The balance of power in the Senate in November's elections could be determined by a key congressional race that Ray Dalio finds himself in.
The two Republican candidates vying for Pennsylvania's Senate seat are friends of the co-chair of the firm.
In a post he wrote in January about the Pennsylvania Senate race, he called two friends of his, Oz and McCormick, "great men who have lived and personify the American Dream in different ways." A recent Franklin & Marshall College poll shows that the race is wide open and that the GOP primary is close.
The balance of power in the Senate could be determined by the primary race on May 17 and the general election in November. The seat is a toss-up according to Cook Political Report. With the Senate currently split 50-50, these contests are important in determining which party will control that chamber in the future.
According to campaign finance disclosures, the billionaire hasn't donated to a political campaign since the 2016 election. He was criticized for his comments on CNBC about China's human rights abuses, comparing their government to a strict parent.
Oz and McCormick are both campaigning as pro-Trump America First candidates despite their past ties to China.
The CEO of the company, who resigned in January, told staff that he disagreed with his boss's views on China. TV host and physician Oz and a super PAC that supports his campaign have been critical of the work done by Bridgewater in China.
A review of tax disclosures shows that Oz has received financial support for his many charitable initiatives. A representative for the company wouldn't comment on the post.
Brittany Yanick, a spokeswoman for Oz's campaign, told CNBC that the physician and the billionaire hedge fund founder disagree on the issue of China, but that they have been working together on philanthropic efforts for years.
Dr. Oz doesn't agree with Mr. Dalio about China, but he wouldn't throw him under the bus.
According to the disclosure reports reviewed by CNBC, the Dalio Foundation has donated over 1.5 million dollars to Oz's HealthCorps since 2011. Oz founded it over 10 years ago with the goal of saving lives by addressing health inequalities in at-risk communities through educational leadership, programming, and service learning. Oz is listed as chair emeritus on the website.
According to tax filings from that year, the latest known contribution from the Dalio Foundation was $100,000.
There were two separate checks worth $325,000 that HealthCorps received from the foundation. Over the years, the foundation has donated over 100 million dollars to various charities, including the one once chaired by Oz.
Oz said he had a partnership with Reed Hastings and Arianna Huffington. A charity partnership called TisBest included the husband and wife of an executive at Goldman Sachs. Representatives for both companies did not respond to requests for comment.
According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, Hastings gave more than $1 million to the Senate Majority PAC during the 2020 election cycle. Democrats are running for Senate seats.
Huffington was involved with Oz and Dalio's charitable work. She was pictured with two men at a town hall for the David Lynch Foundation, a nonprofit that uses transcendental meditation to help eradicate trauma and toxic stress for at-risk populations. According to the foundation's website, Dalio said if there was stress, he would just break off and go into the meditation. It will wash off of me. Oz, Huffington and Mario Batali were some of the speakers.
Oz and others gave away 20,000 Tis Best Philanthropy gift cards to people who would then donate the money to their favorite charity.
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