Do You Know Which Nations Own Your Data? The U.S. Government Doesn’t
Through hedge funds, venture capital and private equity, it's way too easy for China, Russia and others to secretly control American companies.
A Chinese’s firm’s ownership of the gay dating app Grindr was not hidden through private funds – so the U.S. government saw the risk and is forcing the company to sell.
Photographer: Chris Delmas/AFP, via Getty Images
The U.S. has always welcomed foreign capital – much to our economic benefit. But there is a hidden danger in the way we do business, and it’s growing.
Washington knows shockingly little about foreign money flowing through the financial system, especially via private fund structures like hedge funds, venture capital and private equity, allowing foreign actors to make opaque investments that pose national security risks. Because the U.S. doesn’t track these flows effectively, we don’t know who owns government-issued debt, let alone who holds the trillions in outstanding corporate stocks and bonds or even which foreign actors invest directly in U.S. businesses.