The Small Business Association handed out more than $500 billion in loans through the Paycheck Protection Program to support businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the agency on Monday. Here are six notable businesses that received loans over $150,000 from the government.
1. Kanye West's Yeezy LLC. West's fashion brand received a loan of between $2 million and $5 million. West manages the LLC, which reportedly made $1.5 billion last year.
2. The Americans for Tax Reform Foundation. Grover Norquist, a major opponent of government spending and taxes, heads this advocacy group that received between $150,000 and $350,000.
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3. The Ayn Rand Institute. The nonprofit pushes its namesake author's resistance to government aid and got a loan of between $350,000 and $1 million.
4. Kushner family companies. Observer Holdings LLC, which heads Observer Media, received between $350,000 and $1 million. President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner used to own Observer Media, and it's still in the family, per The Daily Beast.
5. Devin Nunes' winery. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) owns a stake in Phase 2 Cellars, which got between $1 million and $2 million in PPP loans.
6. A whole bunch of Washington, D.C. political strategy firms. Firms run by former Obama aides received loans, as well as a GOP firm working for the Trump campaign, which received between $350,000 and $1 million.
It's important to note there appear to be some errors in the data. Scooter rental company Bird, for example, was listed in the SBA's data but said it only started an application for a loan and never actually applied for or got one.
