That scumbag is politically active even in little old Maine! https://www.themainewire.com/2023/09/who-is-hansjorg-wyss-the-swiss-national-bankrolling-progressive-media-and-politics-in-maine/
American Campaign Finance Violations
Though he has lived in America for decades and sought to influence American politics and society, Wyss has never obtained permanent legal status in the U.S. and has sought to remain in the shadows. On several occasions, he has bragged in European press about his ability to influence American politics at the highest levels while keeping his name out of the newspapers.
As a Swiss foreign national who never obtained U.S. citizenship or green card, Wyss is not legally allowed to contribute to the campaigns of American political candidates. Such contributions from foreign nationals have been strictly forbidden since 1966.
But that hasn’t stopped Wyss.
In 2016, the Daily Caller revealed that Wyss had made $41,000 in illegal donations to the campaigns of seven congressional candidates and four political committees from 1998 to 2003. State campaign records also showed Wyss donated tens of thousands of dollars to politicians in Colorado and New Mexico. The Daily Caller reported at the time that Wyss was an E-2 business visa holder, not a permanent resident, and Wyss has never claimed otherwise. The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) never took any enforcement action against the liberal billionaire.
[RELATED: Major Progressive Donors, Including Swiss Foreign National Hansjörg Wyss, Funded Press Herald Purchase and Are Funding Yet Another News Outlet in Maine…]
Since 2016, Wyss has found a new work around to exercise influence over American politics. Namely, 501(c)3s, 501(c)4s, and, more recently, underwriting left-wing media outlets, like the Portland Press Herald and the Maine Morning Star, through the States Newsroom and the National Trust for Local News.
Wyss’ primary vehicles for influencing American politics and media — at least, the ones the public knows about — are his Wyss Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and the Berger Action Fund (formerly known as Wyss Action Fund), which is a 501(c)4. Those two organizations work in conjunction with the Arabella Advisors network of funds and the Democracy Fund to direct the flow of vast amounts of money into center-left groups at the national, state, and local level.
In 2021, the New York Times reported that Wyss had donated $208 million to groups that worked directly to advance progressive policies and get Democratic politicians, including President Joe Biden, elected.
Wyss left Switzerland and now makes his home in Wyoming. A past he would like to forget: In 2009, top executives at Synthes were indicted by U.S. Attorneys for Eastern Pennsylvania for using an untested calcium-phosphate-based bone cement on human patients without authorization from the Food and Drug Administration. Use of the bone cement resulted in the deaths of three people. Wyss [a major stockholder!] was not indicted, but four top executives of Synthes were convicted and sentenced to prison terms.
In 2012, Wyss sold the company for $19.7 billion in cash and stock to Johnson & Johnson. According to Bloomberg, he received 97.4 million shares in Johnson & Johnson and $3.2 billion cash from the deal.