent more than $7 million to block Merrick Garland’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, was heavily involved in efforts to prevent Merrick Garland from being nominated. at the seat of the court which had taken place. by Antonin Scalia.
Leo had ties to a dozen organizations in the conservative nonprofit sector that together raised more than $250 million between 2014 and 2017. Charles Koch and Rebekah Mercer are two examples of the generous benefactors who supported this network .
religious work
In addition to his roles as National Co-Chair of Catholic Outreach for the Republican National Committee and Catholic Strategist for Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign, Leo served in both roles throughout their careers. He served on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom for a total of three terms after being appointed to that position by President George W. Bush and the United States Senate.
He is an active participant in the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast as a board member.
Leo served as a board member of the Catholic Association and its affiliate organization, the Catholic Association Foundation, in 2012. Both organizations opposed the legalization of marriage between people of the same sexual orientation. Leo’s contributions to the Catholic Association earned him a monetary award of US$120,000 in 2016.
While Leo was chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a Muslim political analyst went to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to file a complaint against the commission. , alleging that she had been the victim of anti-Muslim discrimination by the organization. Allegations of discrimination made against the organization were refuted by Leo, who was not the subject of any particular allegation of discrimination. The complaint filed with the EEOC was dismissed.
Private life
Leo is of the Catholic faith. He and his wife, Sally, are the parents of seven children. Spina bifida is the cause of the death of their daughter Margaret in 2007, when she was only 14 years old. Leo has discussed the significant influence his life has had on him in previous statements. Leo attained the rank of Knight in the Catholic civil religious order known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Leo spends his summers in Northeast Harbor, Maine, where he has a summer house. Because of his advocacy for pro-life Supreme Court justices, he has been the subject of occasional protests in the region.
