gave $2.9 million to Republican candidates in 2016, he told The New York Times in September 2018, "One of the reasons I’m willing to come out of my shell and talk to you is because I think democracy is at stake, and maybe I’ll be able to convince some other people of that, and get them to support Democrats in 2018." Klarman, who was previously one of the biggest donors to the Republican Party in New England, told the Times in September, 2018, that he had already contributed almost $5 million to nearly 150 candidates, including Representative Joe Kennedy III, Senate candidate Representative Beto O’Rourke and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Klarman is a registered Independent who reasoned, "We need to turn the House and Senate as a check on Donald Trump and his runaway presidency." He commented that he feels "betrayed" by "spineless" Republicans who have been "profiles in cowardice," and believes the only option is to "act as a check and balance." Pro-Israel affiliation Klarman is co-founder and chairman of Israel-based The Times of Israel. According to the Mondoweiss website, Klarman has supported many organizations, including the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Israel Project, Birthright Israel and Middle East Forum. Wealth Forbes lists his personal fortune at US$1.5 billion and is the 15th highest earning hedge fund manager in the world. Philanthropy Klarman started The Klarman Family Foundation ($255 million in assets as of 2010) which donates to medical causes, Jewish organizations (such as the American Jewish Committee, Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies and Gann Academy), and Israeli causes. Klarman is the chairman of Facing History and Ourselves which develops classroom programs to combat anti-Semitism and bigotry. Klarman also is active with the Israel Project, a pro-Israel advocacy group that collects and provides information on Israel for journalists. He donated $4 million to the organization between 2008 and 2010. He is the key U.S. investor behind The Times of Israel, an online English-language newspaper which reports on Israel, the region and the Jewish world. In 2013, Klarman donated the lead capital to fund the $61 million building at Cornell University named the Seth '79 and Beth Klarman Humanities Building, more simply known as Klarman Hall. A year later, he donated money to Harvard Business School to construct a "conference center/auditorium and performance space," named Klarman Hall. It opened in 2018. In 2019, Cornell University announced that Klarman had donated significant