(No second loan was ever made.) “Our Tax System Is Insufficiently Progressive” All Rights Reserved. George Kaiser quietly owns empires in oil and gas, banking, and private equity. Solyndra is the bankrupt solar company that received the first Department of Energy loan under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. George Kaiser is chairman of BOK Financial Corp. and owner of Kaiser-Francis Oil Co. Argonaut is headed by Steve Mitchell, who also served on Solyndra's board of directors. He is also the chairman and majority owner of BOK Financial Corporation, which owns Bank of Oklahoma. To be more specific, the investor was Argonaut Private Equity, an investment arm of the George Kaiser Family Foundation—an anti-poverty charity funded by George Kaiser. He is simply, as a taxpayer and blogger, looking for some clarity. (Another Tulsa connection: Congressman John Sullivan is vice chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and, as such, Sullivan is on the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. (Tulsa World, Oct. 2, 2011) Government documents suggest the White House exerted pressure to rush approval of the loan guarantee in 2009 despite evidence that the company was failing. I went back into Solyndra's IPO filing and totaled up the amount of funding Kaiser's investment businesses gave Solyndra. The House committee has released e-mails that seem to contradict Administration assertions. “Any company you’d buy had them. Here’s the rest of the story. He earned a BA from Harvard College in 1964 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1966. Kaiser professes “guilt” over his fortune, which he attributes to “dumb luck.” Yet while he publicly advocates higher taxes on the rich, he strenuously avoids paying them, taking advantage of provisions in the IRS tax code to protect his business profits and structuring his foundation so that it gives away far less of its assets than most other private foundations. After creating so much wealth many successful people turn to philanthropy. From Reuters' MuniLand blog on September 8, 2011: "The President's argonaut," a detailed look at the George Kaiser Family Foundation's investment in Solyndra: George Kaiser alleges that he didn't discuss Solyndra with any White House officials but his investment vehicles were very hot for Solyndra. George Kaiser’s guilt over his dumb luck may have helped Tulsa charities, but it hasn’t made him pay what liberals would call his “fair share” in taxes. “I agree wholeheartedly that our tax system is insufficiently progressive. By providing this deal to Argonaut and Madrone, the U.S. Department of Energy was worsening U.S. taxpayers’ position than if the agency just allowed Solyndra to go under. The sale is disclosed in the bankruptcy filing. I don't think he's dumb at all (and he has the best lawyers). The inventory (whatever it is worth) and the receivables (whatever they are worth) will be excluded from the Debtors Estate. Typically, they are concerned about particular causes, or they want to leave a legacy, or “give back.” But Kaiser doesn’t see it that way. Educare has two Tulsa locations with a third on the way. In any event, it’s easy to believe that Obama—or someone high up in the administration and eager to use the government to punish its enemies and reward its friends—knew Kaiser had a big financial stake—$340 million—in Solyndra’s success. If you can shed any light on what all this means, please leave a comment or contact me via email. http://www.batesline.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/6143. Kaiser first appeared on the Forbes list in 1992 when his net worth was estimated at $265 million. George Kaiser —Argonaut Private Equity is an investor in SolarReserve. “AIM is expanding rapidly, financially sound, and has talented, tenured and highly productive employees,” said Steve Mitchell, Argonaut Managing Director. On May 26, 2010 Obama visited the plant and praised the company as the future of the American economy. (Nor am I.) The IRS went after Kaiser and his companies, demanding that they owed the federal government more than $72 million. In 2009, before a committee of the Oklahoma state legislature he testified that oil companies like his do not need tax breaks, and that government funds should be used instead for “tax cuts or services for the middle class and working poor.” (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 3, 2011), He has called for a graduated gasoline tax that would collect fees from drivers of fuel-inefficient vehicles and rebate them to drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles who commute to work. The Kaiser Foundation has given $6 million to create an early childhood education program called Educare for at-risk children up to age three. (His guilty conscience has been very lucrative.) It is clearly criminal influence pedaling involving the highest levels of government officials. These are exercises in what’s variously been called “crony capitalism” or “gangster government.” And Kaiser is a perfect partner. Kaiser was the largest shareholder in Solyndra, the bankrupt solar panel company that got a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as “the stimulus.” The government must now assume Solyndra’s debt, which will likely never be repaid. Soon after, the FBI raided the plant. Argonaut did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Mr. Kaiser ’s George Kaiser Family Foundation. On March 19, 2007, Obama visited Educare in Tulsa before attending a fundraising event at Kaiser’s home. So the Kaiser Foundation got to avoid charitable giving just as George Kaiser got to avoid paying taxes. America’s Frozen Future Under the Green New Deal, Environmentalists Spent a Record $2.4 Billion Pushing Global Warming Ideology, Election Irregularities Involving CTCL: Scott Walter Testifies Before Arizona House Committee, How Mark Zuckerberg Changed the Outcome of the 2020 Election. When the Solyndra loan was guaranteed by the Department of Energy and paid out by the U.S. Treasury according to US law 10 C.F.R. If George Kaiser has to give back the $75 million in loans then there goes 468 Harvard Student Grants. In 1984, as a member of the board of directors of the Tulsa-based Bank of Oklahoma, Kaiser supported acquiring Oklahoma City-based Fidelity Bank N.A. Through Argonaut, the Kaiser Foundation invested $340 million in Solyndra. Despite these tax battles and the settlements that yielded the taxman pennies on the dollar, Kaiser told Forbes in 2007 that the wealthy should pay far more in taxes. Solyndra's Fremont, California, facility, by Monica's Dad on Flickr. About VentureDeal. It’s been suggested that Kaiser, ever seeking a boost for his hometown, may have used his political contributions to help secure the construction of a Solyndra plant in Tulsa. In 2005, the Senate Finance Committee, then controlled by Republicans and chaired by Grassley, issued a staff memo that said this loophole “is now being used by wealthy individuals to avoid the private foundation rules.” The memo cited Kaiser’s foundation for giving just 0.2 percent in 2002. “Tax deductions for charitable contributions are intended to encourage transfer of wealth to those in need,” the memo said. The future is here. Best to read Krasting's opinion for yourself.). Big Oil, Big Banking, Big Philanthropy That means that there is even less of a chance that Uncle Sam sees a penny of the money that he (we) are owed. (Bloomberg News, Sept. 27, 2011), George Kaiser has also put his mouth where his money is. Capital Research Center (CRC) was established in 1984 to promote a better understanding of charity and philanthropy. Tulsa billionaire oilman, banker and philanthropist George Kaiser’s Argonaut Private Equity backed the startup, per the reports. “There’s never before been more money shoved out the government’s door in world history,” he said, later adding, “And our selfish parochial goal is to get as much for Tulsa and Oklahoma as we possibly can.”. There was no indication that we didn’t comply with the Internal Revenue Code.”. Last November on the campaign trail in New Hampshire promoting his so-called jobs legislation, President Obama asked, “Do you want to cut taxes for the middle class and those who are trying to get into the middle class? I wonder if he gave it a thought. George Kaiser's four visits to the White House in the week before the Solyndra loan guarantee was approved, curious omission on the list of witnesses at Wednesday's House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, GKFF trustee Phil Lakin and former GKFF lobbyist G. T. Bynum, Congressman John Sullivan is vice chairman of the Energy and Power Subcommittee, Solyndra - A few new facts. The stories discuss Kaiser's fundraising for the Obama campaign, his visits to the Obama White House the week before the Solyndra guarantee was approved, the increasing level of his George Kaiser Family Foundation's investment vehicles in Solyndra, and Kaiser's Argonaut Ventures I moving first in line, ahead of the taxpayers, for repayment. Why would a company controlled by GK have a role as Agent between the buyer and seller of SOL's assets? Argonaut, the investment division of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, was the largest stockholder in Solyndra, owning 35.73 percent of the company. The foundation, which had $1 billion in assets in 2005, has grown to $4 billion, according to its IRS Form 990 for 2009, the latest year available. By 2011 Kaiser’s shares were worth $2.1 billion, while the family foundation he established held another $251 million in bank stock. Argonaut invests in growing and profitable industrial companies in the region, among other things. Kaiser’s parents came to America to escape oppression, and their son built a business that make profits, creates jobs and opportunities for others, and provides the wealth that makes philanthropy possible. even though it was weighed down by bad loans. However, e-mails from the summer of 2009 have since surfaced to suggest that more was being promised than the promise of clean energy. Kaiser and his foundation became partners in one of the Obama administration’s proliferating public-private partnerships. Donate today to assist in promoting the principles of individual liberty in America. George B. Kaiser is President, CEO and owner of GBK Corporation, parent of Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, which he has managed for approximately 50 years. Nothing new here. Emanuel and Klain have since left the White House. Said Grassley, “So with Solyndra, the government didn’t just lose out on its investment through the $535 million loan guarantees. MORE: If you've lost Jon Stewart... (via Brandon Dutcher on Twitter), Stewart leads into a clip from an ABC News story about Kaiser's White House visits: "For this to truly become a weapons-grade political fodder, you're going to need incompetence with more than just a whiff of sinister cronyism.". However, given the reluctance of the general media to find any wrongdoing with the Obama administration I doubt we will ever know the real story. It would be subject to strict rules on self-dealing. Yet Kaiser feels guilty. The Tulsa World newspaper has reported that $8 out of every $10 the George Kaiser Family Foundation contributes stays in Tulsa. George Kaiser … I wonder if Bruce Krasting has heard of Great Plains Airlines. Although Kaiser, through Argonaut and GKFF Investment Company, LLC, did not participate in the initial two private financing rounds, they dominated the following funding rounds and were the major venture capital investors in the firm.... Like many bankruptcies there are a lot of creditors in line to be repaid by disposing of Solyndra's assets. Krasting goes on to relate something he said on the Pat Campbell Show on Tulsa talk station KFAQ: That's my challenge to George Kaiser. Over 9 rounds of financing it invested approximately $337 million, or 48% of all equity raised for the business. Several commentators have raised the question of why the Department of Energy would have allowed the government to become subordinate to Argonaut given the law. Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: George Kaiser, GKFF, and Solyndra. When you think of wealthy donors to liberal groups and candidates, you usually think of rich trial lawyers, Wall Street investment bankers, movie stars and Warren Buffett. “During the desperate depression of the 1980s, there were no oil and gas companies without net operating losses,” Kaiser contended in a 2001 interview about his run-in with the IRS. His father started an oil company in Oklahoma, Kaiser-Francis Oil, which George Kaiser took over in 1969. This one could swing an election. The George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University of Tulsa set up a program called the National Energy Policy Institute to develop “sustainable solutions for the energy crisis facing the U.S.” Two Democrats run the organization: the executive director is former Oklahoma Rep. Brad Carson (who lost his 2004 Senate race to Tom Coburn) and the Institute’s president is former Alaska Gov. If someone from GKFF or one of the foundation's related investment vehicles wishes to provide some sort of rationale behind these items from the bankruptcy filing, as noted by Krasting, I'd be happy to publish it here. (Bloomberg News, Sept. 27, 2011; Kaiser IRS Form 990, p.63 of 77; http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/news/story.jhtml?id=354900002). So Kaiser wants us to believe that the Family Foundation he runs invested some $300mm of the families “excess cash” and he did not really know about it. E-mails for the period show Energy and White House officials worrying about how to handle the bad news. It also is notorious in that its largest financial backer, George Kaiser, was a substantial supporter of President Barack Obama in 2008 and regularly visited the White House following the election. But Kaiser’s foundation paid out even less. With a 36 percent stake, that made the foundation the largest investor in the solar company. All rights reserved. Argonaut’s managing director Steve Mitchell sat on the Solyndra board and is a … Evidence for the misappropriation points to partisan political influence-peddling involving White House involvement with an Oklahoma billionaire named George Kaiser. A few new questions," in which he takes a closer look at the sale of Solyndra's inventory and accounts receivable by subsidiary Solyndra Financial to a day-old Delaware corporation called Solyndra Solar II, with a company called Argonaut Solar acting as agent. “Dumb luck” plays no role in keeping Kaiser’s fortune intact. If that's so, I'm torn: It's better for Tulsa if GKFF doesn't get soaked by the failure of Solyndra, but as a fiscal conservative I have a problem with a government guarantee, particularly one that has a strong whiff of political favoritism, that gives investors nothing but upside while taxpayers break even at best. George was born two years later. Each refused, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He gives to charity because he feels guilty—and he structures his non-profit foundation to avoid giving too much. George Kaiser Family Foundation is dedicated to making Tulsa the best city for children to be born, grow and succeed. MORE: Bruce Krasting has a September 15, 2011, update, "Solyndra - A few new facts. He notes that while a “supporting organization” is not required to pay out 5% of its assets to charity, it is legally permitted to invest in private hedge funds (like Argonaut Ventures) and companies (like Solyndra). He attended Central High School in Tulsa. Argonaut is an investment firm that is part of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, and was a one-third owner of Solyndra. George took over his family's Kaiser-Francis Oil Company in the 1960s. It’s distinctions like this that tick off Sen. Grassley. Excellent article although I would disagree that there is wrongdoing involved. The IRS sent him a tax bill for $48.6 million in back taxes and penalties. Hayden Ludwig Talks George Soros on KMED in Oregon, George Soros: A Lifetime Fortune Spent on Liberal Influence, The Walmart Foundation, a Microcosm of Woke Capital. (See, for instance, “The Obama Administration’s Social Innovation Fund,” Foundation Watch, Dec. 2010). A “supporting organization” is set up to support another charitable group – in Kaiser’s case the Tulsa Community Foundation. From the Daily Caller, an account of George Kaiser's four visits to the White House in the week before the Solyndra loan guarantee was approved: George Kaiser, who has in the past been labeled a major Solyndra investor as well as a Obama donor, made three visits to the White House on March 12, 2009, and one on March 13. The answer is that about ten years ago the George Kaiser Family Foundation converted itself from a “private foundation” to a “supporting organization,” an important distinction in tax law that lawmakers have seriously considered eliminating. Tranche B/D Term Loan Facility: $527,808,544 - U.S. Department of Energy Argonaut Private Equity, Kaiser's investment vehicle, declined to comment. The emails show the Energy Department asked the company to delay the layoff announcement until November 3, one day after the elections. Kaiser's Argonaut Private Equity and its affiliates were the largest shareholder of Solyndra as it pushed for the IPO. Kaiser and the White House have insisted these discussions were not about the Solyndra loan but concerned the priorities of the Kaiser Family Foundation, “including early childhood education and poverty, health care policy and energy policy,” according to a White House official who insisted on anonymity. He explains that he gives because he is assuaging his guilt for being so darn rich. Krasting has asked for insight from his readers. Strong Mayor vs. City Manager debate, tonight is the next entry in this blog. It also lost out on the tremendous subsidy it provided the George Kaiser Family Foundation through the charitable contribution deduction.”. The fund is headed by George Kaiser, a major Democratic donor. In addition, the Judge would be functionally sanctioning the A/R sale. The failed Tulsa-based airline defaulted on $7.1 million from George Kaiser's Bank of Oklahoma and burned up some $30 million in transferable tax credits. We look forward to keeping you informed. Tranche E Credit Documents: $186,481,645 - Argonaut Ventures I, L.L.C. The Kaiser Foundation owns Argonaut Ventures, a private investment firm which had $691 million in assets. The managing director of Argonaut, Steven R. Mitchell, sat on Solyndra’s board of directors. The Kaiser Foundation and the Payout Rule This is long, but worth reading, particularly if you're knowledgeable about the financial aspects of bankruptcy. But that's all my opinion and speculation, and it's certainly not my intent to suggest any wrongdoing on the part of anyone involved. That said, this isn't one of those everyday stories. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. The stimulus provided $535 million for the loan guarantee to Solyndra, the Fremont, Calif.-based company that was a centerpiece of President Obama’s green agenda. Kaiser was born on July 29, 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I also agree that the estate tax at levels above $10 million should be retained. As the Solyndra scandal has unfolded Sen. Grassley has kept his eye on Kaiser—and he is outraged. The bad loans would become such a drag on the Bank of Oklahoma that it reported a $51 million quarterly loss in 1986. In other words, Argonaut is willing to make a new $4mm loan, PROVIDED that the Judge releases (at least $3.86m) back to an entity that Argonaut is connected to (SSII). Mr. Kaiser holds the position of Chairman of Kaiser Wholesale, Inc., Chairman for BOK Financial Corp. and President & Chief Executive Officer at GBK Corp. (Oklahoma). White House logs show Kaiser visited the White House 16 times, four of them just before approval of the Solyndra loan. It turns out that argonaut was a person who participated in the California Gold Rush. Ben Bierman, executive vice president of operations donated $5,500 to Obama, and Karen Alter, senior vice president of marketing gave $23,000, just to name a few. We got to where we are by dumb luck.”. He briefly considered joining the U.S. Foreign Service, but instead returned to Tulsa in 1966 to work for his father. A few news stories and commentaries of interest, regarding Oklahoma's wealthiest man, George B. Kaiser, and the recently-bankrupt solar energy firm Solyndra, which failed despite $535 million in federal loan guarantees. According to a report by the Sunlight Foundation, a watchdog group, Kaiser has used loopholes in the tax code so that during one six year period he “reported taxable income to the Internal Revenue Service just once, totaling $11,699 – equivalent to a full-time hourly wage of $5.62.”. He believes the rich should pay more—and he avoids paying taxes. Then in October 2010 Solyndra began planning to layoff 200 employees. Kaiser obviously wanted Solyndra to succeed, which makes it reasonable to believe he supported the loan, although he says he never engaged in direct lobbying. Argonaut’s links to both SolarReserve and Solyndra are being closely examined by Republicans. And the “dumb luck” comment betrays Kaiser’s ignorance about how the free market works and why it’s been good to him. American Majority "training bomb": Saturday, September 17, 2011 was the previous entry in this blog. How is this possible? The Wall Street Journal reports that George Kaiser, "a Tulsa oil billionaire who bundled campaign checks for Mr. Obama in 2008," is poised to accomplish one of the great scams of all time. A question to ask is whether GK has (directly or indirectly) an interest (equity or debt) in SSII. Were this the Bush administration it would be front page for months! The city government was added to the suit under the flimsy pretext of "unjust enrichment," then-Mayor Kathy Taylor, a Democrat, immediately waved the white flag, and the loan was repaid, just before the end of 2008Q2, out of Tulsa's sinking fund at the expense of city property taxpayers. Krasting emphasizes that he is not suggesting wrongdoing on anyone's part. 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