Snapshot: A private equity billionaire invested in several high-profile ventures, Bonderman’s giving history is steady to liberals even though his politics remain moderate.
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Giving Focus: Influential political groups, environmental issues
Top Recipients: American Bridge 21st Century, Women Vote!
Background: A graduate of the University of Washington and Harvard Law School, Bonderman made his money in private equity. He’s the founding partner and chairman of Texas Pacific Group (now called TPG) and has amassed a net worth of roughly $4 billion. Bonderman isn’t much of a philanthropist: Outside of TPG, most of his activity comes from his various board memberships. He serves on the boards of private companies like China International Capital Corporation Ltd., Kite Pharma, Ryanair Holdings, as well as several environmental groups including the Wilderness Society and the American Himalayan Foundation. He joined the board of rideshare company Uber after TPG made a significant investment in 2013, but left the board four years later after making a sexist remark during a meeting about Uber’s workplace culture. Bonderman is also the majority owner of the newly formed NHL team the Seattle Kraken.
Bonderman has consistently supported Democrats with his political donations—though he’s not shy about backing Republican candidates, particularly in Texas.He made headlines when he said he’d prefer Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the White House to President Donald Trump, but he added that he doesn’t support the kinds of Wall Street regulations progressive Democrats have been pushing for. He has given to Democratic Party offices in a half-dozen states, but gave relatively modest gifts to national Democrats ahead of 2016. Bonderman has contributed to a handful of environmental ballot measures and his children made large gifts in support of a measure to restore felon voting rights in Florida, which passed in 2018. In fact, his children have expanded their influence in recent years, giving a little under $1 million total in 2018 to liberal Sixteen Thirty Fund, according to news reports. In the 2020 cycle, Bonderman again made only modest gifts, the largest being $100,000 each to Women Vote! and American Bridge 21st Century. Bonderman’s records don’t indicate a ramping up of political activity in the Trump era, but his children, on the other hand, seem to be expanding their profile and will be ones to watch as Democrats look for new donors.
Takeaways: Bonderman’s giving history is not as consistent as that of more overtly liberal mega-donors. Though more focused on politics than traditional philanthropy, Bonderman’s moderate politics keep him from investing too deeply into either party. BT readers can learn from contrasting Bonderman with even his children, who cut larger checks to liberal groups with more regularity.