Amid the controversy over world-famous Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan hosting guest Dr. Robert Malone, credited with inventing mRNA vaccine technology that is used in COVID-19 vaccines, Malone revealed information about a massive conflict of interest.
On an episode of Tucker Carlson Today that aired Wednesday, Malone revealed that the largest stakeholder in Spotify, which has been under pressure to censor Rogan for spreading “misinformation” about COVID-19, is also the largest stakeholder in Moderna, one of the two companies distributing mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.
Malone’s claim checks out.
The largest stakeholder in Moderna is Baillie Gifford and Company, which owns almost 46 million shares of the company’s stock, valued at more than $11.6 billion.
Baillie Gifford and Company is also the largest stakeholder in Spotify, holding more than 22 million shares of that company’s stock, valued at more than $22 billion.
Baillie Gifford and Company is a worldwide asset management fund founded in Scotland, which has headquarters in New York City and London. It manages a portfolio of nearly half a trillion dollars.
“Through each successive generation of partners, our singular focus on generating superior long-term investment results for our clients has been the bedrock of our own growth,” according to its website. “Baillie Gifford today is wholly owned by its 47 partners – all of whom work within the firm. Growth has been organic, with no mergers or acquisitions, and we are committed to remaining independent.”
It does not disclose who the 47 partners are.
Though there is no evidence that the investment giant is engaged in the campaign to silence Rogan – which has mostly been promulgated by left-wing activists and washed-up musicians – the link itself has created an appearance of impropriety.
In 2020, the company shifted its investment strategy towards Chinese-based companies, according to Scottish Financial Review.Â
“Edinburgh-based investment giant Baillie Gifford is to take over the management of the £215 million Witan Pacific Investment Trust plc and change the fund’s investment objective by investing predominantly in shares of Chinese companies,” that website said.
The COVID-19 pandemic began in China in late 2019.
Neither Moderna nor Spotify returned The Star’s comment requests.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Joe Rogan” by Joe Rogan. Background Photo “Moderna Vaccine” by Governor Tom Wolf. CC BY 2.0.
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