Despite being a crusader for transparency in the campaign, Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff refuses to disclose information about his finances and personal investments, according to a new report.
The 33-year-old challenges Republican Party Sen. David Perdue in one of two crucial races in Peach state that will decide whether Joe Biden has control of the upper house of Congress or be forced to negotiate with the leader of Peach. most of the Senate, Mitch McConnell (R-). Ky.).
On the campaign trail, Ossoff goes public as a crusade against corruption that has produced highly shocking documentaries about fraud in countries like Ghana through its producer, Insight: The World Investges.
But the former Atlanta-born congressman has refused to be transparent about his own personal finances.
Ossoff has remained silent about the $ 250,000 loan he made to the company when he became CEO at age 26 in 2013, or the undisclosed donation he made when he was a majority owner, the Washington Post reported Wednesday. .
Questions have also arisen about how much money the Democratic Party of China and Qatar has accepted after negotiating agreements with a Hong Kong news agency and Al Jazeera, with the support of Qatar, to broadcast two of its films in the Islamic State.
Ossoff claimed that his films were sold to Al Jazeera English, not the Arab branch, and that he only received $ 1,000 in emission rights from the Hong Kong company, which Perdue alleged that it was “a Chinese communist news agency.”
The Senate hopeful has refused to provide more financial documents relating to the company to the Washington Post, calling them “confidential.”
He has also declined to say how much he inherited from his grandfather, who owns a Massachusetts leather factory, but the figure is expected to reach millions, according to the Washington Post report.
Peach State’s political hope has also refused to release his tax returns, but the personal disclosure form he submitted as a Senate candidate places his personal fortune between 2.3 and 8, $ 8 million.
Wealth has become a central theme in both races in Georgia’s second Senate, as Democratic challengers want to overthrow Perdue, 71, and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican lawmaker involved in the securities trade controversy. of this year.
An investigation ended up freeing Loeffler from any illicit action after he poured millions of dollars worth of shares after a private report to senators on COVID-19 at the start of the pandemic.
Perdue is also one of the most prolific traders in Congress and with a net worth of $ 15.8 million, he is one of the richest members of the Senate.
According to the Washington Post report, Ossoff – whom Republicans have described as “a socialist trust fund” with “zero real achievements” – was used to run Insight: TWI by founder Ron McCullagh, who met Ossoff when he was 16. years and more. a holiday with his family in France.
“I knew I could do it,” McCullagh told the publication, even though Ossoff had no experience in journalism or running a business.
“It’s been running for 22 years and I wanted to find new blood to take over.”
Ossoff retired from the company in 2017, when he made his first unsuccessful political foray, running for Congress in the 6th district of Congress, Georgia’s ruby red, which was the most expensive house race in history.