The founders of Go-To Art Shipping Company Uline have donated millions to far-right extremists, including those involved in the January 6
The art world’s go-to shipping company founder has been revealed as a major behind-the-scenes funder of numerous extremist groups, some of which have been implicated in the January 6 riots at the United States Capitol, recently published tax documents show.
Richard “Dick” Uihlein, founder of the ubiquitous Uline shipping company and one of the nation’s top Republican donors, used his family foundation to direct millions to various far-right organizations in 2020, according to tax filings, which were published by the Center for Media and Democracy,
These included the Tea Party Patriots, a right-wing activist group responsible for organizing the January 6 rallies (to which it donated $800,000); the Center for Security Policy, an anti-Muslim think tank ($750,000); and FDRLST, a conservative outlet that promoted misinformation about the November 2020 election ($750,000).
The list continues. Uihlein also donated $25,000 to Judicial Watch, a conspiratorial organization that disputed election results; $30,000 to Turning Point USA, a far-right youth group that helped transport “Big Lie” believers to January 6 rallies; and $50,000 to the Texas Public Policy Forum, another conservative lobbying group and brain trust, the daily beast points out.
The Uihlein family, left to right: Brian, vice president of merchandising; Liz, President;
Freddy, business planner; Steve, Vice President; Dick, CEO; Duke, vice-president. Image courtesy of ULINE.
Meanwhile, between January and May 2020, the shipping mogul’s foundation donated $1.25 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute, a think tank closely tied to former Trump administrators, including the former chief executive. Mark Meadows law firm.
“While today’s Washington is designed to defeat conservatives, the CPI is designed to strengthen them. CPI trains, equips and unites the best leaders in the movement – and we do it here, where and when conservative heroes need us,” the organization’s mission statement reads.
Heir to one of the founders of Schlitz beer, Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth are worth around $4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. A developer New York Times expose published in 2018 called the Uihleins “the most powerful conservative couple you’ve never heard of”, comparing their influence in the Republican Party to that of big donors like the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson and Robert Mercer.
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