Trump, Koch And The Other Billionaires Influencing This Term’s Supreme Court Cases

Forbes

These billionaires aren’t just trying to sway elections. They are working to shape the country’s laws.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/06/14/meet-the-billionaires-influencing-this-terms-biggest-supreme-court-cases/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Trump, Koch, and the other billionaires influencing this term's Supreme Court cases.

00:09The Supreme Court has already ruled on a handful of big cases and is set to continue to issue its biggest rulings of the year this month,

00:16and plenty of billionaires will be watching.

00:19Some of their names are well known, like Donald Trump, Charles Koch, and the Sackler family.

00:24Others, less so, such as the Searle family.

00:28Using tax filings, court records, and other public documents, Forbes assembled a list of the most notable tycoons behind the trials.

00:36Here are some of them.

00:38Former president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump, whose net worth is $6.4 billion, is before the Supreme Court this term,

00:46but unlike other billionaires, he doesn't seem to be personally paying for anything himself.

00:51Instead, his donors are picking up the tab.

00:54Save America, a political action committee for Trump, has paid more than $10 million to the three law firms

01:00helping Trump try to dismiss his federal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 election.

01:06The lawyers are also working on other Trump cases as well.

01:09His 2024 campaign also paid lawyers who successfully argued Trump couldn't be removed from Colorado's ballot.

01:16Relevant cases before the Supreme Court are Trump v. U.S. and Trump v. Anderson.

01:22Charles Koch, whose net worth is $59.6 billion, is the most powerful libertarian in America.

01:29He has long worked to limit the size of government,

01:32funding Republican candidates and partnering with Democrats on issues like criminal justice reform.

01:37This Supreme Court session, in a case called Loperbright Enterprises v. Raimondo,

01:42Koch's network of nonprofits is backing a group of herring fishermen opposing a policy requiring them to pay $700 per day

01:50to carry federal monitors on their vessels who observe what they catch so the government has accurate estimates.

01:57If that sounds like a small thing, it isn't.

01:59If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the fishermen,

02:02the case would overturn a landmark decision that empowers federal agencies to enact policies,

02:07even on issues where there are no specific laws.

02:11Koch has something to gain from a smaller administrative state.

02:14His business empire operates in highly regulated industries, including pipelines, chemicals and automotive manufacturing.

02:22Separately, Koch groups have filed more than a dozen amicus briefs this term,

02:26urging justices to punish social media companies that go after conservatives

02:30and lift the ban on bump stocks for firearms.

02:34Hedge fund manager Paul Singer, whose net worth is $6.1 billion,

02:39chairs the Manhattan Institute, a right-wing think tank that has become a frequent presence on Supreme Court dockets.

02:45The Institute has filed seven briefs in major cases this term,

02:49weighing in on cases about taxes—More v. U.S.—abortion—Moyle v. U.S.—bureaucracy—Loperbright Enterprises v. Raimondo—and guns—Garland v. Cargill—among others.

03:02Tax filings show Singer has given the Institute $3.4 million since 2020.

03:07The billionaire has recently come under scrutiny because of reports that Justice Samuel Alito

03:12traveled with Singer on his private jet for a luxury fishing trip.

03:15Alito denied any wrongdoing, and a spokesperson for Singer told ProPublica

03:20that the billionaire didn't organize the trip and wasn't initially aware Alito would be there,

03:24and claimed they did not discuss anything related to the court.

03:28The Searle family, whose net worth is $1.5 billion,

03:32attained its wealth from the family's late patriarch, Daniel C. Searle.

03:36Searle spun a fortune from the pharmaceutical industry into the Searle Freedom Trust,

03:41which has become one of the biggest private foundations supporting conservative causes in the country.

03:46Among the groups the trust supports is the New Civil Liberties Alliance,

03:50which gets roughly 10 percent of what it spends on litigation from the trust,

03:54and has brought three cases to the Supreme Court this term.

03:57One challenges federal agencies' power—that's the case for Lentless v. Department of Commerce.

04:03In another that questioned the prohibition on bump stocks for firearms, Garland v. Cargill,

04:07the court announced its decision on Friday,

04:10ruling 6-3 that the government overstepped its bounds by enacting the bump stock ban.

04:15A third case opposes the Biden administration contacting social media companies

04:20and asking them to remove misinformation.

04:22That case is Murthy v. Missouri.

04:25It's all part of a broader mission to oppose government regulation,

04:28and fits the Searle Freedom Trust's aim of promoting, quote,

04:35For full coverage, check out Alison Durkee's piece on Forbes.com.

04:40This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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