Texas Billionaire Daniel Lubetzky's Builders Movement Aims to Bridge Political Divides

That a San Antonio billionaire is using his wealth to influence the political process is not surprising. But what is unique about Daniel Lubetzky, the son of a Holocaust survivor and the founder of the company that makes the KIND bar snacks, is that instead of underwriting a campaign to enact an extreme partisan agenda, he is focusing what he calls the Builders Movement. He wants to bridge the political chasm that he says too often pits neighbor against neighbor, voter against voter so that neither side moves forward.

"I think the vast majority of Americans sense that our political system is really not being used to its maximum potential," Lubetzky, who last year became a permanent panelist of TV's "Shark Tank," Lubetzy said in a recent interview.

"Our political system gets hijacked by extreme polarization, by special interests," he said. "And (the) two-party political system ends up becoming a situation where a lot of politicians are staying in power and amassing power rather than solving problems."

It might sound naive, but Lubetsky, a U.S. citizen who was born in Mexico, has drawn in the likes of such influential figures as Mark Cuban, Karl Rove and Katie Couric since launching Builders last year.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Builders cannot make direct political contributions or endorse candidates. The organization does, however, intend to publish scorecards of officeholders based on whether they stoke division or seek consensus. They're going to be rating the state's members of Congress and the Legislature, along with Gov. Greg Abbott and other statewide figures.

The group declined to disclose how much money is behind the operation or when the first scorecards will be published.

But a statewide poll it released Monday suggests that most people in the nation's largest Republican state can find common ground on even the hottest of hot-button issues.

For instance, even though the Republican-controlled Legislature has banned abortion in nearly all cases, the poll found that 77% of Texas — including 62% of Republicans — believe the law should be changed to permit abortions for pregnancies cause by rape or abortion.

And even though GOP lawmakers have declined to advance "red flag laws" that would allow judges to order firearms to be take from people with intent to harm themselves or others, the poll found that two-thirds of Republicans support such a measure. Overall, 80% said such measures should be legal.

And while the enactment of private school vouchers championed by Gov. Greg Abbott was considered among his crowning achievements this year,only 40% of Texans supported the measure, the poll found. More than half, 53%, said the legislation giving families taxpayer dollars to spend on private or home school should not have been passed.

The poll did find solid support for several actions by lawmakers this year. Eight in 10 supported the ban on cell phones in the classroom, and 76% agreed with raising the pay of public school teachers. The bill to deny bail in violent criminal cases enjoyed the support of 77% of respondents.

Who's in the group?

Lubetsky, who describes himself as a moderate independent, is not a sideline player in politics at the state and national levels.

In 2024, he donated $10,000 to a PAC focused on maintaining the Republican majority in the Texas Legislature. And he gave $40,000 to Democrat Jeremy Sylestine, who had made an ill-fated primary challenge to incumbent Travis County José Garza, a progressive he said was soft on crime.

Nationally, Lubetzky served on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's Texas leadership team during her unsuccessful bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. He also funneled money into Republican Voters Against Trump, and groups supporting the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.

Forbes puts his net worth at $2.3 billion.

Billionaires using their wealth to advance a political agenda is common, both in Texas and nationally, is not uncommon.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk of Austin and the world’s richest person spent millions boosting President Donald Trump’s most recent bid for the White House. And others have backed explicitly conservative causes in Texas, like Midland oilman Tim Dunn, or progressive ones, like New York billionaire George Soros.

Lubetzy said he wants Builders to chart an alternative path.

"I've always tried not to be partisan," Lubetzky said. "But from the very beginning, I've recognized the importance that we have a very broad, cross spectrum of partners."

Amy Robbins, a Dallas area gun rights activist and businesswoman who founded an exercise-wear compan y for woman who want to carry a firearm discreetly during workouts, said she joined Builders Movement because of pragmatic, results-oriented message.

Most of the women in her life aren't politically involved, she said. But, Robbins added, when political topics do come up, the points of view are diverse but the discourse is civil. And that, she said, is a microcosm of the Builders' philosophy.

"When the Second Amendment does come up, it's the extremes on both sides that get the conversation started." Robbins said. "I don't think the extremes on both sides are going to be the ones that find the solutions."

Now 75 years old and a partner in the Builders Movement, Rove is striking a conciliatory tone that might seem out of character for one of the masterminds of the GOP's takeover of Texas in the 1990s.

“There’s plenty of common ground on important issues when Texas leaders stop paying attention to the loudest voices on the extremes and start listening to the sensible majority of Texans who want practical answers to the challenges our dynamic and rapidly growing state faces,” Rove said in a statement he provided after declining a request for an interview.

Melva Wallace, president of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin and part of the Builders Movement, said engaging people of different backgrounds and viewpoints is a cornerstone of higher education and part of her daily life. Before taking the helm at the historically Black university, Wallace was selected by the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, which examines the White House experiences of George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

"I really enjoyed that program because it brought different people from different walks of life, educators, businessmen, politicians in a group together to discover and to discuss leadership." Wallace said. "And I just thought it was so brilliant."

Even though he is active on Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok, Lubetzky said such that while those platforms can be useful tools, they are not a substitute for person-to-person human interaction.

"Social media is just feeding us what we want to hear rather than what we need to hear," he said.