Robert Allbritton

Robert Lewis Allbritton (born February 16, 1969^[1]) is the founder and former^{[failed verification]} owner of Capitol News Company, the parent company of Capitol Hill political newspaper and website Politico.^[2][3]

Robert Allbritton
Born	(1969-02-16) February 16, 1969 (age 56) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Education	Wesleyan University (BA)
Father	Joe Allbritton

Allbritton also served as the chairman and CEO of Allbritton Communications, which owned several ABC-affiliated television stations in Washington, D.C.^[4] Allbritton was previously the final CEO of Riggs National Corporation, the parent of Riggs Bank, from 2001 to 2005, when PNC Bank acquired the bank amidst the money laundering scandal that involved the Allbritton family with the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, which led him and his family to agree to pay USD 1 million to a fund for victims of crimes against humanity during Pinochet’s rule.^[5][6][7]

Allbritton has been described by The New Republic as having "reshaped the way we follow politics."^[8] He is a trustee of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.^[9]

In October 2011, Allbritton was included on The New Republic's list of Washington's most powerful, least famous people.^[8]

Allbritton (right) and his wife with Lloyd Nelson Hand and Ann Hand in 2019

Allbritton received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan University in 1992,^[10] and has served as a member of its board of trustees.^[11][12] With his wife Elena, Allbritton donated funds for the establishment of the school's Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life.^[13]

Allbritton Journalism Institute and NOTUS

In 2023, Allbritton established the Allbritton Journalism Institute (AJI) with a $20 million grant. The institute is a nonprofit educational organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to training the next generation of political journalists. AJI offers a two-year fellowship program that provides early-career reporters with an annual salary of $60,000, health insurance, and paid time off. Fellows take classes with experienced journalists and contribute to AJI’s publication, NOTUS, which launched in January 2024.^[3][14]