About LittleSis

LittleSis is a free database detailing the connections between powerful people and organizations. We bring transparency to influential social networks by tracking the key relationships of politicians, business leaders, lobbyists, financiers, and their affiliated institutions. We help answer questions such as:

  • Who do the wealthiest Americans donate their money to?
  • Where did White House officials work before they were appointed?
  • Which lobbyists are married to politicians, and who do they lobby for?

All of this information is public, but scattered. We bring it together in one place. Our data derives from government filings, news articles, and other reputable sources. Some data sets are updated automatically; the rest is filled in by our user community.

LittleSis lets you see past the news headlines and tired debates.

Who are the movers and shakers behind the bailouts, government contracts, and new policies? We’re working to stock LittleSis with information about bigwigs who make the news, and their connections to those who don’t. For updates and analysis visit our blog, Eyes on the Ties

LittleSis is meant to support the work of journalists, watchdogs, and grassroots activists.

We’re bringing together a community of researchers who believe in transparency and accountability where it matters most. We’re looking for researchers, programmers, artists and organizers to lend their skills…Get Involved

LittleSis is built and maintained by a nonprofit think-and-do tank.

LittleSis is a project of Public Accountability Initiative, a 501(c)3 organization focused on corporate and government accountability. Our mission is to facilitate and produce investigative research that promotes transparent and accountable governance. PAI was founded in early 2008 by a group of activists, public interest lawyers, and academics associated with leading universities and major social change organizations.

Dataset

LittleSis features interlinked profiles of powerful individuals and organizations in the public and private sectors. Profiles detail a wealth of information vital to any investigation of the ways power and money guide the formulation of public policy, from board memberships to campaign contributions, old school ties to government contracts.

We provide a public api and bulk data. The software powering LittleSis is open source.

Data Summary

10,906,548 Citations
1,790,172 Relationships
293,826 People
129,379 Organizations
84,438 Business People
37,833 Businesses
21,704 Political Fundraising Committees
14,107 Academics
12,658 Lobbyists
11,842 Lawyers
11,785 Public Officials
10,969 Political Candidates
9,060 Private Companies
6,175 Elected Representatives
5,830 Other Not-for-Profits
5,573 Government Bodies
5,382 Media Personalities
4,421 Schools
3,557 Philanthropies
3,447 Public Companies
2,202 Individual Campaign Committees
2,117 Membership Organizations
1,889 Other Campaign Committees
1,810 Lobbying Firms
1,229 Law Firms
1,150 Industry/Trade Associations
848 Consulting Firms
802 PACs
774 Policy/Think Tanks
712 Government-Sponsored Enterprises
676 Public Intellectuals
562 Media Organizations
514 Government Advisory Bodies
480 Cultural/Arts
427 Political Parties
361 Academic Research Institutes
317 Professional Associations
315 Labor Unions
246 Social Clubs
227 Public Relations Firms
108 Elite Consensus Groups