{"id":983,"date":"2026-07-15T19:08:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:08:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=983"},"modified":"2026-07-15T19:08:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T19:08:41","slug":"musk-linked-lawyers-back-delaware-lawmakers-who-gutted-shareholder-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=983","title":{"rendered":"Musk-Linked Lawyers Back Delaware Lawmakers Who Gutted Shareholder Protections"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Did you know that Truthout is a nonprofit and independently funded by readers like you? If you value what we do, please support our work with <\/span><\/i>a donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Read more Internal Estimates Put Iran War Cost Near $100B, Reports Say<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The lawyers who helped tech tycoon Elon Musk secure a controversial rollback of far-reaching shareholder protections are now bankrolling Democratic Delaware lawmakers who voted for the legislation as they face progressive primary challenges over the so-called \u201cbillionaires bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five major law firms behind the deregulatory measure have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars into a newly registered political action committee called First State Future PAC, which is supporting Democratic incumbents being attacked for their support of the legislation. Those financial backers include Richards, Layton & Finger, the Delaware firm that represented Musk in his years-long dispute with Tesla shareholders to preserve his $56 billion pay package in 2018 and helped draft Delaware\u2019s corporate governance overhaul last year.<\/p>\n

After a massive corporate lobbying campaign, the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed Senate Bill 21 to placate Musk and other Silicon Valley leaders who were threatening to leave Delaware, a historically business-friendly state, unless it shielded them from shareholder scrutiny. With two-thirds of all Fortune 500 companies incorporated in the state, the corporate handout limits the ability of company stakeholders and pensioners nationwide to hold corporations accountable for misconduct.<\/p>\n

Among other measures, the new law makes it more difficult for a company\u2019s shareholders to obtain records to hold company executives accountable for mismanagement and relaxes rules for conflicts of interest on a company\u2019s independent board of directors. <\/p>\n

In May, the progressive Working Families Party of Delaware, which has become an increasingly prominent player in the state\u2019s politics, endorsed six Democratic candidates primarying state lawmakers who voted for the Musk bill and are up for reelection this year. Delaware\u2019s primary election will be held on September 15.<\/p>\n

The Working Families Party-endorsed candidates include software engineer Rae Krantz, who is running against Rep. Debra Heffernan; Wilmington City Councilwoman Shan\u00e9 Darby, who is running against Rep. Nnamdi Chukwuocha; teacher Will Imbrie-Moore, who is challenging Rep. Kim Williams; and community advocate Pamela Salaam, who is facing off against Rep. Frank Cooke. In the race for the state Senate, the progressive organization has endorsed professor Adriana Bohm to take on Sen. Dan Cruce and social services supervisor Shay Frisby in her challenge against Sen. Ray Seigfried. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that people know the effects that this bill has had and is going to have on hurting accountability for corporations and basically handing Elon Musk $55 billion,\u201d said Karl Stomberg, Delaware state director for the Working Families Party, in an interview with CNBC<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Read more Latest Case of \u201cPalestine Exception\u201d to Free Speech Is \u201cGolden Gate Defendants\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

A week after those endorsements were announced, the newly registered First State Future PAC raised nearly a million dollars and began spending to defend the incumbents against their primary opponents. <\/p>\n

The First State Future PAC\u2019s entire war chest comes from five powerful law firms that all supported and lobbied for the Musk-backed \u201cbillionaires bill,\u201d as opponents called it. In addition to Richards, Layton & Finger, Delaware-based firms Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell; Potter Anderson & Corroon; and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor each contributed $190,000 in May, as did the Silicon Valley legal powerhouse Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. <\/p>\n

In May, the political action committee began spending to back those lawmakers locked in contested primaries against candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party. So far, the organization has dropped nearly $500,000 so far this cycle, primarily on digital advertising to boost incumbent candidates\u2019 campaigns. <\/p>\n

On July 7, the political action committee also doled out $190,000 to a dark money nonprofit called Alliance to Protect Delaware\u2019s Future. <\/p>\n

As a registered 501(c)(4) nonprofit rather than a political action committee, the pro-business group doesn\u2019t have to disclose its donors. But Google\u2019s ad market listings show the organization is behind 10 separate digital ad spots boosting many of the same lawmakers supported by First State Future. <\/p>\n

While the nonprofit\u2019s connections to the political action committee remain opaque, John Ferko, the chief operating officer of Richards, Layton & Finger, promoted the group on LinkedIn as a vehicle for informing the public about \u201chow SB 21 can benefit Delaware\u2019s economy and maintain its status as a premier corporate domicile.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was originally published by <\/em>The Lever, an investigative newsroom. If you like this story, sign up for <\/em>The Lever\u2019s free newsletter.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Wisconsin Commission Finds Musk Likely Broke Law in Handing Out Checks to Voters<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Law firms that lobbied for the Musk-backed \u201cbillionaires bill\u201d are bankrolling the lawmakers facing primary challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nMusk-Linked Lawyers Back Delaware Lawmakers Who Gutted Shareholder Protections - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=983\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Musk-Linked Lawyers Back Delaware Lawmakers Who Gutted Shareholder Protections - 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