Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin Sold $366M Tesla Shares To Set Up Nonprofit

Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google Co-founder Sergey Brin sold Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares to set up a nonprofit organization called Catalyst4, Bloomberg reported on Saturday. 

According to the report, Brin sold Tesla shares worth $366 million in December 2021, when the stock was near its peak and during an apparent rift he had with Tesla co-founder Elon Musk.

The creation of Catalyst4, which will reportedly be  focused on health and climate change, will help Brin obtain tax breaks and increase his political influence.

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The Google co-founder already has foundation of his own, which accumulated $4.9 billion by the end of 2021. By routing donations, Brin can sidestep foundation rules that bar deploying charitable dollars for business ownership and political activity.

In the first quarter of 2023, Brin’s Catalyst4 spent $30,000 on lobbying to push for “monitoring diseases through municipal wastewater systems to inform public health responses,” an April 19 filing revealed. Catalyst4 hired lobbying firm FGS Global on behalf of WastewaterSCAN, an initiative to sample sewer systems for diseases that lists Brin's foundation as a partner on its website. 

Bloomberg reported that, at the end of 2021, the nonprofit's total assets were $469 million. According to its IRS application, the organization expected another $100 million in donations in 2022 and again in 2023. 

Despite selling Tesla stock, Catalyst4 held onto shares in Google holding company Alphabet Inc. valued at $78 million at the end of 2021, filings show.

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Photo: Steve Jurvetson via flickr