What the Ford Foundation Could Be Doing with Henry Ford’s Fortune
Way back in 1976, Henry Ford II encouraged the Ford Foundation to use his grand-dad's fortune to enhance capitalism, rather than try to destroy it. They haven't listened.
“We’re building a post-capitalist world.” — From the website of a recent Ford Foundation grant recipient.
On Tuesday, the Ford Foundation announced the selection of its new president. Heather Gerken, currently the dean of the Yale Law School, will take over in November.
The Ford board claims to have conducted an “extensive national and international search” to replace outgoing president Darren Walker, who announced last year that he planned to step down.
Their search wasn’t thorough enough, as I never heard from them about an interview. Just kidding. Sort of.
I research Big Philanthropy and have repeatedly analyzed the Ford Foundation’s specific grant behavior. I’m also a lifetime Michigan resident, the state where the eponymous auto pioneer created the Ford fortune. I can make a very strong case that I have a better appreciation for how ole Henry wanted his loot given away than the people who have been doing it for more than half a century.
On paper, this all makes me a stronger candidate than the future Ford president, her predecessor, and most of those that came before him.
But the Ford philanthropoids have long since abandoned Michigan for a fancy New York City headquarters. And their annual gusher of grants always includes hundreds of millions for strident left-wing advocacy.
Losing Their Way
Resigning in 1976 from the foundation named after his grandfather, Henry Ford II—then chairman of Ford Motor Company—sent a sternly worded criticism regarding this lefty lurch.
“I’m not playing the role of the hardheaded tycoon who thinks all philanthropoids are socialists and all university professors are Communists,” he wrote. “I’m just suggesting to the trustees and the staff that the system that makes the foundation possible very probably is worth preserving.”
That was good advice. I would have followed if they’d have given me the top job. But this is why nobody like me (nor Henry II, for that matter) will ever get that call. Today, it is impossible to parody the severity of Ford’s lefty funding.
The Center for Economic Democracy hoovered up $300,000 of Henry’s money in February 2024. The first words that currently greet a visitor to the group’s website are: “We’re building a post-capitalist world.”
Since October 2022, Ford’s grant officers have approved more than $800,000 for the Action Lab. A training center for left-wing activists, the Action Lab hosted a September 2024 event titled “Dismantling Racial Capitalism.”
There’s much more where that came from, including more than a million bucks for a magazine that literally draws its name from the Soviet Union’s hammer and sickle flag.
The greatest current threat to capitalism, to say nothing of industrial civilization itself, is the left-wing war on energy abundance. The Ford Foundation has been a generous belligerent, having shipped tens of millions in grants over the past two decades to groups so stridently anti-energy that they even oppose emissions-free nuclear power.
Examples include the Natural Resources Defense Council (more than $9.5 million from Ford since 2011), Oil Change International ($3.4 million since 2019), the Environmental Defense Fund (more than $1.5 million since 2008), Friends of the Earth (nearly $4 million since 2010) and 350.org (at least $750,000 since 2021.)
One Better Option . . .
… please continue reading at the Capital Research Center to find out at least one good thing that could have been done with Henry Ford’s fortune [no sign up, no paywall] . . .
What the Ford Foundation Could Be Doing with Henry Ford’s Fortune