Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups around the world. It partners with about 500 organizations in nearly 100 countries. History Atlas Network was founded in 1981 by Sir Antony Fisher, a British entrepreneur, who was influenced by economist F.A. Hayek and his book, The Road to Serfdom. After founding the Institute of Economic Affairs in London in 1955, Fisher had helped establish the Fraser Institute, the Manhattan Institute and the Pacific Research Institute in the 1970s. The late Linda Whetstone, Fisher's daughter, served as chairman of Atlas Network. Fisher conceived of Atlas Network as a means to connect various think tanks via a global network through which the organizations could learn best practices from one another and "pass the best research and policy ideas from one to the other" Atlas Network would receive funding from American and European businesses and think tanks to coordinate and organize neoliberal organizations in the developing world. With few exceptions, all affiliated think tanks were established with Atlas Network funding. The organization has been described as "self replicating, a think tank that creates think tanks." According to its website, it is not named after Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. In 1981, Atlas Network helped economist Hernando de Soto found the Institute for Liberty and Democracy (ILD) in Peru and invested in the Institut Economique de Paris (IEP) in France. In 1983, Fisher helped launch the National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) in Dallas, Texas, and the Jon Thorlaksson Institute in Iceland. That organization was replaced by the Icelandic Research Centre for Innovation and Economic Growth. Atlas Network helped establish the Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research in 1987 and the Liberty Institute in New Delhi in 1996. Margaret Thatcher, F. A. Hayek, and Milton Friedman formally endorsed the organization. The 2019 and 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, published by the University of Pennsylvania, ranked the Atlas Network as 54th among the "Top Think Tanks in the United States." Atlas Network has been criticized for its links to the tobacco industry. A 2017 paper in the International Journal of Health Planning and Management described the organization as a "strategic ally" of the industry, saying that it "channeled funding from tobacco corporations to think tank actors to produce