Who is Jeffrey Katzenburg? Ex-Disney CEO with strong China ties and wife Marilyn donate over $1.7M to Biden's reelection bid
WASHINGTON, DC: Former Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn Katzenberg have made significant donations totaling more than $1.7 million to a joint fundraising committee authorized by President Joe Biden's campaign. However, their deep ties to China have raised concerns, considering the country's human rights abuses and national security implications.
Katzenberg, appointed as one of Biden's national co-chairs, has a history of extensive involvement with China's communist government. The donation from Marilyn amounting to $889,600 was made to the Biden Victory Fund, the campaign's joint fundraising vehicle, on April 27, followed by an identical contribution from Katzenberg himself on April 28. Furthermore, both Katzenberg and his wife have reached the maximum donation limit for Biden's presidential campaign, contributing $6,600 each in late April.
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Who is Jeffrey Katzenberg?
Katzenberg's longstanding ties with China became evident during his tenure as the head of DreamWorks Animation, as he frequently visited the country to explore business opportunities. “I’ve been to China every single month for the last two and a half years because it’s a place of incredible opportunity right now,” he said in 2014. “We have enough characters and stories to create a unique, new kind of theme park experience. We’re building an animation studio in the middle of Shanghai called ‘Dream Center.'”
In 2012, DreamWorks Animation secured a multibillion-dollar deal with the Chinese government to establish a production studio in Shanghai, significantly expanding the number of US films that could be released in the Chinese market. Notably, President Biden played a role in facilitating Hollywood's entry into the Chinese market during the Obama administration, frequently meeting with Xi Jinping during the Chinese leader's visit to the US in 2012. Katzenberg often accompanied Biden during these meetings, allegedly leveraging his access to the Obama administration to raise substantial funds for the Obama-Biden ticket.
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'Hollywood Made in China!'
Katzenberg’s presence at events with Xi reflected “the access Katzenberg had to the Obama administration,” Aynne Kokas, author of the book 'Hollywood Made in China' and a film industry scholar, said, noting that the Hollywood producer raised millions of dollars for the Obama-Biden ticket. The DreamWorks Animation deal, however, triggered an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, focusing on allegations of bribing Chinese officials to gain access to the Chinese market.
Limited information has been made public about the investigation. Despite stepping down from his role at DreamWorks in 2016, Katzenberg maintained connections to China. His media and technology investment firm, WndrCo, received an initial $1 billion investment from Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant, to launch NewTV, a mobile-first short-form content venture.