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Meet a most improbable Trump megadonor--a vegan "Buddhist artist" from China
Last edited Fri Oct 23, 2020, 01:00 PM - Edit history (1)
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Tweet text:
David Corn
@DavidCornDC
Here’s another Trump-China mystery: a puzzling and large donation to Trump from a Chinese man with a family connection to a senior Chinese government official. Where’s the Fox News coverage?
Meet a most improbable Trump megadonor—a vegan "Buddhist artist" from China
"This just doesn't add up."
motherjones.com
8:25 AM · Oct 23, 2020
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/the-most-improbable-trump-megadonor-a-vegan-buddhist-artist-from-china-cheng-gao/
On October 12, 2016, Cheng Gao, a recent immigrant from China, donated $50,000 to Trump Victory, the joint fundraising committee for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. It was the first in a series of big-dollar contributions from Gao to Trump and the Republican Party that eventually would total $237,000, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. The disclosure form filed by Trump Victory for this contribution listed an unusual occupation for Gao: “Buddhist artist.”
Gao, 38 years old, does not fit the profile of the typical Trump megadonor. Hailing from Beijing, he is a heavily tattooed vegan and an advocate of Tibetan Buddhism who recoils at harming insects and who reveres the Dalai Lama. Gao’s Instagram account, which appears under a Tibetan name he uses (Tsultrim Pelgyi), reflects his spiritual sensibilities, his passion for art and design, and a jet-setting lifestyle. ”May Peace Prevail on Earth,” he comments in a recent post. In another, he is pictured with Nicole Kidman at the Hollywood Film Awards party. Posts chronicle him traveling around the world (Kathmandu, Disneyland, Beverly Hills, New Delhi, Kyoto, Doha), getting his latest tattoo (“Tsultrim” is inked across his knuckles), viewing art in prominent museums, sitting behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce, visiting Buddhist monasteries, attending New York Fashion Week, and watching an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at Madison Square Garden. “Fighting is meditation,” he observes in one post.
Gao, who made his Instagram account private on Friday after inquiries from Mother Jones, also posted photos of a more political nature: his name card and menu at an exclusive January 2017 inauguration gala for major Trump donors held at the Library of Congress with incoming Trump Cabinet members (packages that included admission to the dinner started at $100,000); a November 2018 holiday reception at the White House hosted by Donald and Melania Trump; and multiple visits to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private Palm Beach club. One photo gives the impression that when Gao visited Mar-a-Lago in January, he rode aboard a Trump Organization helicopter. Gao also posted a photo of Trump Tower, where he and his wife, Qingqing Qiu, moved into an apartment a few months after Trump’s inauguration.
It’s unclear how Gao amassed the wealth fueling his lifestyle and six-figure political giving. (His donations extend beyond politics. He has contributed to the Rubin Museum in New York City, which focuses on Tibetan art, providing support for several exhibits. In one case, he donated $25,000 to underwrite an exhibition featuring rare Tibetan images, according to a former curator at the museum.) Campaign finance records note Gao is affiliated with a business called Dharma Joy Arts & Culture. Gao founded the Beijing-based company in 2012, according to Chinese corporate records. In 2015, shortly after relocating to Manhattan from Beijing, he incorporated a firm by that name in New York state. A LinkedIn page describes Dharma Joy as “an innovative lifestyle and fashion design firm that integrates the essence of Oriental wisdom into modern arts and design.” Dharma Joy does not seem to have a website in the United States, and there appears to be little sign on the internet of it conducting any major business. Friends and associates of Gao who asked not to be identified say that Gao and Qiu had a boutique in Beijing under this name. (In 2014, this business sponsored an art installation in downtown Beijing at a venue called the Tsultrim Art Space.)
*snip*
David Corn
@DavidCornDC
Here’s another Trump-China mystery: a puzzling and large donation to Trump from a Chinese man with a family connection to a senior Chinese government official. Where’s the Fox News coverage?
Meet a most improbable Trump megadonor—a vegan "Buddhist artist" from China
"This just doesn't add up."
motherjones.com
8:25 AM · Oct 23, 2020
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/the-most-improbable-trump-megadonor-a-vegan-buddhist-artist-from-china-cheng-gao/
On October 12, 2016, Cheng Gao, a recent immigrant from China, donated $50,000 to Trump Victory, the joint fundraising committee for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and the Republican National Committee. It was the first in a series of big-dollar contributions from Gao to Trump and the Republican Party that eventually would total $237,000, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics. The disclosure form filed by Trump Victory for this contribution listed an unusual occupation for Gao: “Buddhist artist.”
Gao, 38 years old, does not fit the profile of the typical Trump megadonor. Hailing from Beijing, he is a heavily tattooed vegan and an advocate of Tibetan Buddhism who recoils at harming insects and who reveres the Dalai Lama. Gao’s Instagram account, which appears under a Tibetan name he uses (Tsultrim Pelgyi), reflects his spiritual sensibilities, his passion for art and design, and a jet-setting lifestyle. ”May Peace Prevail on Earth,” he comments in a recent post. In another, he is pictured with Nicole Kidman at the Hollywood Film Awards party. Posts chronicle him traveling around the world (Kathmandu, Disneyland, Beverly Hills, New Delhi, Kyoto, Doha), getting his latest tattoo (“Tsultrim” is inked across his knuckles), viewing art in prominent museums, sitting behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce, visiting Buddhist monasteries, attending New York Fashion Week, and watching an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout at Madison Square Garden. “Fighting is meditation,” he observes in one post.
Gao, who made his Instagram account private on Friday after inquiries from Mother Jones, also posted photos of a more political nature: his name card and menu at an exclusive January 2017 inauguration gala for major Trump donors held at the Library of Congress with incoming Trump Cabinet members (packages that included admission to the dinner started at $100,000); a November 2018 holiday reception at the White House hosted by Donald and Melania Trump; and multiple visits to Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private Palm Beach club. One photo gives the impression that when Gao visited Mar-a-Lago in January, he rode aboard a Trump Organization helicopter. Gao also posted a photo of Trump Tower, where he and his wife, Qingqing Qiu, moved into an apartment a few months after Trump’s inauguration.
It’s unclear how Gao amassed the wealth fueling his lifestyle and six-figure political giving. (His donations extend beyond politics. He has contributed to the Rubin Museum in New York City, which focuses on Tibetan art, providing support for several exhibits. In one case, he donated $25,000 to underwrite an exhibition featuring rare Tibetan images, according to a former curator at the museum.) Campaign finance records note Gao is affiliated with a business called Dharma Joy Arts & Culture. Gao founded the Beijing-based company in 2012, according to Chinese corporate records. In 2015, shortly after relocating to Manhattan from Beijing, he incorporated a firm by that name in New York state. A LinkedIn page describes Dharma Joy as “an innovative lifestyle and fashion design firm that integrates the essence of Oriental wisdom into modern arts and design.” Dharma Joy does not seem to have a website in the United States, and there appears to be little sign on the internet of it conducting any major business. Friends and associates of Gao who asked not to be identified say that Gao and Qiu had a boutique in Beijing under this name. (In 2014, this business sponsored an art installation in downtown Beijing at a venue called the Tsultrim Art Space.)
*snip*
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