Even more greed…
THE WALL OF SHAME
These ultra-wealthy Washingtonians are the dark money behind the effort to take away $900 million from education for kids and give themselves a tax cut.
Why are they so damn greedy?
Brian Heywood
#1 Best in Show
Get to know the ol’ boys club that wants to take away $900 million each year from our schools and childcare…
…and give it to the super-rich — by repealing Washington’s common sense capital gains tax on Wall Street stock profits over $250,000.
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Brian Heywood
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Brian has bought himself the #1 spot on Washington’s Wall of Shame by personally spending nearly $7 million of his own fortune to buy himself a tax cut on his capital gains profits, which funds early learning and school construction for kids, and ensure he doesn’t have to pay what he owes to support education.
Brian is the Washington-based co-CEO of Taiyo Pacific Partners. An avid horse boarder, he’s donated nearly half a million dollars to the state Republican Party since 2022, as well as donated to pro-Trump gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp in 2020.
He’s also an extremist who believes in rightwing conspiracy theories like public school teachers “grooming” children, hosts gatherings at his private ranch for some of Washington’s most far-right activists, pundits and politicians – including Tim Eyman – and has personally footed the bill for a suite of rightwing efforts over the years. He moved from California to dodge taxes on his millions in income, and now he’s trying to cut taxes on his extraordinary investment profits in Washington at the cost of our kids’ education.
The Seattle Times top economics columnist has warned that “Brian Heywood’s dream would be a nightmare for WA’s economy.” Here’s what others have to say about Brian and his efforts:
- “Think Time Eyman with a gigantic bank account.” –The Seattle Times, 1/28/24
- “Washington state could lose nearly $6 billion in funding for education, early learning programs, and childcare over five years…” –The Olympian, 2/9/24
- “People would be well advised to wake up.” –The Seattle Times, 2/2/24
- “‘In his own mind he might be Robin Hood, but in practice he’s the sheriff of Nottingham.’” –The Seattle Times, 1/28/24
- “Heywood has tried to revive local conservative efforts, donating nearly $500,000 to the state GOP since 2022, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by Open Secrets.” –Bloomberg, 1/23/24
Ken Fisher
NET WORTH: EST. $6.7 BillioN
How can you move your company to Texas when it’s already there? That’s a question we would love to see billionaire investment mogul Ken Fisher answer.
Following the Washington Supreme Court’s opinion upholding the capital gains tax, Fisher said he was moving the company’s “headquarters” to Texas.
That seems big, until you find out…
that his own company said this decision will have no impact on employees outside of Texas…
and that Fisher himself has said that headquarters designations are irrelevant…
and that he already lives in Dallas.
Fisher is perhaps best known for remarks comparing gaining a client’s trust to “trying to get into a girl’s pants.” His clients did not seem to care much for his pick-up artistry and pulled out nearly $2 billion of investments following the comments. Fisher also said that Black people would have been better off with three more decades of slavery.
To the surprise of nobody, Fisher is a major Republican donor and is desperately headline shopping to protest paying his share of taxes to fund education, child care and school construction.
John Stanton
NET WORTH: EST. $1 BillioN
Unfathomably rich, John recently became Chairman of the Seattle Mariners major league baseball team.
Despite his vast riches, John demanded local taxpayers fork over $175 million to pay for stadium repairs. He changed rules to prevent fans from visiting nearby small businesses, like Pyramid Brewery, during games — then, when Pyramid was forced to shut down, John bought the property at a discount! Ruthless.
During his tenure on Microsoft’s compensation committee, he presided over the brutal 2015 layoffs of 19,000 workers.
John lives in a $33 million Medina mansion, but it’s not enough: he frequently donates to GOP candidates who oppose taxing wealthy elites like him.
Matt McIlwain
NET WORTH: EST. $375 Million
Matt is a Managing Director at Madrona Capital, and number 75 on the elite Forbes magazine “Midas List.”
Not content to live a lavish lifestyle — his last home sold for $4.5 million — McIlwain has ventured into politics, donating widely to GOP causes and joining the board of the Koch Brothers-backed Washington Policy Center, which opposes paid family sick leave and raising the minimum wage.
Howard Behar
LIQUID NET WORTH: EST. $11 Million
Howard is a retired Starbucks executive. The owner of three homes, including an $8.5 million Seattle condo, Howard opposed legislation to make it easier for fast food workers to control their schedules — now he wants to get rid of taxes on stock profits for the ultra-wealthy like him.
Steve Gordon
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Steve sold his company, Gordon Trucking, for a cool $300 million in 2013. Since then, he’s become an outspoken supporter of the Republican Party. Steve has taken to Twitter to grumble that Washington’s capital gains tax is nothing but an illegal “sham.”
(It isn’t.)
Bill Bryant
NET WORTH: EST. $5-10 MILLION
Bill may have failed in his 2016 GOP campaign to be Washington governor, but don’t worry—he still owns two homes worth some $2.5 million. Bill oppposed raising the minimum wage and obviously thinks the economy works best when untaxed gobs of cash trickle up to people like him.
“If you know nothing else about Bryant, and most people don’t, you’re probably aware that he clung for months to the absurd idea that he need not tell voters whether he supports Crazy Donald Trump.”
— Crosscut columnist Joni Balter
Collin Hathaway
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Collin describes himself as a “small business owner,” however, there’s nothing small about his $8.6 million, 5 bedroom home next to the posh Laurelcrest Beach Club in Seattle. Collin leads a vulture capitalist private equity firm called Skylight Capital.
Phil Scott Schlaepfer
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Phil is a “wealth manager” who oversees First Republic’s exclusive Private Wealth Management division. Before First Republic, Phil worked at Merrill Lynch where he was ordered to pay $1.1 million in damages after an arbitrator’s finding of “omissions and misrepresentations” related to a customer’s investments. In his spare time, Phil sits on the board of the far-right Koch Brothers-backed Washington Policy Center.
Stan Baty
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Stan is a founder of the exclusive Columbia Pacific Wealth Management which serves “high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients on the West Coast and across the United States.” His vineyard was fined by Oregon’s OSHA for 9 “serious” workplace violations following an employee’s death in 2021.
Greg McFarland
NET WORTH: UNKNOWN
Greg is the former CEO and third-generation family manager of McFarland Cascade, which he sold for $250 million in 2012. McFarland Cascade has wracked up hefty penalties from the federal government including a $2.2 million settlement with the EPA for a superfund site and a $450,000 fine from the Department of Commerce for unlicensed exporting.
Dishonorable Mentions: Mark Funk and Peri Hall
“Black Hat” Political Consultants
Mark and Peri have the distinction of working together to oppose Initiative 522, in a campaign that was fined $18 million for violating campaign finance laws—the largest fine in American history. Their new cause? Overturning laws to make the wealthiest among us pay their fair share in taxes.
Add your name: be the first to know who’s greedy enough to earn a place on Washington’s Wall of Shame
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WallOfShameWA.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the individuals identified on the Wall of Shame.