The Marble Freedom Trust is an American conservative

political advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

structured as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization.

Leonard Leo Leonard Anthony Leo (born November 1965) is an American lawyer, businessman, and conservative legal activist. He was the longtime vice president of the Federalist Society and is currently, along with Steven Calabresi, the co-chairman of the or ...

is the group's trustee and chairman.

History

The Marble Freedom Trust (MFT) was established in April 2020, and by March 2021, it had effectively been given $1.65 billion by

Barre Seid Barre Seid (born 1932) is an American businessman from Chicago. He was the owner of Tripp Lite, an electrical products manufacturer. Seid donated the company to Marble Freedom Trust, a funder of conservative causes, which in 2021 sold Tripp Li ...

. The money was transferred to the MFT in the form of ownership of the electronics company Tripp Lite, by its founder and sole owner Seid. In March 2021, the company was purchased from the Trust by the

Eaton Corporation Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish-domiciled multinational power management company, with a primary administrative center in Beachwood, Ohio. Eaton has more than 85,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countr ...

, with the result that the Trust had cash assets of $1.65 billion. In the

tax year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

ending in April 2022, the Marble Freedom Trust donated $182.7 million to other organizations and causes. In 2022, the MFT was headquartered in

North Salt Lake, Utah North Salt Lake is a city in Davis County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 16,322 at the 2010 census, which had risen to an estimated 20,948 as of 2019. ...

, and its administrative trustee was Tyler Green.

Positions

The Marble Freedom Trust generally promotes positions and causes consistent with

conservatism in the United States Conservatism in the United States is one of two major political ideologies in the United States, with the other being liberalism. Traditional American conservatism is characterized by a belief in individualism, traditionalism, capitalism, ...

. The MFT aims "to transform ESG

environmental, social, and governance Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is shorthand for an investing principle that prioritizes environmental issues, social issues, and corporate governance. Investing with ESG considerations is sometimes referred to as ''responsible inv ...

(ESG) investing into a rallying cry against woke capitalism." Since 2021, the MFT has invested in fighting against both ESG and

diversity, equity, and inclusion In the United States, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are organizational frameworks that seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject ...

efforts at BlackRock, Vanguard, American Airlines, Coca-Cola, State Farm, Major League Baseball and Ticketmaster. In 2024, Leonard Leo said that the Trust would devote $1 billion to "crush liberal dominance", especially in news and entertainment.

References

Conservative organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Utah {{US-poli-stub