Nothing is more truly American than the pursuit of a good old U.S. dollar. In 2020, few were more patriotic than the consultants, organizers, and professional scolds who earned big bucks calling America and capitalism irredeemably racist, sexist, and downright mean.
Amid a summer of mob rule peaceful protest, rich liberals poured cash into baby books, gender-neutral apparel, and kente cloth sashes to show they were "hip" and "woke." The scions of billionaires dropped mom and dad's dough on the hottest new causes, funneling millions to people who routinely promise to eat the rich.
At the Washington Free Beacon, we salute all those savvy capitalists taking the other side of these deals.
Some of these entrepreneurs made it big on the lecture circuit. Take small-business owner Robin DiAngelo, who made five figures for a two-hour Zoom talk, 70 percent more than the black woman she was presenting alongside. You go, girl!
Others got fancy new jobs. Progressive prophet Dr. Ibram X. Kendi collected $10 million from Twitter's Jack Dorsey after Boston University set him up with a fancy new research center and the chair once held by Elie Wiesel. Never mind that Kendi's last center didn't produce any real research—the man worked hard for the money.
Few were so daring, however, as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.). The socialist darling cut out the middle man, peddling $60 "tax the rich" sweatshirts directly to her fans. Thriftier shoppers could pick up a "social economic & racial justice" mug for just $27. Talk about a deal!
All this productivity doesn't offset the $2 billion of Americans' livelihoods destroyed by protests these people stoked. Nonetheless, for the millions you took out of the pockets of the rich, liberal, and dumb, congratulations, woke capitalists: You're Free Beacon men of the year.