Until 1980, Richard Uihlein worked in international sales for General Binding Corporation, a company co-founded by his father, Edgar Uihlein.[7] That year, with start-up funds from his father, Uihlein and his wife Elizabeth (Liz) Uihlein founded Uline, a shipping supplies company; the couple continue to own the company.[8][9] The company expanded rapidly and is now one of the largest U.S. privately held companies; in 2014, Forbes estimated a company value of between $700 million and $2 billion.[9] In 2020 Bloomberg estimated their net worth to be around $4 billion.[10]
Richard Uihlein has been a Republican donor for decades, and increased his political giving after Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.[7] He has been a longtime donor to Republicans who share his ultra-conservative views.[9] Richard is a staunch social and economic conservative,[14] with views that are anti-union,[11][12][14] anti-tax,[11][14] and pro-deregulation.[14] He has a history of supporting far-right[9] candidates, and has often supported efforts in opposition to gay and transgender rights as well as abortion.[13] Although an influential donor, Richard Uihlein has been described as a person who "shuns the spotlight";[12] he and his wife rarely give interviews.[11]
In the 2014 election cycle, the Uihleins made at least $5 million in political contributions, mostly to right-wing PACs ($1.8 million to Liberty Principles PAC; $670,000 to Americas PAC, and slightly under $500,000 to Jim DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund and affiliated super PAC).[9]
From 2016 to 2018, a political action committee funded by the Uihleins gave at least $646,000 to a new network of free newspapers and websites, created by Brian Timpone, that mimic local newspapers but offer pay-for-play articles to conservative clients.[16]
In the 2018 election cycle, Richard dramatically increased his political contributions,[12] making $37.7 million in contributions to outside spending groups (the fourth largest donor to such groups).[17] The couple's contributions placed them on the tier of other Republican mega-donors, such as the Koch family, Adelson, and Mercer.[13] His contributions include support for many Republican candidates in competitive primary races,[12] such as Ives[12][14] and Chris McDaniel.[12][14] Also in 2018, Uihlein gave financial support to Kevin Nicholson, a one time long-shot Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin; eight super PACs funded by Uihlein also expressed support for Nicholson.[14] They contributed $4 million to the Fair Courts America PAC.[18] In 2019–2020, Uihlein gave $250,000 to Allen West in his campaign for the chairmanship of the Texas Republican Party against incumbent James Dickey.[17]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Liz Uihlein declared the pandemic "overhyped" and was an outspoken critic of stay-at-home directives issued to combat the spread of the virus, calling upon Republican members of the Wisconsin Legislature to push to remove Governor Tony Evers from office over the directive he issued.[11] In November 2020, the Uihleins announced to the company that they had contracted COVID.[21][22]
Uihlein was a major financial backer for the rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the Capitol.[23] Uihlein is also the biggest donor to Women Speak Out PAC, a group seeking a federal abortion ban.[23] Uihlein has also donated millions to Restoration PAC, which promotes "all marriage is for one man and one woman for life."[23]
In columns in the company catalog, Liz Uihlein frequently writes on the couple's political views, ranging from "the danger of Chinese competition, the negative health effects of marijuana use and the detriments of the Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy."[11]
During the 2022 midterm elections, Richard Uihlein contributed over $80.7 million to Republicans and Republican-aligned groups.[24] This included major spending in the 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election; Richard Uihlein gave more than $42 million to "People Who Play By The Rules PAC",[25][26] a super PAC that ran attack ads against Illinois Governor J. B. Pritzker to boost the candidacy of his opponent, Republican nominee Darren Bailey.[25][27] The super PAC was operated by Republican operative and talk radio host Dan Proft.[27] Richard Uihlein also gave $10 million directly to Bailey's campaign.[27]
During Ohio's 2023 August special election cycle, Richard Uihlein donated $4 million to a PAC supporting Issue 1, an effort to require a 60% majority to pass citizen-initiated constitutional amendments.[32] The measure was "resoundingly rejected" by a large majority of Ohio voters.[33]
As of October 2024, Richard Uihlein had given nearly $59 million in 2024 to Restoration PAC, a leading pro-Trump super PAC that is active in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Georgia.[34]
