The Basics

How can billionaires try to shape public policy?

Our video explains the legal mechanisms: Electioneering, lobbying and advocacy, opinion shaping and philanthropy.
With corruption, influence becomes illegal.
Our glossary explains the key terms.

OpenSecrets News
CBS MoneyWatch
NYT Economy

Democrats prioritize campaign finance overhaul with ‘For the People Act’

21 January 2021

Congress will consider a sweeping democracy reform package in the first days of the Biden administration. [...]

Biden ethics rules aim to curtail revolving door, ‘shadow lobbying’

21 January 2021

President Joe Biden signed new ethics rules meant to prevent his administration officials from joining the lucrative Washington influence industry shortly after leaving the executive branch. [...]

Impeachment vote leaves GOP lawmakers’ 2022 chances uncertain

19 January 2021

Ten GOP lawmakers voted to impeach Trump on Jan. 6, which could lead to consequences for them down the line in 2022. [...]

Never-Trump ‘dark money’ group to spend millions backing Republicans who impeached Trump

15 January 2021

The Republican Accountability Project hopes to raise $50 million to support lawmakers who voted for impeachment. [...]

Corporations rethinking PACs leave the door to ‘dark money’ open

15 January 2021

Several major corporations rethinking corporate PAC spending after violent attacks on the U.S. Capitol have a history with “dark money.” [...]

Amazon doesn't have to restore Parler online, judge says

22 January 2021

Court rules ecommerce giant is under no obligation to host some Parler users' "incendiary speech." [...]

Mega Millions jackpot nears $1 billion for Friday's drawing

22 January 2021

The third-highest lottery prize in U.S. history is on the line in Friday night's Mega Millions drawing — an estimated $970 million. [...]

$731 million Powerball jackpot has one winning ticket, in Maryland

22 January 2021

The Mega Millions grand prize stands at $970 million and counting. This was the first time both lotteries topped $700 million simultaneously. [...]

Biden's mask mandate may not do enough to boost the economy

21 January 2021

But experts and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also say a national push for Americans to cover up is a "no-brainer." [...]

Amanda Gorman's books jump to bestsellers after inaugural poem

21 January 2021

Youngest inaugural poet says she is "on the floor" that her books are attracting so much interest. [...]

Biden Tells OSHA to Issue New Covid-19 Guidance to Employers

21 January 2021 - Noam Scheiber

Unions, which largely support the new president, had complained that the Trump administration did little to protect workers from the coronavirus. [...]

Continuing Job Losses Put Spotlight on Economic Relief

21 January 2021 - Nelson D. Schwartz

Relentless unemployment claims show the pandemic’s grip on the labor market. Help from the recent stimulus bill may lapse before an upturn arrives. [...]

How Our Unemployment Benefits System Failed

21 January 2021 - Eduardo Porter and Karl Russell

A decline in funding and changes in the workplace — and how long people are out of work — have left a program unequal to the 21st-century economy. [...]

Is Rivian the Next Tesla? Investors Bet Big on Electric Truck Maker

19 January 2021 - Neal E. Boudette

Rivian, which has raised another $2.65 billion, plans to sell a pickup truck and S.U.V. it has worked on for more than a decade. [...]

How Full Employment Became Washington’s Creed

18 January 2021 - Jeanna Smialek

Policymakers are eager to return to the period of low unemployment that preceded the pandemic and are less concerned than in previous eras about sparking inflation and taking on debt. [...]