A Billionaire Oil Executive Donated To Joe Biden. He Sent The Money Back.

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign returned a contribution made by Oklahoma billionaire George Kaiser, who owns stakes in the oil and gas industry, according to a campaign spokesperson. The Biden campaign has said it is not accepting money from executives of fossil fuel companies. 

Kaiser, who Forbes estimates is worth $5.8 billion, chairs the Bank of Oklahoma, and holds stakes worth hundreds of millions of dollars in oil and gas exploration and production firms, as well as a liquefied natural gas shipping company. He made a $2,800 contribution to Biden’s campaign on March 9, Federal Election Commission filings show. The campaign returned the contribution on April 20, a campaign spokesperson said, a move that should show up in public records released in May. 

Kaiser’s parents fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. His family got into the oil business and built what became Kaiser-Francis Oil. George eventually took over. Kaiser purchased an interest in the Bank of Oklahoma in 1991, today his stake is worth about $1.3 billion. He also owns a piece of an NBA team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Recently Kaiser committed $10 million to coronavirus relief efforts in Tulsa. His family foundation, which focuses on early childhood education and criminal justice reform, has assets worth more than $3.8 billion, according to the latest available public filings. 

“I believe that equal opportunity—the most profound shared principle of American Democracy, dating back to the declaration of independence—is disappearing,” Kaiser wrote in an email to Forbes. “Government policy and public indifference have placed increased barriers in the way of young children, born into poverty, denying them access to the American dream. I generally support the Democratic party at the federal level because they share my concern and are willing to pass legislation that would reverse that trend, generating budget savings to offset additional costs.”

It’s not that Biden’s policies are in Kaiser’s own self-interest. The former vice president wants to rejoin the Paris Agreement and put America on a path to net-zero emissions by 2050. Kaiser has previously supported other environmentally friendly candidates, donating more than $125,000 to Hillary Clinton’s joint fundraising committee in 2015 and 2016 and bundling for Barack Obama.  

This isn’t the first time a Democratic candidate has sent back billionaire money because of a fundraising pledge. In November last year, Bernie Sanders, who had promised to accept no money from billionaires, returned $470 in contributions made by Marta Hall, who is married to self-driving car pioneer David Hall.