Rebekah Mercer

Rebekah A. Mercer

Credentials

Attended Stanford University, receiving a dual bachelor’s degree in biology and mathematics, and a master’s of science degree in operations research and engineering economic systems.¹

Background

Rebekah A. Mercer is one of the three daughters of billionaire Robert Mercer, a major donor for Republican candidates. Rebekah is Director of The Mercer Family Foundation, which has given millions of dollars to conservative causes. According to Politico and The Hill, she oversees the majority of the foundation’s political giving.² ³ ⁴

The New York Times reported that the Mercer family’s strategists, super PACs, and other political organizations “have emerged to play a pivotal role in Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign.” Rebekah has been at the forefront of the effort, having served on the Executive Committee of Donald Trump‘s transition team as well as introduced major players Stephen K. Bannon, now Chief Strategist to President Trump, and Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the President.⁵ ⁶

While the Mercers often try to avoid media attention themselves, The Daily Beast reported that “the Mercers have put a special premium on actually changing the media landscape, investing heavily in projects that try to shift how American news consumers understand American politics.”⁷

According to Politico, both Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah regularly attended Koch donor summits and initially contributed to the Koch network. However, when Rebekah became frustrated with the political ineffectiveness of the network, they shifted focus to the Mercer Family Foundation and used it to channel their support to conservative causes.⁸

The Mercer foundation have funded a variety of climate change denial think tanks as well as climate deniers like Arthur Robinson of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).⁹

The Hill notes that she identifies as libertarian, according to one source, and is also a a big supporter of libertarian think tanks like the Goldwater Institute and the Cato Institute. Rebekah is also a board member of The Heritage Foundation. She was also on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Government Accountability Institute, a group with connections to Stephen Bannon‘s Breitbart News, the Washington Post reported in 2016.¹⁰ ¹¹

Mercer Family Foundation

According to a 2013 study by Drexel University sociologist Robert Brulle’s titled “Institutionalizing delay: foundation funding and the creation of U.S. climate change counter-movement organizations,” The Mercer Family Foundation spent at least $3,824,000 between 2003 and 2010 directly funding groups opposing climate change action. That money went to organizatons including The Heartland Institute, Manhattan Institute, Media Research Center, and Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine (OISM).¹²

Among the groups funded by the Mercer Family Foundation include The Chicago-based Heartland Institute, which received $4,988,000 from the Mercers since 2008. Robert Mercer also spent $1.25 million supporting the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, a little-known group led led by climate change denier Art Robinson.¹³

Robinson was behind the long-debunked Oregon petition. First published in 1998, the petition claimed that 30,000 “scientists” had declared humans were not to blame for global warming.¹⁴

The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is another group receiving funding from the Mercers, having donations exceeding $1 million since 2011.¹⁵

The Heritage Foundation regularly attacks mainstream climate change science. Rebekah Mercer is a trustee at Heritage while David Kreutzer, also affiliated with Heritage, served on Trump’s EPA “landing team” and has claimed the recent run of record-breaking hot years globally is nothing unusual.¹⁶ ¹⁷ ¹⁸

The Cato Institute and Americans for Prosperity, two more groups funded by the Mercers, have attacked the science of human-caused climate change while challenging the legitimacy of solutions, such as renewable energy and electric vehicles.¹⁹

Political Spending

According to data retrieved from the Federal Election Commission, Rebekah Mercer made the following personal contributions to political groups including Super PACs, joint fundraising efforts, and other political committees:²⁰

Recipient	2004	2010	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	Grand Total
TRUMP VICTORY							$449,400	$449,400
ROMNEY VICTORY, INC.			$65,800					$65,800
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE			$30,800					$30,800
FOUNDERS SENATE CANDIDATE COMMITTEE					$25,000			$25,000
RESTORE OUR MAJORITY 2013				$20,800				$20,800
TED CRUZ VICTORY COMMITTEE				$5,200	$10,200			$15,400
CLUB FOR GROWTH ACTION			$15,000					$15,000
ROBINSON, ART DR. VIA ART ROBINSON FOR CONGRESS		$4,800	$5,000		$5,200			$15,000
MCDANIEL, CHRISTOPHER BRIAN VIA FRIENDS OF CHRIS MCDANIEL					$10,400			$10,400
CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC		$5,000	$5,000					$10,000
NY REPUBLICAN FEDERAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE							$10,000	$10,000
BROUN, PAUL COLLINS VIA PAUL BROUN COMMITTEE				$7,800	-$5,200	$5,200		$7,800
CRUZ, RAFAEL EDWARD TED VIA TED CRUZ FOR SENATE			$7,500					$7,500
IDAHO REPUBLICAN PARTY			$7,500					$7,500
MASSACHUSETTS REPUBLICAN PARTY			$7,500					$7,500
OKLAHOMA LEADERSHIP COUNCIL			$7,500					$7,500
VERMONT REPUBLICAN FEDERAL ELECTIONS COMMITTEE			$7,500					$7,500
LEE, MIKE VIA FRIENDS OF MIKE LEE INC				$5,200		$600		$5,800
FASO, JOHN J. MR. VIA FASO FOR CONGRESS						$5,400		$5,400
DESANTIS, RONALD D. VIA RON DESANTIS FOR FLORIDA						$5,400		$5,400
GARRETT, SCOTT REP. VIA SCOTT GARRETT FOR CONGRESS							$5,400	$5,400
SASSE, BENJAMIN E VIA BEN SASSE FOR US SENATE INC					$5,200			$5,200
KING, STEVE MR. VIA KING FOR CONGRESS			$2,500				$2,700	$5,200
ROMNEY, MITT / PAUL D. RYAN VIA ROMNEY FOR PRESIDENT, INC.			$5,000					$5,000
CONSERVATIVE VICTORY COMMITTEE		$5,000						$5,000
MAKE DC LISTEN						$5,000		$5,000
RUBIO, MARCO VIA MARCO RUBIO FOR PRESIDENT		$4,800						$4,800
TENNEY, CLAUDIA VIA TENNEY FOR CONGRESS							$2,700	$2,700
TAYLOR, SCOTT W. MR. VIA SCOTT TAYLOR FOR CONGRESS							$2,700	$2,700
MCCARTER, KYLE VIA KYLE MCCARTER FOR CONGRESS COMMITTEE							$2,700	$2,700
FLEMING, JOHN C JR VIA FLEMING FOR LOUISIANA							$2,700	$2,700
PALMER, GARY VIA GARY PALMER FOR CONGRESS							$2,700	$2,700
CRUZ, RAFAEL EDWARD “TED” VIA CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT						$5,400	-$2,700	$2,700
BANKS, JAMES E VIA JIM BANKS FOR CONGRESS, INC.							$2,700	$2,700
FIORINA, CARLY VIA CARLY FOR PRESIDENT						$2,700		$2,700
BLUM, RODNEY VIA BLUM FOR CONGRESS							$2,700	$2,700
MANESS, ROBERT L COL. RET VIA FRIENDS OF COLONEL ROB MANESS							$2,700	$2,700
HIGBLE, CARLTON MILO IV VIA FRIENDS OF CARL					$2,600			$2,600
MOLL, THOMAS VIA MOLL FOR CONGRESS INC				$7,800	-$5,200			$2,600
COTTON, THOMAS VIA COTTON FOR SENATE			$2,500					$2,500
MOURDOCK, RICHARD E VIA HOOSIERS FOR RICHARD MOURDOCK INC			$2,500					$2,500
NEUMANN, MARK W VIA FRIENDS OF MARK NEUMANN INC			$2,500					$2,500
MANDEL, JOSH VIA CITIZENS FOR JOSH MANDEL INC			$2,500					$2,500
SCOTT, TIMOTHY VIA TIM SCOTT FOR CONGRESS		$2,400						$2,400
WALSH, DANA VIA DANA WALSH FOR CONGRESS		$2,400						$2,400
DUNCAN, JEFFREY D MR. VIA JEFF DUNCAN FOR CONGRESS		$2,400						$2,400
SMITH, ROBIN TUCKER VIA ROBIN SMITH FOR TENNESSEE		$2,400						$2,400
DEMINT, JAMES W VIA TEAM DEMINT		$2,400						$2,400
TOOMEY, PATRICK JOSEPH VIA FRIENDS OF PAT TOOMEY		$2,400						$2,400
BUSH, GEORGE W VIA BUSH-CHENEY ’04 (PRIMARY) INC	$2,000							$2,000
Grand Total	$2,000	$34,000	$176,600	$46,800	$48,200	$29,700	$486,400	$823,700

Stance on Climate Change

While Rebekah Mercer has not released an official statement on climate change, the foundation which she runs has spent millions funding a network of groups that deny man-made climate change.²¹

Key Quotes

Both Rebekah and Robert Mercer try to stay out of the public eye, and have never spoken publicly about their motivations. In 2010, Robert Mercer told the Wall Street Journal, “I’m happy going through my life without saying anything to anybody.”²²

Key Actions

September 2021

A 2021 investigation found Robert and Rebekah Mercer played a larger role in the 2020 election than previously thought, tracking nearly $20 million through the “Dark Money” fund DonorsTrust.²³

“The Mercers’ big contribution in 2020 to the Donors Trust, a 501(c)(3), allows them to make such a donation without having to publicly disclose exactly which outside groups they funded that year,” CNBC noted.

Rebekah Mercer was also a key financier of Parler, a social media outlet that was used by Trump allies to push false claims the election was rigged against Trump.

February 2021

Rebekah Mercer reportedly helped fund the reboot of the social media platform Parler, which had gone offline following the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters earlier in the year. Internal recordings at Parler revealed the depth of her involvement in the platform in addition to her earlier backing, which was already known.²⁴

In the audio, which was given by an anonymous source to Bloomberg, Jeffrey Wernick, a Parler investor who describes himself in one recording as a member of the management committee said Mercer was critical in giving money to fund the relaunch:²⁵

“We’ve written big checks these last couple of days to various parties with respect to the fact that we have now two data centers,” Wernick said. “So far who’s writing the checks for all this stuff is Rebekah Mercer. So that’s the support she has for Parler.”²⁶

Parler’s interim CEO Mark Meckler said he has known Mercer “for a long time” and that he was brought in to Parler “to represent the largest investor, NDM and Bekah Mercer,” according to the recordings. Mercer herself joined one of the calls on Feb 15, the day of the relaunch:²⁷

“Shutting down free speech is the first step toward tyranny and despotism, and we can’t let it happen,” she said. “And so we will do everything we can to fight back against that and we are so proud and thrilled that you guys have all stood by us during this whole time.’’²⁸

NDMASCENDANT LLC is listed as a manager of Parler. A person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg NDMASCENDANT is also owned by Rebekah Mercer.

November 7, 2019

Mercer appeared at an American Spectator gala at the Trump International Hotel to mediate a panel discussion on regulating “Big Tech.” She was introduced by Grover Norquist, who credited Mercer with helping to elect President Trump.²⁹

The discussion centered on the alleged manipulation of data by tech giants such as Google, Facebook, and Apple for the purpose of influencing political opinions, primarily in favor of Democrats.³⁰

Mercer suggested that tech companies were helping “dead people and felons” to vote and that “Google doesn’t want people to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican.”³¹

March 18, 2019

During court hearings in a lawsuit filed against Cambridge Analytica by a New York professor who believes that his personal data was misused during the 2016 presidential election, it was revealed that a separate company established by Mercer and former Analytica CEO Alexander Nix were financing the court-appointed administrators acting on behalf of the data-mining firm.³²

The legal team of David Carroll, the Parsons School professor suing for access to the data that Cambridge Analytica compiled on him, alleges that the administrators may have been pressured to liquidate the company before its private data was exposed in court. Court-appointed administrators are supposed to function independently of the party they are assigned to.³³

Emerdata, the firm established by Mercer, Nix, and other Cambridge Analytica figures, was financing the administrators to the tune of up to $1 million, a fact which was not previously disclosed to the judge.³⁴

Professor Carroll’s lawyer, Andreas Gledhill, said in court:

“This case has attracted exceptional public interest and in our submission the standard of independence in this case should be correspondingly high. We say that the administrators cannot meet that standard both because of the appearance of bias and because they are in fact biased.”³⁵

March 2018

The New York Times reported that Rebekah Mercer had visited Facebook’s headquarters in an attempt to mend relations between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, following revelations that CA had improperly obtained data from tens of millions of users.³⁶

Following these events, Facebook had banned the company from its platform. The NYT reported that the Facebook scandal combined with other doubts about the firm’s effectiveness had “effectively crippled” its election work in the US.³⁷

“They’re selling magic in a bottle,” said Matt Braynard, who worked alongside Cambridge on the Trump campaign. “And they’re becoming toxic.”³⁸

While the Mercers made no public statements on the ban, the NYT suggested it could be affecting their political network:³⁹

“The effort by Ms. Mercer’s friend to help mend fences with Facebook hints at both Cambridge’s importance to her family’s political ambitions and the perils posed by Facebook’s ban,” NYT reported.⁴⁰

In March, a CA spokesman said that Rebekah Mercer had a “broad business oversight” role at the company, but was not involved in daily operations. Former Cambridge Analytica employees said she was close to the company’s chief executive, Alexander Nix, who was suspended in response to the Facebook controversy.⁴¹

Matthew Michelson served as Ms. Mercer’s intermediary with Facebook.⁴²

UK corporate records show that Rebekah and her sister Jennifer serve as directors of Emerdata, a British data company formed by a number of executives from Cambridge Analytica and its affiliated SCL group.⁴³ ⁴⁴

February 14, 2018

Rebekah Mercer wrote an article at The Wall Street Journal in response to what she describes at “intense speculation and public scrutiny, in large part because of the philanthropic investments of the Mercer Family Foundation and the political contributions made by my father and me.”⁴⁵

In the article, Mecer goes on to outline “in broad strokes” what she believes. Mercer begins by noting she rejects “as venomous and ignorant any discrimination based on race, gender, creed, ethnicity or sexual orientation.” She describes herself as a federalist:⁴⁶

“As a federalist, I believe that power should be decentralized, with those wielding it closely accountable to the people they serve. […] Society’s problems will never be solved by expensive, ineffective and inflexible federal programs.”⁴⁷

According to Mercer, she “supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign because he promised to tackle entrenched corruption on both sides of the aisle.” She adds:⁴⁸

” I continue to support President Trump, which does not mean I agree with every position he has taken or every thought he has tweeted. I remain hopeful that he will continue striving to fulfill his campaign promises.”⁴⁹

On science, Mercer rejects the “anti-science” label that detractors have given her:⁵⁰

“I am deeply committed to research and the scientific method,” Mercer wrote. “I have degrees from Stanford in biology, mathematics, and operations research and engineering economic systems. I believe that genuine scientific discovery flourishes only in an atmosphere of dispassionate, open-minded inquiry, with research evaluated according to neutral, evidence-based criteria.⁵¹

With regards to Breitbart News:⁵²

“I believe it adds an important journalistic voice to the American conversation. Stephen Bannon, its former chairman, took Breitbart in the wrong direction. Now that Mr. Bannon has resigned, Breitbart has the opportunity to refine its message and expand its influence.”⁵³

2018

As reported at HuffPost and Buzzfeed News, the Mercer’s Family Foundation donated nearly $4 million to groups denying man made climate change in 2016.⁵⁴ ⁵⁵

The Mercer Family Foundation’s 2016 990 tax forms revealed that the Foundation, directed by Rebekah Mercer, gave $150,000 to the CO2 Coalition in 2016, as well as $125,000 to the CO2 Coalition, two groups that have consistently questioned the science between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.⁵⁶

“These grants show a distinct interest in climate for the first time,” said Kert Davies, founder and director of the Climate Investigations Center (CIC), the group that obtained and sharedthe tax filings.⁵⁷

Other notable 2016 grants included $2 million to the Media Research Center, $800,000 to the heartland institute, $200,000 to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, and another $200,000 to the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. See a breakdown of all Mercer Family Foundation 2016 donations below:⁵⁸

Recipient (2016)	Total
Donors Trust	$2,250,000
The Family Leader Foundation	$750,000
The Barry Goldwater Institute	$500,000
Cleveland 2016 Host Committee Inc.	$500,000
Rev the Vote Foundation, Inc.	$500,000
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute	$400,000
The American Conservative Union	$250,000
CO2 Coalition	$150,000
London Center for Policy Research	$150,000
Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change	$125,000
Alliance for School Choice	$100,000
Walking with the Wounded	$100,000
Lincoln Network	$100,000
The Land Trust of Napa County	$20,000
The Frick Collection	$20,000
Compact for American Education Foundation	$13,500
The Rockefeller University	$10,000
Grand Total	$5,938,500

January 2018

Rebekah Mercer’s role on the board of the American Museum of Natural History (ANMH) faced scrutiny, following criticism of the museum’s exhibit on climate change in the David M. Koch-funded Dinosaur Wing. The Village Voice noted that Rebekah Mercer’s involvement on the board has gone relatively unnoticed, although she has been on the board since 2013.⁵⁹

Jonah Bush, an environmental economist and visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, had visited the museum and posted images of a plaque downplaying the influence of humans on climate change.⁶⁰

“I think it touched on something bigger that a lot of people are feeling, which is the appearance of wealthy and villainous donors corrupting a beloved institution,” Busch told the Voice. “Was it David Koch? Was it Exxon? Was it Mercer? I don’t know.”⁶¹

The New York Times reported that over 200 scientists signed a letter calling on the museum to remove Mercer from the board, and to “end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation.”⁶²

“Rebekah Mercer is one of the greatest funders of the bad faith attacks on climate science and climate scientists,” said leading climate scientist Michael Mann, who was also one of the letter’s signatories. “It is an abomination for her to be sitting on the board of trustees of any science-themed institution let alone one of the greatest natural history museums in the world.”⁶³

The museum released a statement saying the exhibit predated Koch’s involvement and was in need of an update. The exhibit suggested the possibility of another ice age, while describing that human-made pollution “may also have an effect on the Earth’s climatic cycles.”⁶⁴

The museum also released a statement in response to the open letter by scientists, saying “the Museum deeply respects the work and view of scientists,” but added that it “does not make appointment decisions concerning staff or Trustees based on political views.”⁶⁵

AMNH told The Voice “if that label copy were written today it would likely come with a different context and emphasis, including more recent scientific data.”⁶⁶

David Koch, a former board member of AMNH, was ousted after a campaign by scientists pushing for his removal from the board.⁶⁷

January 2018

Following the release of the book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff, Rebekah Mercer publicly rebuked Steve Bannon for his reported statements about the president. Bannon later announced that he would step down from Breitbart News.⁶⁸ ⁶⁹

Bannon reportedly said that Trump’s his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s meeting with a Russian lawyer was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.” President Trump released a statement where he said that his former chief strategist had “lost his mind.”⁷⁰

March 23, 2017

The Washington Post reported that Robert and Rebekah Mercer attended The Heartland Institute’s Twelfth International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC12) in Washington, DC. On the first day of the conference, they joined Heartland Institute President Joseph Bast for the lunch keynote speech where “They listened intently as Patrick J. Michaels, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for the Study of Science, argued that the Obama administration erred in finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health,” reported the Post.⁷¹ ⁷²

February 24, 2017

Larry Solov of Britbart News, working to secure official credentials for Capitol Hill, revealed that the Mercer family were co-owners of the website, Politico reported. BuzzFeed’s Steve Perlberg, who live-tweeted the meeting, noted that the owners included the site’s CEO Larry Solov, founder Andrew Breitbart’s widow, Susie Breitbart, and the Mercer family with Breitbart’s family owning the largest stake.⁷³ ⁷⁴

January 23, 2017

Politico reported that Rebekah and Robert Mercer were considering abandoning an outside political group that would advance the agenda of Donald Trump. While Politico wrote that the exact reason that Rebekah became unhappy with the plans for the organization was unclear, “What is clear is that she may be nearing a breaking point both with Parscale and Nick Ayers, the Trump aides slated to run the group, as well as with Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus and his political guru Steve Hantler, who are expected to provide key financial backing for the effort.”⁷⁵

Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm owned largely by the Mercer family, had already begun doing work for the outside effort, a source familiar with the conversations told Politico, although it was not clear whether that work was ongoing.⁷⁶

September 7, 2016

USA Today reported that Mercer was to take over operations of the anti-Hillary Clinton super PAC Make America Number 1, formerly the pro-Ted cruz “Keep the Promise” PAC. At the time the super PAC’s spokesperson, Hogan Gidley, said, “She’s the driving force behind its activity, and she’s taking an active role in its day-to-day operation.”⁷⁷

According to Politico, Make America Number 1 was “colloquially known as the “Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC.”⁷⁸

August 17, 2016

The Washington Post reported that Mercer’s played a role in introducing Stephen Bannon and Trump at a fundraising event.⁷⁹

“According to three Republicans familiar with that event, Trump was confronted by several supporters there, including mega-donor Rebekah Mercer, about news reports on his advisers’ desire to tame his personality” The Washington Post reported. “Trump was visibly infuriated at the news stories, the Republicans said, and he conferred with Mercer about potential steps he might take to remake his campaign and populate his inner circle with voices more like his own. Bannon’s name soon came up.”⁸⁰

July, 2016

According to Bloomberg, Mercer’s two closest political aids were “essentially running the Trump Campaign” Stephen Bannon, the Trump Campaign’s chief executive, and Kellyanne Conway, the campaign manager were both longtime advisers to Robert Mercer and connected projects. While initially the Mercers had focused their full political support on Ted Cruz, they shifted their support to Trump after Cruz dropped out.⁸¹

A GOP fundraiser who worked with Mercer and people in the Trump campaign told Politico in November, 2016:⁸²

“It would be difficult to overstate Rebekah’s influence in Trump world right now. She is a force of nature. She is aggressive, and she makes her point known.”⁸³

The shift followed a meeting in Manhattan that included Mercer’s daughter Rebekah, Conway, and Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, Bloomberg reported.The Mercers issued a public statement, making their support for Donald Trump (and opposition to Clinton) clear:⁸⁴

“The Democratic Party will soon choose as their nominee a candidate who would repeal both the First and Second Amendments of the Bill of Rights, a nominee who would remake the Supreme Court in her own image,” the Mercers wrote. “We need all hands on deck to ensure that Mr. Trump prevails.”⁸⁵

Bloomberg noted that the Mercer family has ties to Steve Bannon dating to 2011, when Bannon’s conservative Breitbart News network was struggling financially, and Mercer made a $10 million equity investment When Bannon founded the Government Accountability Institute the next year, the Mercer’s family foundation also became a major supporter.⁸⁶

2015

Politico reported that the Mercer family provided the majority of the $37 million raised by super-PACs supporting Ted Cruz for the GOP presidential nomination. Cruz contracted Cambridge Analytica, a group largely owned by the Mercers that uses “psychographic” analyses of voters to try to win them over with narrowly targeted micro-messages.⁸⁷

“So far, most of Cambridge Analytica’s work appears to have come from campaigns and committees funded in large part by the Mercers. And sources familiar with the Mercers’ political efforts said that Rebekah Mercer, who has steered the family’s political expansion, has made introductions between Cambridge Analytica and the political committees the family support,” Politico reported in 2015.⁸⁸

Affiliations

PACs & SuperPACs

Make America Number 1 (Formerly Keep the Promise I) — Formed with $11 million donation from Robert Mercer.⁹⁵

A user named Rebekah Mercer appears to have joined Twitter (@Bekah_Mercer) in February, 2017. At the time, she had one follower and no public posts. As of October 2017, the account was listed as suspended.