Steven Spielberg's $160M+ charitable vehicle for Jewish philanthropy. Founded 1994 with Schindler's List proceeds. Board, grantmaking ledger, post-2020 pivot, and the $3M network.
Steven Spielberg's $160+ million charitable vehicle for Jewish philanthropy. Founded 1994 with Schindler's List proceeds. Named after the gentile rescuers of Holocaust survivors. Headquartered in Los Angeles. EIN 95-4497916. Website: righteouspersons.org.
Part of the Spielberg Philanthropy Series: Part 1: Where the Money Went | Part 2: The Main Investigation | Entity Page (this piece) | Part 3: Hearthland | Hub: Global Jewish Philanthropy
Foundation Basics
Founded: 1994
Founder: Steven Spielberg
Initial capital: $100 million in Schindler's List profits. Spielberg called the money "blood money" that belonged to the Jewish community.
Additional capital: Profits from Munich (2006) and Lincoln
Total disbursed (to date): $160+ million in grants
2024 financials: Revenue $9.31M. Expenses $9.35M. Total assets: $36,549. The foundation has effectively spent down its endowment and now operates on annual inflows.
2024 grantmaking: Approximately 30 grants totaling $8.9 million to 102 grantees. Recent recipients include USC Shoah Foundation ($30M endowment), Jewish Story Partners, and Jewish Funders Network.
EIN: 95-4497916
Grantmaking categories: Arts & Culture, Applying Jewish Wisdom, Bridging Communities, Film, Holocaust Education/Survivor Aid, Media Fund for Coexistence, Next Generation, Social Justice.
Board of Directors
Steven Spielberg — Chairman (1994–present, 32-year tenure). Founder and final approval authority on all grants and strategic decisions. Retains personal control of foundation direction. Forbes 2026 billionaire celebrities list.
Kate Capshaw Spielberg — Director. Spouse. Board-level approval authority on major grants.
Kristie Macosko Krieger — Director. Board-level approval authority on major grants. Also producing Spielberg's next feature film (Universal, May 2026).
Gerald Breslauer — President and Director (through 12/31/2024). Exited President role on 12/31/2024. Remains Director.
Michael Rutman — CFO; President as of 12/31/2024.
Tammy Anderson — Secretary and Director; CFO as of 12/31/2024.
Meghan Christiansen — Secretary (as of 12/31/2024).
Margery Tabankin — Executive Director and Senior Advisor (1995–present, 31 years). Shapes grantmaking strategy and organizational priorities. Background: VISTA National Director under President Carter (1977–1981); Arca Foundation Executive Director (1981–1988); met Yasser Arafat on Arca Foundation funds in West Bank (1989); director, Hollywood Women's Political Committee (1988–1994).
Board compensation: $0 across all members.
Grantmaking History (1994–2024)
1994–2020: Holocaust Memory and Jewish Institutional Preservation. For its first 25 years, the foundation deployed capital into Holocaust education, Holocaust survivor support, Yiddish cultural preservation, Center for Jewish History, USC Shoah Foundation endowment and operations, and Jewish memory infrastructure. This grantmaking aligned with Spielberg's stated founding mission: returning blood money to Holocaust memory and Jewish continuity.
2020–present: Jewish Progressive Political Infrastructure. Beginning in 2020, grantmaking shifted significantly toward Jewish progressive advocacy organizations with documented positions on Israeli policy, Gaza, occupation, BDS, and IHRA antisemitism framework opposition.
2026 grants (disclosed): $25,000 to Beth Israel Congregation Rebuilding Fund (arson attack response; congregation founded 1860). $75,000 to The Blue Card (Holocaust survivor aid, funded by RPF since 1996).
Post-2020 Grantmaking: The $3M Network
Between 2020 and 2024, the foundation directed approximately $3 million — 13% of annual operating disbursements — to four organizations:
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action — $1.2 million (2020–2024). Annual grants: $200K (2020), $250K (2021), $275K (2022), $225K (2023), $250K (2024). CEO: Jamie Beran. Board Co-chairs: Ginna Green, Rabbi Sue Reinhold. Documented positions: opposes IHRA antisemitism definition; frames Palestinian advocacy and opposition to IHRA as free speech rights; endorsed BDS co-founder Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor (September 2025, first-ever mayoral endorsement); mobilized ground and air campaigns for Mamdani's successful mayoral campaign (November 2025).
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights — ~$650,000 (2020–2024). Annual grants: $120K (2020), $130K (2021), $150K (2022), $140K (2023), $150K (2024). CEO: Rabbi Jill Jacobs. Network: 2,300+ rabbis and cantors across U.S., Canada, Israel, Palestinian territories. Documented positions: frames Israeli occupation as "violent military occupation" requiring termination; opposes IHRA antisemitism definition; called expanded Israeli military control of Gaza "moral disaster" (2025); defends BDS as protected political speech; called for U.S. admission of BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti; co-produced Breaking the Silence educational material.
Jews United for Justice — ~$900,000 (2020–2024). Annual grants: $150K (2020), $175K (2021), $200K (2022), $200K (2023), $200K (2024). Executive Director: Jacob Feinspan. Regional footprint: Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, Virginia. Operating budget: $3.7M. Staff: 32. Volunteers: 1,877. Documented positions: co-signed letter opposing IHRA antisemitism definition (April 2025); part of Jewish progressive coalition opposing federal antisemitism framework.
Jewish Social Justice Roundtable — ~$250,000 (2020–2024). Annual grants: $50K (2020), $55K (2021), $60K (2022), $50K (2023), $35K (2024). Function: coordinating coalition orchestrating multi-organizational messaging, legislative strategy, and joint advocacy campaigns across Bend the Arc, T'ruah, JUFJ, and adjacent organizations. Primary focus: coordinated opposition to IHRA antisemitism definition.
Total Post-2020 Grantmaking Ledger
Bend the Arc: $1,200,000. T'ruah: $690,000. Jews United for Justice: $925,000. Jewish Social Justice Roundtable: $250,000.
Total: $3,065,000 (2020–2024). Average annual deployment: $613,000 per year to this network. Consistent, strategic allocation representing 13% of RPF's annual operating disbursements.
Spielberg's Public Positions vs. Foundation Grantmaking
December 2023: Following October 7 attacks, Spielberg issued statement via USC Shoah Foundation: "I never imagined I would see such unspeakable barbarity against Jews in my lifetime." Announced Countering Antisemitism Through Testimony initiative to collect October 7 survivor accounts.
March 2024: Accepting University of Southern California honor for Shoah Foundation work, Spielberg warned of "the machinery of extremism" on college campuses. Called antisemitism prevention "critical to the health of our democratic republic."
Standard formulation (public statements, 2023–2026): "We can rage against the heinous acts committed by the terrorists of October 7th and also decry the killing of innocent women and children in Gaza."
The contradiction: In the same years Spielberg publicly warned about extremism on campuses, his foundation funded the organizations whose staff and leadership build campus protest infrastructure. In the same years Spielberg invoked IHRA framework implicitly — antisemitism includes targeted singling out of Israel — his foundation funded organizations actively campaigning against the IHRA definition.
Key Events (2024–2026)
Late 2024: RPF awards $30 million endowment grant to USC Shoah Foundation for continued Holocaust survivor testimony collection.
September 26, 2025: Bend the Arc (RPF-funded $250K annually) issues first-ever mayoral endorsement: Zohran Mamdani, BDS co-founder and vocal BDS supporter since 2014, candidate for NYC mayor.
November 4, 2025: Zohran Mamdani elected Mayor of New York City. Bend the Arc claims credit for the outcome.
January 1, 2026: Mamdani inaugurated as NYC mayor. Sworn in by Sen. Bernie Sanders and AG Letitia James. On the same day, Steven Spielberg officially becomes a New York City resident.
January 5, 2026: Steven Spielberg hosts newly inaugurated Mayor Mamdani at Spielberg's Central Park West apartment. Meeting lasted approximately 60 minutes, with no set agenda. Confirmed by Spielberg spokeswoman Terry Press and City Hall. Not on Mamdani's public schedule. First reported by The New York Times, subsequently covered by Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, The Wrap. Spielberg had moved primary residence to Manhattan in late 2025, during months when wealthy New York residents were threatening to leave over Mamdani's proposed high-earner tax hike.
Investigations and Reporting
Olam Investigation Part 1 (June 2026): Where Schindler's List Money Went — Documentation of RPF grantmaking to Jewish progressive organizations, their positions on Israel/Palestine, and electoral outcome.
Olam Investigation Part 2 (August 2026): Spielberg's Foundation Funds Jews for Mamdani — Deep investigation of $3M network, board structure, Tabankin background, grantmaking causal chain to Mamdani mayoral victory, entity-level detail on all four grantee organizations.
Olam Investigation Part 3 (August 2026): The Other Spielberg Foundation: Hearthland — How Hearthland Foundation's $26.7M in voter mobilization, media narrative, and racial justice funding amplifies RPF's anti-Israel infrastructure across the progressive ecosystem.
Olam Hub: Global Jewish Philanthropy
Other coverage (2025–2026): The New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, The Wrap, Frontpage Magazine, New York Sun, JFeed, Israel National News, Future of Jewish, Ynetnews.
Institutional Accountability Questions
1. Has Steven Spielberg explicitly approved each grant to organizations opposing the IHRA antisemitism definition? Board records show he retains final approval authority.
2. Is the post-2020 pivot toward Jewish progressive political advocacy compatible with Spielberg's stated founding mission in 1994 — "blood money returned to the Jewish community" for Holocaust memory and Jewish institutional preservation?
3. How does Spielberg reconcile his public antisemitism advocacy and warnings about campus extremism with funding organizations that frame Palestinian advocacy and BDS speech rights as Jewish civil-rights priorities?
4. Was Spielberg aware that Bend the Arc would endorse a BDS co-founder for NYC mayor before or after approving the $250K annual grants?
5. What strategic alignment exists between Spielberg's January 1, 2026 relocation to Manhattan — on Mamdani's inauguration day — and his hosting of Mayor Mamdani at his Central Park West apartment four days later?
Sources
IRS Form 990-PF: Righteous Persons Foundation (EIN 95-4497916), 2020–2024, via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Righteous Persons Foundation grants archive (righteouspersons.org). Olam investigations and reporting, 2026. Steven Spielberg public statements, USC Shoah Foundation, 2023–2024. Bend the Arc, T'ruah, Jews United for Justice organizational materials and positions. The New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Fox News, The Wrap (Spielberg-Mamdani meeting, January 2026). Instrumentl, Impala Digital, Cause IQ (990 data).
