Overview: A member of the ultra-wealthy Simons family, Nat Simons shares his father’s affinity for the Democrats. Simons co-founded the Sea Change Foundation, a climate-focused organization that issues millions in grants annually. Although Simons doesn’t make eye-popping gifts to any particular candidate, he’s a reliable ally for Democrats around the country.
Location: Berkeley, CA
Total Donated (2016-2020): $1,325,100
Top Recipients: DNC, Hillary Clinton
Key Issues: Climate Change, Democratic Party power
Largest Donation to Date: $136,000 to the Hillary Action Fund
Profile: The liberal donor world is pretty familiar with the name Simons—though most people are probably more familiar with Jim Simons, the billionaire founder of Renaissance Technologies and Democratic megadonor. But his son, Nathaniel “Nat” Simons is a serious donor in his own right. A graduate of UC Berkeley, where he got a B.A. in economics and M.A. in mathematics, he became the manager of Meritage Group LP, an investment firm born out of his father’s Renaissance Technologies. Simons would go on to co-found Prelude Ventures and is now a billionaire himself. He and his wife, Laura Baxter-Simons, are also signatories of the Giving Pledge. The top priority for Simons, however, is the Sea Change Foundation, which he launched with Laura. The private foundation focuses on climate change and gives out roughly $50 million a year in grants to climate-based groups, including the Energy Foundation, the Sierra Club Foundation, and the Center for American Progress.
Nat Simons isn’t as prolific a political donor as his father, but he’s been a steady funder of Democrats in the last decade. He has a habit of making many modest gifts to a variety of candidates each cycle. He gave around $50,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2012 for President Barack Obama’s reelection campaign, and $236,00 to Hillary Clinton-supporting PACs in 2016. His giving ramped up significantly after that, as he shelled out thousands to dozens of candidates ahead of the midterms, and he made hundreds of individual donations in the 2020 cycle, spreading his money to congressional candidates, liberal PACs and funds. Although he made plenty of individual donations to Democrats in 2020, he gave just around $110,000 to Biden-supporting PACs.
Ideological Vibe: Solidly liberal. Simons is clearly committed to addressing climate change through his Sea Change Foundation, and donor records show he doesn’t dabble with donations to Republicans the way some donors of his caliber might. He hasn’t spoken much publicly about the growing centrist-progressive divide in the Democratic Party, so while we can’t say for sure which way he leans, his consistent funding of the party indicates he’s committed to the leadership.
Hits and Misses: Simons doesn’t make large bets on specific candidates, opting instead to spread his donations across many candidates and cutting larger checks to party PACs and funds.
Looking Forward: Now that Democrats have control of the White House and Congress, many are optimistic the party can pass significant climate legislation, which Simons is no doubt supporting. Expect Simons to continue helping candidates around the country as the Democrats look to hold power in the 2022 midterms.
Relationships: Meritage Group LP Senior Managing Director; Prelude Ventures—Co-Founder; Sea Change Foundation—Co-Founder
Contact Information: N/A