George Soros’s Open Society Foundations was among the top megadonors bankrolling the leadership of various white supremacist hate groups through the Southern Poverty Law Center, a new report claims.
SPLC, a left-wing nonprofit, has been federally indicted for secretly funneling more than $3 million to leaders of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups.
The twist: While the SPLC was giving Soros a tax write-off and funneling the donations to hate groups, it was simultaneously defending Soros by labeling his critics as racists.
As recently as 2024, the SPLC published an article on its own so-called Hatewatch blog titled “Far Right Uses Antisemitic George Soros Trope to Attack Campus Protests,” accusing conservatives of peddling antisemitic conspiracy theories over Soros’s donations to radical left-wing causes. The SPLC called the criticism a dangerous trope and said it was being used to smear a Holocaust survivor.
Public records confirm Soros’s Open Society Foundations granted at least $75,000 to the SPLC in 2016 to fund what the organization described as an “Anti-Hate Table.” Soros is listed among the SPLC’s top donors in the indictment, according to The New York Post.
He wasn’t alone. George and Amal Clooney donated $1 million to the SPLC in 2017. Apple and former CEO Tim Cook matched that with another $1 million. JPMorgan Chase pledged $500,000. OpenAI also made contributions. The flood of corporate and celebrity cash came in the weeks following the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia — when donors believed they were funding the fight against the very white supremacists the FBI says were on the SPLC’s payroll.
The federal indictment alleges that one of the SPLC’s paid informants — identified only as F-37 — was a member of the leadership group that organized the deadly Charlottesville rally, attended the riot at the SPLC’s direction, and helped coordinate transportation for other attendees.
For his services, he was allegedly paid more than $270,000 by the SPLC between 2015 and 2023.
None of the major donors have commented publicly since the indictment was announced.
“It’s unimaginable to us that a civil rights group would gin up fake bigotry in order to solicit donations from concerned Americans,” said Liora Rez, founder of StopAntisemitism. “If this is what the SPLC did, it is shameful and outrageous.”
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal the indictment is only the beginning.
“We know that the administration is looking beyond SPLC and are actively engaged in investigations in pursuing the overall network,” Roy said.
The SPLC holds more than $786 million in assets but continued running what critics called “urgent” appeals for “emergency” cash even as it took in $106 million in donated funds in 2024 alone.
Charity watchdog CharityWatch gives the organization its lowest “F” rating.