Snapshot: Eychaner spreads his significant wealth across LGBTQ and political giving, and has solidified himself firmly as a Democratic Party ally even as he keeps a low profile in the press.
Location: Chicago, IL
Giving Focus: LGBTQ rights, Democratic Party power
Top Recipients: Senate Majority PAC, House Majority PAC
Background: Eychaner is one of the richest, most influential people in liberal politics that you’ve probably never heard of. Eychaner is the founder and chairman of Newsweb Corporation, a Chicago-based media company that began as a printing business and now owns many local alternative newspapers, as well as television and radio stations. Through the years, Eychaner has given to many PACs that prioritize the rights of the LGBTQ community, such as L PAC. As a philanthropist, he has made many donations to AIDS research. In 1991, he founded the Alphawood Foundation, which provides grants to nonprofit organizations that deal with issues such as AIDS/HIV prevention, domestic violence prevention and gay rights.
From 2012 to 2016, Eychaner was a top-five individual donor each election cycle and the leading liberal individual donor of both presidential cycles. He has a long history of giving to Democrats and liberal PACs, as well as to groups focused on LGBTQ rights and women’s rights. Eychaner has repeatedly given millions to the Senate Majority PAC and the House Majority PAC—he gave more than $10 million to each in 2016, and gave SMP another $6 million in 2018 as the Democrats failed to take a majority in the chamber. He has hosted fundraisers in Chicago with President Barack Obama and helped raise money for Hillary Clinton’s run. In fact, in 2016, Eychaner was the fourth-largest individual donor of the cycle, outspending the Mercers, Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, spending $37.8 million, according to Open Secrets. Donor records show he eased off the gas a bit in 2020, giving a total of around $19 million, which kept him within the top 15. He donated just $362,800 to the Biden Victory Fund, along with his typical HMP and SMP gifts (he gave $9 million to each this cycle.) While he doesn’t often discuss his intentions in public, expect Eychaner to continue funding Democrats and liberal causes, particularly toward key issues like LGBTQ rights.
Takeaways: Eychaner is a great example of someone who uses their philanthropy to achieve a goal. His dedication to the LGBTQ community has brought ample resources and attention to queer issues, and solidified his philanthropic bona fides in the process. Meanwhile, he’s also been a highly engaged political donor able to gain influence through his contributions and connections. Those BT readers with a specific policy focus can learn a great deal from Eychaner: dedicate your attention and resources to a specific topic, then use your political giving to, hopefully, advance those goals through supporting sympathetic candidates.