In the world of philanthropy and tax-deductible charitable giving, the explosion of donor-advised funds has touched off intense debate. Now, there is evidence that the DAF boom is being further fueled by hedge fund foundation money. Four of the top five foundations that gave the most to large donor-advised funds in recent years are linked to hedge fund managers, according to an analysis of electronic IRS filings published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Foundations established by billionaire hedge fund managers Stephen Mandel and Israel Englander, together with foundations set up by Renaissance Technologies CEO Peter Brown and former hedge fund manager Robert Karr, were among the top five foundations that gave the most to big DAFs between 2014 and 2016, The Chronicle of Philanthropy found. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has called this “identity laundering.”Izzy Englander, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Millennium Management, is known on Wall Street for avoiding publicity.

Source: Forbes May 17, 2018 13:59 UTC