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Brian Acton

CaliforniaTechnologyGiving Pledge

AIProfile Summary

Brian Acton is a U.S. technology entrepreneur from California, born in 1972, with an estimated net worth of ~$3.6B RTB. SEC records show he has filed 22 insider reports, and the recent filings are Form 4 reports, which are the standard SEC forms insiders use to report changes in their holdings SEC EDGAR. He is also a Giving Pledge signatory Giving Pledge.

Business & SEC Activity

The SEC data identifies Brian Acton as an insider associated with GrafTech International Ltd. (ticker: EAF), with 22 total filings and 10 recent Form 4 filings listed from 2021 through 2023 SEC EDGAR. Form 4 is the SEC filing used to report insider transactions such as purchases or sales of company securities SEC EDGAR.

Philanthropy

Acton is connected to three foundations in the 990 data: Acton Academy Foundation, Acton Future Foundation, and Acton Public Library Foundation ProPublica 990. In tax year 2023, the first two reported grants paid of $264,777 and $119,875, respectively, while the third reported $0 in revenue, expenses, assets, and grants paid ProPublica 990. Across the listed foundations, total grants paid were $384,652 and total foundation assets were $419,216 ProPublica 990.

Political Activity

FEC records show 13 contributions totaling $10,333.70 from 2007-04-27 to 2024-11-03 FEC. Most of the reported amount went to PACs and other committees, with $8,958.70 in PAC/Other contributions, compared with $875 to Republican recipients and $500 to Democratic recipients FEC. The top recipients listed include OXBOW CARBON & MINERALS HOLDINGS INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE at $5,000 and OXBOW CARBON & MINERALS HOLDINGS, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE at $2,500 FEC.

In the News

No validated GDELT news articles were returned in the provided dataset NewsAPI.

AI-generated summary from gdelt, sec_edgar, fec, rtb, propublica_990, giving_pledge 6/27/2026 (gpt-5.4-mini). All claims are derived from the source data shown below.

USU.S. Presence

residencePalo Alto, California

990Philanthropy

$419KFoundation Assets
$385KGrants Paid
3Foundations
Acton Academy FoundationWashington, DC
Education (IRS NTEE B90)
Assets: $4KRevenue: $235KGrants: $265KTax Year: 2023
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Acton Future FoundationWilmington, DE
Private independent foundation (IRS NTEE T22)
Assets: $415KRevenue: $6KGrants: $120KTax Year: 2023
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Acton Public Library FoundationOld Saybrook, CT
Education (IRS NTEE B70)
Assets: $0Revenue: $0Grants: $0
Mission, purpose & full 990 filings → ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Source: ProPublica (990) annual filing · latest on record (retrieved 3/9/2026) (proPublica_990)

FECPolitical Contributions

$10KTotal Contributed
13Contributions
2007–2024Date Range

By Party

PAC/Other
$9K
REP
$875
DEM
$500

Top Recipients

OXBOW CARBON & MINERALS HOLDINGS INC POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$5K
OXBOW CARBON & MINERALS HOLDINGS, INC. POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE$3K
TEAM HOLCOMB$750
YOUNG VICTORY COMMITTEE$500
FRIENDS OF TODD YOUNG, INC.$500
Source: FEC contribution filings · latest on record (retrieved 3/10/2026) (fec)

SECSEC Filings

22Total Filings
22Insider Filings
13EDGAR Mentions
0001738354Personal CIK

Associated Companies

Entities appearing alongside this person in SEC full-text search — an association, not necessarily ownership or control. Follow each link to the primary SEC record to judge for yourself.

Recent Insider Filings

4FORM 4
4/3/2023
4FORM 4
1/4/2023
4FORM 4
10/3/2022
4FORM 4
7/5/2022
4FORM 4
4/4/2022
4FORM 4
1/4/2022
4FORM 4
10/4/2021
4FORM 4
7/2/2021
4FORM 4
4/1/2021
4FORM 4
1/4/2021
Source: SEC EDGAR regulatory filings · latest on record (retrieved 6/27/2026) (sec_derived)

PBSScore Breakdown

C
38.6
Public Benefit Score

The PBS is a weighted average of 2 components. The formula is open and versioned — the weight percentages below show how much each component contributes to the final score.

Philanthropy65% weight
19%

Evidenced charitable giving — built on what they actually give each year, not parked assets. Dominated by generosity (annual giving relative to net worth — the share of your fortune you give), plus the absolute scale of that giving, plus a small nudge for signing the Giving Pledge (a commitment, not a realized action).

Data: ProPublica 990 charitable disbursements, net worth, The Giving Pledge registry

Transparency35% weight
75%

How much sourced, public accountability data exists — net worth, political contributions, SEC filings, foundation 990s, news coverage, and a verified profile. More public disclosure scores higher.

Data: FEC, SEC EDGAR, ProPublica 990s, GDELT / NewsAPI, Wikidata

Formula (v2): PBS = 65% x Philanthropy + 35% x Transparency

Scored on 6/23/2026 on a 0–100 scale. The score uses only the signals we have populated data for. Goal Impact, Controversy, and Community Approval are deferred until that data exists — Phase 1 goal adoption, controversy detection, and community votes respectively.

All data is sourced from public records. Each section links to its original source.

Brian Acton — Public Benefit Score C (39) | Billionaire Army