Our Parks Are Not for Sale: From the Gold Coast of New York to the Venice Biennale

City agencies in New York are not allowed to take money from the Mafia, and most philanthropic organizations don’t want gangsters at their galas. But there is a long tradition of shady financiers buying respectability through charitable gifts to public causes. Such is the case with hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, who in 2012 made a $100 million gift to the Central Park Conservancy, the prominent charitable organization responsible for the day-to-day maintenance and operation of the park.

Paulson is infamous for increasing his already substantial fortune on Goldman Sachs deals, under which investors allegedly were duped into buying securities that were designed to fail. One of these deals was the subject of an SEC lawsuit that led to the investment bank’s settling for $550 million, one of the largest settlements ever with a financial institution. Although Paulson was not charged with wrongdoing, according to the SEC lawsuit, Goldman allowed him to secretly design and bet against the securities that the bank sold to investors who lost money when the housing market tanked.