Leonard Leo network and the anti-ESG campaign
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A campaign against ESG investing in the United States was funded through a network linked to Leonard Leo, including Consumers' Research, which a 2026 investigation traced largely to DonorsTrust. State officials, model legislation and lawsuits followed between 2021 and 2026.
Of the $9.34 million it raised in 2024, according to a 2026 investigation by Documented.
Status As of June 2026: Texas SB 13 found unconstitutional and Vanguard settled for $29.5 million; the coal antitrust case continues; no ruling found on the proxy-adviser suits.
- Leonard Leo network (Marble Freedom Trust, The 85 Fund, CRC Advisors) — Marble Freedom Trust received the $1.6 billion donation; CRC Advisors received payments from Consumers' Research. Common Dreams
- Varidon Strategies, founded by Catherine Gunsalus — Two Kansas model texts are attributed to the firm.
- Texas bond intermediaries that stayed in the market — Municipalities paid more interest after rivals left.
- Texas municipal borrowers and taxpayers — Estimated extra interest of $303–532 million.
What happened
ESG means the use of environmental, social and governance criteria in investment decisions. Proxy advisers recommend to institutional investors how to vote at shareholder meetings; ISS, owned by Deutsche Börse, and Glass Lewis, owned by Peloton Capital, together hold more than 90% of that US market.
The campaign presented itself as a defence against what it called woke capitalism, with stated aims of protecting energy jobs and keeping retirees' money out of politics. According to the sources reviewed, Leonard Leo said that businesses out of step with the feelings of most Americans should pay a price. Marble Freedom Trust, which Leo chairs, received a $1.6 billion political donation in 2020 from the Chicago industrialist Barre Seid.
According to a 2026 investigation by Documented, Consumers' Research, the public face of the campaign, received 65% of the $9.34 million it raised in 2024 and about 80% of its 2023 funds from DonorsTrust; The 85 Fund, linked to Leo, gave DonorsTrust $92.05 million. Consumers' Research also paid CRC Advisors, Leo's consulting firm, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Consumers' Research was the top-tier sponsor of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) from 2021; the president of ALEC and a vice-president of the Heritage Foundation sat on the SFOF board.
Correspondence published by Documented with the New York Times showed that the American Petroleum Institute (API) met SFOF and state treasurers in May 2022 about the SEC climate disclosure rule, that an API regional director sent a Utah treasurer material about BlackRock, and that an SFOF policy alert carried API logos. At an ALEC meeting in July 2022, a Heritage Action representative described the coalition as an "astroturf operation" to which Heritage Action gave "air cover". The next month 19 attorneys general wrote to BlackRock, and in 2023 165 anti-ESG bills were introduced in 37 states.
In 2025 and 2026 the same organisations appeared again. Model bills presented at ALEC's December 2025 summit had versions introduced in 11 states by April 2026. Texas passed a proxy-adviser law in June 2025 that a federal court blocked as applied to ISS and Glass Lewis. A coal antitrust suit against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street went forward, and Vanguard paid $29.5 million in February 2026 without admitting wrongdoing. A study by Garrett and Ivanov estimated that Texas municipal borrowers would pay $303–532 million in extra interest after banks withdrew from municipal bond underwriting.
- 2020Marble Freedom Trust receives a $1.6 billion political donation from Barre Seid
- 2021Consumers' Research becomes top-tier sponsor of SFOF; Texas SB 13 takes effect in September
- 2022API meets SFOF and state treasurers (May); ALEC meeting (July); 19 attorneys general write to BlackRock (August)
- 2023165 anti-ESG bills introduced in 37 states
- 2025Texas proxy-adviser law (June); court partly denies dismissal of the coal antitrust suit (August); presidential order on proxy advisers (December); ALEC summit presents two model bills (December)
- 2026Judge Albright finds SB 13 unconstitutional (4 February); Vanguard pays $29.5 million; 11 states have introduced the model bills by April; Documented investigation published 4 June
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Correspondence showed API meeting SFOF and treasurers and an SFOF alert carrying API logos; the investigation names no fossil fuel company among the Leo-linked groups' donors.
DocumentedDescribed the coalition as an "astroturf operation" to which Heritage Action gave "air cover".
Five banks holding about 35% of the market withdrew; municipalities were to pay $303–532 million extra interest on $32 billion of bonds in eight months.
Dispute the calculation.
Alleged that the firms agreed through their climate initiatives to reduce coal production.
Denied most of the motion to dismiss but noted there was no direct evidence.
Settled for $29.5 million without admitting wrongdoing.
How it looked
Shown
- The campaign presented itself as a defence against "woke capitalism", to protect energy jobs and keep retirees' money out of politics.Campaign backers, as described in the Documented investigation · Documented
Recorded
- Marble Freedom Trust, chaired by Leonard Leo, received a $1.6 billion political donation from Barre Seid in 2020.
- Consumers' Research received 65% of the $9.34 million it raised in 2024, and about 80% in 2023, from DonorsTrust.
- Consumers' Research payments to CRC Advisors, Leo's consulting firm, were more than $600,000 in 2013–19, $113,000 in 2020 and $625,000 in 2021.
- Documented's 2026 review names no fossil fuel company among the donors of the Leo-linked groups.
- Heritage's past donations from Exxon and Koch, and ALEC backers including Chevron, Peabody and Koch Industries, are on record.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Vanguard (2026-02): Paid $29.5 million in February 2026 without admitting wrongdoing.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2024–Ongoing$29.5m Vanguard settlement (USD million)Texas and other states v. BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street (coal antitrust)US federal court, Texas · Civil · Texas and other Republican-led states → BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street
In August 2025 the judge rejected most of the motion to dismiss but noted there was no direct evidence. Vanguard settled in February 2026 without admitting wrongdoing; the sources reviewed show no settlement by the other defendants.
- 2026-02-04Claimant wonChallenge to Texas SB 13 (2021) restricting banks that limit fossil fuel and firearms industriesUS federal court, Texas · Civil · Not stated in the sources reviewed → State of Texas
Judge Albright found SB 13 unconstitutional on 4 February 2026.
- 2025–OngoingISS and Glass Lewis v. Texas (proxy-adviser law, June 2025)US federal court · Civil · ISS and Glass Lewis → State of Texas
A federal court stopped the law's application to the two firms in a free-speech case. Separately, four states filed a suit in May 2026 involving ISS.
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Anti esg spending: Reported by ValueEdge Advisors citing the New York Times; not independently verified.
Accounts
Record
- None on record The full donor lists of SFOF and Consumers' Research are not public.
- None on record Direct donations from fossil fuel companies to the Leo-linked groups are not documented.
- None on record The donors of the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund are not public; where Wyss money went is known only from statements.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the Leo network spent more than $10 million on anti-ESG efforts (attributed to the New York Times).
- None on record Industry-aligned authors dispute the Texas interest-cost estimate; their calculation is not described in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable; the campaign and related litigation were ongoing in 2026.
Who paid?
Texas municipal borrowers, and so taxpayers, were estimated to pay extra interest on bonds after banks withdrew from underwriting.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Economic civil war: ALEC and ESGDocumented · 2026-06-04
- Leonard Leo and ESGCommon Dreams · 2023-07-12
- Leonard Leo is behind the ESG disinformation campaignValueEdge Advisors · 2023-07-12
Connected cases
- Texas anti-ESG law SB 13 and the states' suit against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street United States · 2021–2026 Related matter
- Coal bankruptcies bring Peabody's self-bonds into view United States · 2015–2016
- American Legislative Exchange Council (Association) — here: Model legislation body; there: Policy network; Peabody is listed among its supporters
- Edelman: API contract, Energy Citizens and the COP30 contract United States · 2005–2026
- American Petroleum Institute (Association) — here: Met SFOF and state treasurers in 2022; there: Client 2005–2016
- Hill & Knowlton and Edelman: PR for fossil fuel clients and climate summits Egypt · 2005–2025
- American Petroleum Institute (Association) — here: Met SFOF and state treasurers in 2022; there: Edelman contract client, 2005 to 2016
- Lake Turkana Wind Power and the Marsabit-Suswa transmission line delay Kenya · 2006
- BlackRock (Asset manager) — here: Target of attorneys general letter and Texas suit; there: Manager of the Climate Finance Partnership fund that bought the stakes
- Mercer fined A$11.3m over 'sustainable' fund; Vanguard and Active Super also penalised Australia · 2024–2025
- Vanguard (Asset manager) — here: Settled the coal antitrust suit for $29.5 million; there: Penalised over the 'ethical' fund
- Occidental Stratos direct air capture plant (Texas) United States · 2023–2026
- BlackRock (Asset manager) — here: Target of attorneys general letter and Texas suit; there: Investor ($550 million)
- US quits 66 international bodies including the IPCC; NOAA disaster database closed United States · 2025–2026
- Heritage Foundation (Research institution) — here: Think tank represented on the SFOF board; there: Author of the Project 2025 document on NOAA
- Verra suspends three REDD+ schemes in Brazil's Portel over public land overlap Brazil · 2023–2025
- BlackRock (Asset manager) — here: Target of attorneys general letter and Texas suit; there: Company that used Pacajaí credits in emissions reports