Charlie Kirk’s $4.75 million Spanish-style estate is tucked into a gated country club in Arizona with a guest casita, resort-style pool and sweeping views of the Sonoran Desert.

The Make America Great Again political movement has been lucrative for Kirk, the 29-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point.

The nonprofit rose to prominence by joining Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and has since raised about a quarter of a billion dollars. The organization has also enriched Kirk and his allies, according to an Associated Press investigation of public records, which shows that top Turning Point executives collect expensive salaries, enjoy lavish benefits and direct at least $15.2 million to companies where they, their friends and employees are affiliated. of.

But despite all that money, Turning Point has struggled to help Republicans win the general election, especially in their hometown of Arizona, where their slate of deeply conservative candidates lost statewide races last year.

Now Turning Point leaders are looking to expand their operations, launching a $108 million get-out-the-vote campaign that would expand from Arizona to Georgia and Wisconsin.

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That’s becoming a source of frustration for some Republicans, who point to the group’s limited electoral success and the hefty sum they’re now pursuing, setting up a potential clash that could complicate the GOP’s electoral efforts next year.

Any donor who thinks an organization needs $108 million for a grassroots campaign in three states to get out the vote is being taken advantage of, said Erick Erickson, a nationally syndicated conservative radio host and frequent Trump critic. It sounds like a creep.

In a statement, Turning Point spokesman Andrew Kolvet said none of the group’s leaders improperly benefited from their financial arrangements. He said many were underpaid for their talents.

If the so-called experts know what it takes to build successful election teams, why are conservatives apparently so bad at it? Kolvet said.

Turning Point was founded in 2012 in suburban Chicago by Kirk and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government.

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Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically supported Trump after he secured the Republican nomination in 2016. Kirk served as personal assistant to Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s eldest son.

Soon, Kirk was a regular on cable TV, wading into the culture wars and praising the then-president. Contributions to the group skyrocketed, reaching $79.2 million in 2022, the data shows.

Compensation also soared, with Kirks rising from $27,000 in 2016 to more than $407,000 in 2021, tax records show. He bought three luxury properties, all worth more than a million dollars. Millions more were paid to a cluster of companies linked to a handful of group leaders and their allies, according to tax returns and company records.

Kolvet said much of Kirk’s wealth came from his successful podcast and radio show, as well as public speaking fees, although he declined to provide income figures.

Yet details about exactly how Turning Point spends its money and who benefits are often difficult to discern because the IRS does not require nonprofits to disclose detailed accounts of their spending. Meanwhile, many of Turning Point’s largest suppliers are limited liability companies registered in states that do not require public disclosure of ownership.

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One arm, the Turning Point Endowment, kept more than $55 million in reserve through 2022, while donors were encouraged to give more.

Kolvet said the money was part of Turning Point’s 50-100 year plan to continue reaching generation after generation of young Americans. He added that the organization’s leaders were good stewards of donor money.

However, as it builds for the future, Turning Point has shown a willingness to spend lavishly.

In 2019, the group stated that its leaders would travel first class or on charter aircraft, later explaining that this was sometimes necessary to ensure the continued success of the organization’s mission.

In 2021, Turning Point sponsored a wedding reception for Kirk and his wife, Erika Frantzve, at the luxury Fairmont Scottsdale Princess hotel, which was also billed as a ninth anniversary celebration and fundraiser for the organization.

Kolvet said the event was separate from the couple’s small wedding ceremony and described it as an elegant and gracious way for Erika and Charlie to mark a milestone in TPUSA’s life. [the 9th anniversary] while also inviting a much larger group of friends and family to celebrate a milestone in their own lives.

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Other expenses are not easy to explain.

According to 2020 tax documents, a $999,000 payment was made to a Nevada limited liability company for a research project on education outcomes. The company, called Clocktower LLC, was dissolved in 2022 and the only corporate officer listed in the company documents is the president of a company that advises on tax avoidance strategies.

Any insinuation that anyone at Turning Point benefited is defamatory, Kolvet said.

In 2020, Turning Point paid Trump Jr. $333,000 through his company Pursuit Ventures. Kolvet said the money was used to buy copies of a book he wrote that was offered as a gift at a fundraiser.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Jake Hoffman, one of the group’s top advisers, recruited teenagers to spread false information online about voter fraud and the

COVID-19

pandemic.

One of Hoffman’s companies received $2.4 million during that period, according to tax documents that listed the purpose of the expenses as digital education and ad placement. Hoffman did not respond to a request for comment.

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Other high-ranking employees also received a growing share of the organization’s wealth, according to business filings and tax documents, which show that Turning Point has paid out millions to limited liability companies they founded or employed.

Legal experts say the payments could potentially pose a problem under federal tax rules if the amounts are deemed excessive, although enforcement is rare.

As Kirk’s star has risen, Turning Point Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer has taken on a larger role in the organization.

Now he heads Turning Points’ political arm and will earn a $255,000 compensation in the group’s 2022 fiscal year. Bowyer also helps run a commercial venture that could be lucrative.

Company filings show that Bowyer recently became chairman of the board of Superfeed Technologies, a mobile app maker that developed the platform that Turning Point will use to manage its $108 million campaign.

Kolvet said Turning Points leaders haven’t made a dime from the company.