Billionaires and international nonprofits have channeled tens of millions of dollars to U.S. activist groups leading the fight against data center expansion, according to public records reviewed by watchdog organizations. Chief among the donors is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who contributed nearly $14 million to four left-leaning groups that signed a December 2025 letter urging a national moratorium on data centers. The recipients, Indivisible Project, Americans for Financial Reform, Sierra Club, and Greenpeace USA, received $7.455 million, $4.382 million, $2.107 million, and $50,000 respectively from Wyss's foundation as of March 2026.
Foreign Climate Activists and Dark Money Allegations
British hedge fund manager and climate activist Chris Hohn added $200,000 to Extinction Rebellion, another signatory of the moratorium letter. Five other environmental groups, including 350.org, Friends of the Earth, and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), received millions from foreign foundations like the U.K.'s Oak Foundation and Denmark's KR Foundation. The Oak Foundation alone donated $7.5 million to 350.org and $6.375 million to GAIA, while KR Foundation gave $1.1 million to 350.org and $500,000 to Friends of the Earth.
Together, these foreign funders and individuals contributed nearly $40 million to the groups behind the anti-data center campaign, with Wyss accounting for over a third of that total. A Wyss Foundation spokeswoman stated the organization "was not involved" in the moratorium effort and claimed its grants to the groups were "unrelated."
Geopolitical Tensions and Energy Policy Debates
The financial ties have drawn scrutiny from U.S. officials amid growing opposition to data centers, which blocked or delayed projects representing $152 billion in potential investment in 2025. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum linked the movement to foreign-funded climate organizations, saying they shifted focus to data centers after struggling to rally public support for climate change messaging. "They don't talk about climate change because they've realized it's a losing argument," Burgum said in May. "I can't get people excited about one degree of climate change, but man, I can lie to them about why their electric bill went up."
House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.) echoed these concerns, suggesting China could exploit U.S. free speech protections to hinder domestic data infrastructure. "Whoever controls the flow of data and AI isn't going to be one of the superpowers but the super power," he said in March. "If you're China, what would you want to do to keep Americans from building data centers?"
Chinese state media has amplified U.S. data center opposition, with China Global Television Network airing a segment blaming AI-driven data centers for "a major spike in energy prices" in America. The China Daily similarly published pieces tying data centers to rising electricity costs, citing a U.S. economics professor. Meanwhile, Beijing subsidizes its own AI industry, covering up to half of energy costs for domestic tech companies.