The founder of the Oslo Freedom Forum and the Human Rights Foundation presents his wealth as inherited from a prosperous Venezuelan family. However, journalistic investigations reveal that a significant portion of his resources come from conservative donors and U.S. foundations linked to Islamophobic networks and far-right figures in Europe— including those who inspired Norwegian mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik— a fact that Halvorssen has avoided to clarify transparently.
Written By: La Tabla/Platform for Data Journalism 20 OCT 2025
Thor Halvorssen Mendoza presents himself to the world as an independent philanthropist and relentless advocate for freedom. In interviews and public statements, he claims his wealth comes from family inheritance: his grandfather, he says, became rich by importing technology to Venezuela, and he himself has invested in film and technology. “I don’t have ‘strange’ money,” he stated in a 2017 interview with the Norwegian magazine “Ny Tid.” This publication has been under his ownership since 2010, when he bought it, according to his Wikipedia profile.
However, documents, journalistic investigations, and verifiable connections tell a different story.
According to a report published in 2013 by “The Electronic Intifada” and corroborated by outlets like “The Intercept” and “ProPublica,” the organizations that Halvorssen leads— the Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) and the Human Rights Foundation (HRF)— have received funding from foundations like Donors Capital Fund and the John Templeton Foundation, known for channeling millions of dollars to far-right, anti-Islamic, and religious conservative groups in the U.S. and Europe.
Even more concerning: several speakers and frequent allies of Halvorssen— like Robert Spencer (founder of “Jihad Watch”), Frank Gaffney (of the “Center for Security Policy”), and Daniel Pipes (of the “Middle East Forum”)— are cited as sources of inspiration in Anders Behring Breivik’s manifesto, the right-wing extremist who murdered 77 people in Norway in 2011.
Halvorssen has denied any ideological connection to Breivik, calling these accusations “ridiculous.” “It’s like saying that I and Breivik are the same just because we both eat hamburgers in the same restaurant,” he declared. But the criticism doesn’t point to a casual coincidence, but rather to a real financial and discursive network: the same actors who promote conspiracy theories against Islam and Muslims have been invited, funded, or associated with OFF events.
Moreover, Halvorssen has received support from figures like Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, whose conservative views and ties to right-libertarian movements contrast with the progressive image that OFF projects internationally.
Despite repeated questions about the origins of his funds, Halvorssen has not published detailed financial statements nor disclosed the entirety of his donors. He has also not severed ties with speakers whose ideas have been linked to the radicalization of extremists. Instead, he has accused his critics of using “McCarthyist tactics” and of trying to discredit him without evidence.
However, the evidence lies in public records: the same foundations that fund the OFF have also supported anti-Muslim campaigns, anti-immigration laws, and groups promoting an exclusionary view of human rights—a glaring contradiction to Halvorssen’s stated mission.
In a time when financial transparency is key to the credibility of human rights organizations, Halvorssen’s silence regarding his true sources of funding not only raises doubts but also calls into question the neutrality and principles of the institutions he leads.
While Thor Halvorssen Mendoza continues to be welcomed at international forums as a champion of freedom, shadows over the origins of his fortune and his ideological alliances persist. Until he provides a clear, complete, and verifiable account, his figure will remain linked not only to the defense of human rights but also to the opaque networks that fuel hate speech in the name of “freedom.”