Billionaires

Billionaires Swoop In to Fund Abbott’s Texas School-Voucher Push

Legislature kicks off session with education as a top priority
Big donors stepped up after governor’s earlier effort fizzled

Greg Abbott speaks about a school voucher plan during a rally at the Cypress Christian School in Houston in 2023.Photographer: Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images

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By Joe Lovinger

January 14, 2025 at 2:00 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Jeff Yass is about to find out what $16 million gets him in Texas.

In two years, the billionaire founder of Susquehanna International Group has gone from a political nobody in the state to one of its most lavish donors, and he’s focused his firepower on one big issue: school choice. Governor Greg Abbott has used Yass’s largesse to fund legislative challengers to fellow Republicans who warned Texas couldn’t afford it.