POGO Receives Major Gift From Wall Street Maverick To Bolster Oversight And Open Government

David Einhorn, the President of Greenlight Capital, announced a gift of nearly $1.8 million to The Project On Government Oversight (POGO). The announcement was made yesterday at the Ira Sohn Research Investment conference in New York City. The gift was given by Mr. Einhorn and his company’s employees in recognition of the critical need for more robust government oversight.

In his 2008 book, Fooling Some of the People All of the Time: A Long Short Story, Mr. Einhorn revealed the lax oversight and incompetence of government regulators, the Wall Street environment that created and nurtured the fraud and excesses leading to the current economic debacle, and the stock analysts and reporters who failed to investigate and publish the fraudulent practices.

“This book shows, if nothing else, that we need better investigative journalism and government watch-dogs,” Mr. Einhorn said.

Mr. Einhorn also made a gift of nearly $1.8 million to the Center for Public Integrity and The Tomorrows Children’s Fund received $2.6 million.

"We are thrilled to be able to expand our oversight activities. It is extraordinary, that during these difficult economic times when many of our colleagues are being forced to retrench, that this gift gives POGO the opportunity to embrace new challenges," said POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian. “We're so proud that such a proven investor has chosen to invest in POGO’s future. It will solidify our ability to achieve a more effective, accountable, open and ethical government."