These Billionaire Brothers Have Been Pardon-Hunting. One Donated To Trump’s White House Ballroom.

Forbes

Donald and Stefan Brodie built a resin manufacturing business, then sold it for billions, but are still dogged by a criminal conviction over two decades ago.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylemullins/2025/11/09/these-billionaire-brothers-have-been-pardon-hunting-one-donated-to-trumps-white-house-ballroom/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, these billionaire brothers have been pardon hunting, one donated to Trump's

00:06White House Ballroom.

00:09The list of billionaires and companies who have donated to help build a gigantic gilded

00:13ballroom where the east wing of the White House used to be has plenty of familiar names

00:18on it.

00:19Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Miriam Adelson, the Winklevoss twins, and then there's Stefan

00:27E. Brody.

00:28Brody, it turns out, is one more billionaire.

00:32He and his brother Donald co-founded Puralite, a company that manufactures resins used for

00:37water purification across a range of industries.

00:40The brothers later sold it to chemicals giant Ecolab in 2021 for $3.7 billion.

00:48When Steve Brody showed up on the Trump Ballroom donor list, he raised his profile.

00:52And now, he and his brother are the newest members of the Forbes billionaires list.

00:57Assuming they own the company 50-50, they're each worth about $1.7 billion today, Forbes

01:03estimates.

01:04The Brodies started Puralite in 1981 in Don's basement in Pennsylvania.

01:09They found their niche, distributing high-end ion exchange resins, essentially specialized

01:15balls of plastic used for water purification, drug manufacturing, pollution cleanup, and other

01:21processes.

01:21Four years later, Puralite made the jump to manufacturing, opening a converted factory in Panticlean, South

01:28Wales, in the United Kingdom.

01:30In 1987, the Brodies began manufacturing in Philadelphia as well, lost their factory to

01:36a fire a year later, then rebuilt an even bigger facility as demand ramped up.

01:42The 1990s brought more plants in newly liberalized China and behind the collapsed Iron Curtain in

01:47Romania, along with sales offices across Eastern Europe and East Asia.

01:53It was that first factory in the UK that brought trouble in a tropical paradise.

01:58In 2000, both brothers were indicted for allegedly violating the American embargo on Cuba by shipping

02:04some $2.1 million in resins to the Caribbean island, largely from the British side of the

02:09company, throughout the 1990s.

02:12They were convicted in 2002, but fought the verdict for several more years before the Third

02:18Circuit Court of Appeals swatted their attempts down.

02:21Writing about Stefan in 2005, the court said, quote,

02:25The government's evidence paints a convincing picture of the defendant as a company president

02:30who deliberately stuck his head in the sand regarding the involvement of the US entity

02:35in the prohibited transactions.

02:38Legal troubles didn't slow Puralite down, and the Brodies continued expanding, opening even

02:43more sales offices in Japan, Mexico, Jordan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, and India throughout

02:50the 2000s and 2010s.

02:52By 2021, they had averaged 14% annual revenue growth for five years, sporting $390 million

02:59in revenue, and $160 million in adjusted EBITDA.

03:04That year, they sold Puralite to Ecolab, a now $72 billion market cap company specializing

03:10in water quality, hygiene, and infection prevention, for $3.7 billion in cash.

03:17After taxes, Forbes estimates that the sale netted each brother more than $1.3 billion.

03:24Ecolab spokesperson Kyle Kaputska confirmed Puralite's financials, but otherwise declined

03:29to comment on the Brody valuation, noting that, quote,

03:32Already longtime small-ball GOP donors, Don and Steve ramped up their political giving in

03:442022. They backed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in his ill-fated run for president in 2023,

03:50then switched to supporting Trump afterwards. Their total political giving in federal races,

03:56according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data, is about $10 million and $2

04:01million, respectively. Stefan's wife, Elizabeth, looks to have given another $3 million or so.

04:08At some point, both brothers applied for a presidential pardon, and were denied in December

04:132023 by Joe Biden. Their favored candidate won the 2024 election, though, and their support hasn't

04:20stopped. Steve and Elizabeth have sent over $1 million to GOP-aligned groups in 2025, including

04:27$500,000 to a Trump-supporting PAC that has reportedly set up, quote, candlelight dinners for donors at

04:33Mar-a-Lago, the president's Palm Beach club and home since his first term. Steve was also listed as a

04:40donor for Trump's ballroom construction, though the White House didn't provide details on individual

04:44donations. For full coverage, check out Kyle Kahn Mullins' piece on Forbes.com. This is Kieran

04:53Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.

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