How Many Forbes 400 Billionaires Publicly OPPOSE "Immigration Reform?"
04/25/2014
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With the commentariat excited by French economist Thomas Piketty's argument that the rich dominate the political and intellectual processes and keep the masses from organizing to promote their own interests, it's worth looking through the Forbes 400 to see how many billionaires are publicly active in promoting more immigration v. how many promote less:

Donors and activists—Here are just some of the more famous richest billionaires who are particularly active in pushing more immigration:

1. Bill Gates—Yes, he's part of Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us group that buys TV commercials for politicians who support the Schumer - Rubio amnesty bill.—Centrist Democrat

4 and 5. Koch Brothers—Libertarian Republicans

10. Michael Bloomberg—Bloomberg has publicly endorsed his Deepdale Country Club employing illegal immigrants to take care of the greens and fairways.—Centrist Democrat

11. Sheldon Adelson—His newspaper is staunchly in favor of deporting illegal immigrants. Oh, wait, that's his Israeli immigrants. In the U.S., he wants cheaper maids for his hotels.—Republican

19. George Soros: Donated $100 million for pro-immigration groups.—Liberal Democrats

20. Mark Zuckerberg—Founded huge money pro-immigration lobby FWD.us—Centrist

30. Rupert Murdoch—Republican

35. Laurene Powell Jobs—Don't know about her politics but she sleeps with former Democratic mayor of Washington D.C.

So, whatever their nominal political affiliations, billionaires are vastly more likely to be activists on the more immigration side. After all, it's hard to think of a billionaire who would benefit from immigration restriction.

Others fall in the category of vocal supporters:

2. Warren Buffett—"Making an economic case for a pathway to citizenship, Buffett said Sunday that the reform package should "certainly offer [undocumented immigrants] the chance to become citizens" to deepen the talent pool of the labor force."

3. Larry Ellison—In Ellison's defense, I can only find a few quotes where he says it would be smart to let in more smart immigrants. In general, I'm starting to like Larry more as he ever more embodies the James Bond Villain Lifestyle he's carved out for himself. He's less of a scold than most of these guys.

There are lots of others, like the Waltons, who seem pretty conservative but whose donations, if anything tend more toward pro-immigration groups. From the perspective of the Walmart heirs, presumably, more illegal immigration is more fresh meat.

Now, what about members of the Forbes 400 who support immigration restriction? Surely, out of 400, there are some billionaires who have unfashionable opinions and don't mind others knowing about them

Well ... yes, yes there are. Not many ... but some!

There have been a couple of candidates:

#134 Ross Perot, age 83—I can't find too much online, but yeah, I have the general impression that during his remarkable run for President in 1992, he wasn't enthusiastic about illegal immigration

#134 Donald Trump, age 67—had some good things to say when considering tossing his hat in the GOP ring

Meg Whitman waffled on the subject, saying she pretty much agreed with her opponent, Jerry Brown, while running for governor of California.

And I've found two guys between 301 and 400 on the Forbes list who are known to have actually given money to immigration restrictionist organizations. I'm not going to give their names because the Brendan Eichizing of America is proceeding apace.

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