Changes

     Scaife and his family’s charitable entities have given at least $340 million to conservative causes and institutions—about $620 million in current dollars, adjusted for inflation. The total of Scaife’s giving—to conservatives as well as many other beneficiaries—exceeds $600 million, or $1.4 billion in current dollars, much more than any previous estimate.

     Scaife and his family’s charitable entities have given at least $340 million to conservative causes and institutions—about $620 million in current dollars, adjusted for inflation. The total of Scaife’s giving—to conservatives as well as many other beneficiaries—exceeds $600 million, or $1.4 billion in current dollars, much more than any previous estimate.

     In the world of big-time philanthropy, there are many bigger givers. The Ford Foundation gave away $491 million in 1998 alone. But by concentrating his giving on a specific ideological objective for nearly 40 years, and making most of his grants with no strings attached, Scaife’s philanthropy has had a disproportionate impact on the rise of the right, perhaps the biggest story in American politics in the last quarter of the 20th century.  

     In the world of big-time philanthropy, there are many bigger givers. The Ford Foundation gave away $491 million in 1998 alone. But by concentrating his giving on a specific ideological objective for nearly 40 years, and making most of his grants with no strings attached, Scaife’s philanthropy has had a disproportionate impact on the rise of the right, perhaps the biggest story in American politics in the last quarter of the 20th century.

The Post credits Robert Duggan with getting Scaife interested in politics while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh in the mid-1950s. Duggan, who was then dating Scaife’s sister Cordelia, apparently convinced Scaife to run for the post of committeeman in Allegheny County. Relations between the two soured when, as the county’s third-term district attorney, Duggan was accused of making deals with “criminal elements” and accepting bribes. Duggan was eventually indicted on tax fraud in 1974. The day the ruling against Duggan came out, he was found dead from a shotgun wound. Cordelia initially suspected that her brother was involved in the death and permanently severed relations with him. (4)

The Post credits Robert Duggan with getting Scaife interested in politics while he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh in the mid-1950s. Duggan, who was then dating Scaife’s sister Cordelia, apparently convinced Scaife to run for the post of committeeman in Allegheny County. Relations between the two soured when, as the county’s third-term district attorney, Duggan was accused of making deals with “criminal elements” and accepting bribes. Duggan was eventually indicted on tax fraud in 1974. The day the ruling against Duggan came out, he was found dead from a shotgun wound. Cordelia initially suspected that her brother was involved in the death and permanently severed relations with him. (4)