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- Hedge-fund manager Bernard Selz and his wife Lisa have donated millions to leading anti-vaccination organizations, The Washington Post reported.
- Their donations were used to fund "Vaxxed," a 2016 documentary that relied on pseudoscience to question the safety of vaccines.
- Before 2012, the couple’s philanthropy focused on furthering education and the arts.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
New York City declared a public health crisis in April after a measles outbreak began in one Brooklyn neighborhood.
Two of the city’s wealthy residents have played a significant role in funding the anti-vax movement: Bernard and Lisa Selz have given more than $3 million to organizations that question the safety of vaccines, a review of their tax returns by The Washington Post revealed. The couple’s donations have been used to fund government lobbying by anti-vaccination activists and the controversial 2016 film "Vaxxed."
Keep reading to learn how Bernard and Lisa Selz have helped fund the anti-vax movement.
Multiple attempts to reach the Selzes for comment were not returned.
Bernard Selz (right), 79, is a graduate of Columbia University and the manager of Selz Capital, a hedge fund he founded in 2003.
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Selz currently acts as Managing Member and Portfolio Manager at Selz Capital, according to Bloomberg.
According to The Washington Post, Lisa Selz, 68, held jobs at Manufacturers Hanover Trust and Tiffany and Co. before taking a role with the Selz Foundation in 1993.
The couple has two sons and lives on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The Selzes are known philanthropists.
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They’ve made donations to organizations that support the arts, education and environmental conservation through their personal foundation.
According to the NYU Institute for Studies of the Ancient Worlds’ website, Bernard serves on several boards, including the World Monuments Fund and The Frick Collection.
Their foundation is called the Selz Foundation. It does not have a website that Business Insider was able to find.
But in 2012, The Washington Post reports, the Selz Foundation began to focus on anti-vaccine organizations, starting with a donation to Andrew Wakefield.
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In 2012, the gave a $200,000 gift to a legal fund for anti-vax activist Andrew Wakefield. The reason for the foundation’s shift is unknown.
As Business Insider’s Erin Brodwin previously reported, Wakefield published a study linking the measles vaccine to autism in 1998. Wakefield was convicted of professional misconduct in 2010 and his license was revoked. The Lancet, the journal that published the study, retracted it twelve years after publishing it.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The Greenwich Village townhouse where the late Malcolm Forbes threw extravagant parties for CEOs and celebs just sold for $20 million — take a look inside.
- Bernard Arnault just joined Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in the 3-person club of people worth more than $100 billion each. Here’s how the French billionaire makes and spends his fortune
- Less than 1% of the world’s billionaires donate to housing and shelter charities. Here are the top 10 causes the world’s richest people give their money to.
Source: Business Insider – trogers@businessinsider.com (Taylor Nicole Rogers)