UPenn received $1B+ in foreign funding for Biden Think Tank.

The University of Pennsylvania Receives Over $1 Billion in Foreign Funding

The University of Pennsylvania has received over $1 billion in foreign funding since the launch of President Joe Biden’s think tank in 2018, according to financial records. The influx of cash increased significantly after Biden took office, with $479 million in 2021 and $495 million in 2022. The names of foreign donors have been withheld by the Biden administration, raising concerns from watchdog groups about conflicts of interest and security issues for the president.

Foreign Donors Revealed

The financial details, obtained by the watchdog group Americans for Public Trust, reveal for the first time the names of foreign donors. Germany had the largest amount of contributions to UPenn, totaling over $850 million since 2018. The second largest were from China and Hong Kong, with a combined $106 million. The United Kingdom was third, with contributions totaling $70 million.

Controversial Donors

Some of the donors have come under scrutiny, including those with links to Hunter Biden’s business dealings in China. Private equity company Cathay Fortune donated $1 million to UPenn in 2019, which had an ownership stake in China Molybdenum, a company that partnered on a cobalt mining deal with Hunter Biden’s investment firm. Other controversial donors include Chinese politician Ma Jianrong, who gave $500,000 to the university, and Chinese government adviser Chu Mang Yee’s company, which contributed $14.5 million.

Concerns Raised

The news has raised concerns from watchdog groups about the scope of President Biden’s ties to China. Caitlin Sutherland, the executive director of Americans for Public Trust, said the records obtained by the group raise “further questions about the scope of President Biden’s ties to China.”

University Denies Soliciting Foreign Gifts

A spokesman for the university previously stated that the Penn Biden Center has “never solicited or received any gifts from any Chinese or other foreign entity” and the entire budget for the think tank “comes from university funds.” The university and the White House have declined to provide a list of the center’s donors.

High-Dollar Contracts

UPenn also received high-dollar contracts from foreign drug companies, including Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, as well as $1.2 million in contracts from the Saudi Central Bank and over $800,000 from the Saudi General Authority of Zakat and Tax in 2021. Other donors and their companies have also come under scrutiny, including Aditya Mittal, who gifted $400,000 to the university in 2022 as his steel mining business was facing a tax fraud investigation in Ukraine, and software mogul Robert Brockman, who gave $1.6 million in research funding to UPenn through his Bermuda-based foundation while under charges for running the largest tax evasion scheme in U.S. history.

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