A billionaire Biden megadonor faces being ousted as chairman of the tech company he founded because of “serious concerns” about his performance, The Post has learned.
Joe Kiani could be forced out as chairman of medical device company Masimo by July after an activist hedge fund accused him of failing to run the company properly, letting the share price plunge and even failing to say what the company’s annual budget is.
The company has given Kiani, 59, an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Forbes, and in 2020 made him health care’s highest-paid CEO, with a package of $222.5 million — a year in which he gave millions to Democrats.
Kiani calls President Biden “my dear friend,” has hugged him on stage and even offered Biden’s troubled niece Caroline a job at the company to meet her probation conditions after a theft conviction.
Biden appointed Kiani to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in 2021, giving Kiani a powerful platform.
And as well as massive donations to PACs supporting Biden’s campaign and the Obama and Clinton foundations, Kiani’s Masimo Foundation gave $40,000 to Jewish Voice for Peace, the anti-Israel radical group which has itself bankrolled campus protests, The Post has learned.
Now hedge fund Politan Capital Management is asking shareholders to vote him off the company board, which he chairs, accusing him of a series of failings.
Masimo has previously defended Kiani, and in April issued a statement saying that removing him would be “counter to stockholders’ best interests, as well as those of the hundreds of millions of patients who rely on Masimo’s innovations.”
A spokesperson for Kiani defended his record and his foundation’s donations to The Post and said, “Thirty-five years ago, Joe Kiani started a company focused on improving people’s lives and helping those that are suffering.
“The Foundation’s giving reflects those values which is why the Foundation is proud to support many organizations that have the same goals.
“He has raised and donated millions to anti-hate organizations around the world, including multiple organizations that are combating antisemitism.”
Masimo, which specializes in medical devices that check patients’ health data like brain activity and blood oxygen levels, has seen its share price plunge from $303 in November 2021 to just above $120 now.
It fell 34% over the last year alone, at the same time as competitors Stryker and Globus saw their stock surge roughly 12%.
Politan has amassed a 9% stake in the $7.1 billion company, more than Kiani’s 8.5%, holds two out of six board seats and now is asking shareholders to give it two more board seats that are up for re-election — one of which is Kiani’s.
Politan says he is to blame for Masimo’s falling share price.
“Joe Kiani refused to give us basic information, denied us access to management, repeatedly held board meetings excluding us, and refused to even consider allowing any review of capital allocation or strategy,” managing director at Politan Quentin Koffey claimed in a statement, adding, “Politan has serious concerns given the lack of basic governance and oversight we have observed.”
Shareholders will vote in July on whether Kiani will keep his board seat.
Firing Kiani from Masimo’s board would turn affect a cash spigot for the Iran-born entrepreneur which he has used as a gusher for Democrats — although he has a contractual golden parachute…
Read More: Masimo CEO Joe Kiani , a Joe Biden megadonor faces ouster