ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

Who Is Jeff Yass, The Billionaire Who Gave Governor Greg Abbott $6 Million to Support School Voucher?

Abbott believes that it would provide families with more control over their children's education.
PUBLISHED MAR 1, 2024
Cover Image Source: Jeff Yass | YouTube | Susquehanna International Group
Cover Image Source: Jeff Yass | YouTube | Susquehanna International Group

The poker player turned TikTok billionaire, Jeff Yass, is backing Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott's initiative to drive out Republicans who tried to stop his school choice agenda. School vouchers are the tax dollars that can be used to pay for private school tuition. Gov. Greg Abbott pitched his plan for vouchers recently and later, an unnamed parent revealed that TEA was working in favor of vouchers. This was met with a mixed response. The argument against the voucher system is that it would siphon money away from traditional public schools. However, Abbott believes that it would provide families with more control over their children's education. The primary goal of the initiative is to make quality education accessible to everyone. 

Image Source: (L) Jeff Yass YouTube | Susquehanna International Group | | (R) Greg Abbott | Getty Images | Jonathan Bachman
Image Source: (L) Jeff Yass | YouTube | Susquehanna International Group | | (R) Greg Abbott | Getty Images | Jonathan Bachman

Jeff Yass has spent more than $209 million in the past decade to promote school choice and pro-voucher candidates. This includes over $6 million to Abbott in recent months and millions to groups airing attacks in the March 5 primary against the "rural 16." This was not the first donation that Yass has made to Abbott. He previously gave $250,000 to him in October 2023. 

Needless to say, many did not react positively to the huge donation made by Yass. "It’s very concerning that a guy who made his money in a way that … is very harmful to our young people is using some of that money to double down on his harm to our young people by defunding the public schools," said state Rep. Gary VanDeaver.

Abbott has extensively endorsed primary challengers to seven of the anti-voucher House Republicans who wanted a reelection. Apart from this, Yass also gave a $500,000 check last month to AFC Victory Fund, a pro-voucher super PAC.

Yass has made most of his money through the successful bet on the Chinese company Bytedance, the company behind TikTok. Yass' stake exploded from $2 million in 2012 to an estimated $21 billion, after which he secured the 25th position on America's billionaire list by Bloomberg. It's interesting to see how Yass is supporting an initiative led by Abbott, as Abbott banned the social media platform TikTok in Mexico back in 2022. 



 

"Owned by a Chinese company that employs Chinese Communist Party members, TikTok harvests significant amounts of data from a user’s device, including details about a user’s internet activity," Abbott said at the time of the ban.



 

Jeffrey S. Yass is an American billionaire with a net worth of $28.9 billion as of March 1, 2024, per Forbes. He is the co-founder as well as the managing director of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna International Group. He made a huge chunk of money by investing early in Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok. He is currently the richest man in Pennsylvania and is also the largest donor in the 2024 US election cycle with a donation of  $34 million to Republican groups. 

Yass was born in a middle-class Jewish family in Queens, New York. He later attended Binghamton University where he earned a BS in mathematics and economics. He later co-founded Susquehanna International Group, the largest trader of liquid stock in the country.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The host's hilarious expression after hearing the absurd answer will surely go down in the game show's history.
1 hour ago
The guest hoped to getv $1,500 for it but was only offered a couple hundred bucks.
3 hours ago
The old man wanted the car to be painted black as well, which would have cost a lot of money.
6 hours ago
It seemed like she was going to win the car and some more after almost nailing the game.
1 day ago
While the founder of Hampton Adams got a $500,000 offer, he chose not to go for it.
1 day ago
Fans of the show quickly picked up on the new detail which must have meant to be a secret.
1 day ago
The entrepreneurs were not able to present the numbers that might have instilled some confidence.
1 day ago
The entrepreneur's mission to "save mankind" and his life's story impressed all of the sharks.
2 days ago
Tom Cruise was not the only celebrity who was ranked lower than the popular game show host.
2 days ago
The contestant also revealed that those shoes had lights in them before winning big.
2 days ago
Steve Harvey's reaction to each of the answers was absolutely hilarious to watch.
3 days ago
The guest, who had the Levi Wells Prentice painting for 40 years, had no idea how valuable it was.
3 days ago
The host was stunned to hear the answer and made his public service announcement.
3 days ago
John considers himself the very best on the show when it comes to licensing deals.
4 days ago
Fans of the show found the joke tasteless and they let their feelings be known.
4 days ago
The host was stunned upon hearing the answer and had to ask the contestant about her logic behind it.
4 days ago
Mr. Wonderful had said no the first time, but promptly came back after learning about the royalty.
4 days ago
Steve Harvey had a hard time believing the contestant's answer, but she was outdone by her teammate.
5 days ago
The duo worked very well as a team and the victory was well-deserved.
5 days ago
Mr. Wonderful was passionate about bats right from the get-go and was the only one to make an offer.
5 days ago