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

10,688,430 Citations
1,757,461 Relationships
290,798 People
125,762 Organizations
83,422 Business People
37,145 Businesses
21,535 Political Fundraising Committees
14,008 Academics
12,632 Lobbyists
11,650 Lawyers
11,520 Public Officials
10,840 Political Candidates
8,943 Private Companies
6,083 Elected Representatives
5,665 Other Not-for-Profits
5,488 Government Bodies
5,232 Media Personalities
4,394 Schools
3,515 Philanthropies
3,349 Public Companies
2,200 Individual Campaign Committees
2,066 Membership Organizations
1,884 Other Campaign Committees
1,793 Lobbying Firms
1,203 Law Firms
1,118 Industry/Trade Associations
818 Consulting Firms
772 PACs
729 Policy/Think Tanks
633 Government-Sponsored Enterprises
619 Public Intellectuals
530 Media Organizations
483 Government Advisory Bodies
476 Cultural/Arts
412 Political Parties
322 Academic Research Institutes
309 Labor Unions
308 Professional Associations
229 Social Clubs
222 Public Relations Firms
106 Elite Consensus Groups