Helena Foulkes’ Growing List of “Creepy” Friends
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Helena Foulkes’ Growing List of “Creepy” Friends
The multi-millionaire, former President of CVS and the board chair of her family’s non-profit — the Dodd Center — jumped from the business world to politics.
The Dodd Center received major funding from the Sackler family — owners of Purdue Pharma — the company that launched and fueled the opioid crisis.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut since Foulkes lost to Dan McKee in the Democratic primary four years ago, we have learned more about her, and more about her biggest political supporters and friends.
These close associates we take a look at are far more than just one or two-time political donors — in many cases, these powerful individuals are her inner circle.
Most recently, it became public that Foulkes' close friend and mentor — former Harvard President and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury — Larry Summers, had a close and “creepy” relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Emails disclosed by Congress unveiled the deep friendship between Summers and Epstein that continued long after Epstein’s conviction and right up until his second arrest.
Foulkes recently spoke glowingly about her relationship with Summers and solicited $6,000 from him.
But in the world of "creepy," Summers is one of many close to Foulkes - those who have profited from the tobacco industry, dubbed antisemitic, or rode the opioid crisis to great wealth.
Foulkes lives in a different world than most Rhode Islanders — she lives in the inner circle of the most affluent and politically connected. Her grandfather was a U.S. Senator, and so was her uncle. Thomas Dodd — her maternal grandfather was a tragic and corrupt figure. He was celebrated as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, which led to a seat in the United States Senate. His career crashed.
He was investigated by the U.S. Senate for financial improprieties.
After extensive investigation into documentary evidence, the Committee "found that from $450,273 gained from seven campaign fundraising events between 1961 and 1965 and contributions for his 1964 reelection campaign that he had diverted at least $116,083 for his personal use and that he had on seven occasions accepted double reimbursement for travel: from the Senate as well as from private groups (U.S. Senate)."
The senior Dodd was censured — he was the last Senator to be censured and lost his reelection.
Then came Foulkes' uncle, Chris Dodd, who was elected Senator in Connecticut, and he too was forced out of office due to controversy.
Dodd was found to have received special “VIP” mortgages by one of the major players in America’s financial meltdown — The Great Recession. A year after those special benefits were disclosed, Dodd announced he would not run for reelection.
It has been a family of privilege.
Foulkes is a creation of private schools, with double degrees from Harvard. She grew up in private clubs — Dunes Club, University Club, and Point Judith Country Club.
After graduating from Harvard Business School, Foulkes worked for a Wall Street firm, then for Tiffany's, before jumping to CVS.
But it is outside of Rhode Island where she has built a network of powerful — mega powerful — friends. Prior to running for governor in 2022, she had little involvement with Rhode Islanders outside of the East Side of Providence and Narragansett.
In recent months, a series of GoLocal articles have unveiled a series of close relationships between Foulkes and tobacco executives and heiresses, and her longstanding ties to the Sackler family and their lobbyists.
MEET FOULKES' "CREEPY" FRIENDS BELOW
Helena Foulkes’ Growing List of “Creepy” Friends
Larry Summers
The former Harvard President and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury — Summers, had a close and “creepy” relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Emails disclosed by Congress unveiled the deep friendship between Summers and Epstein that continued long after Epstein’s conviction and right up until his second arrest.
Foulkes recently spoke glowingly about her relationship with Summers and solicited $6,000 from him.
Jonathan Sackler, Owner and Board Member of Purdue Pharma
Jonathan Sackler, one of the owners of Purdue Pharma, the maker of the controversial opioid prescription painkiller OxyContin, served with Foulkes on the board of the family’s Dodd Center for years. He was a donor and supporter for years. The Sacklers financially fueled the Dodd Center.
One of the emails secured by GoLocal from the Dodd Center to Jonathan Sackler was dated 2018 — four years after Foulkes claims she was “angry” at Purdue Pharma.
At the time, he was the Vice President of Purdue Pharma. The email from The Dodd Center thanked Jonathan Sackler for all of his service as a board member and contributor.
“After Thursday, while you will [no] longer be an active member of the board, we will continue to regard you as part of the Dodd Center family,” said the email, dated Monday, September 24, 2018.
The letter was signed by Glenn Mitoma, Ph.D. Director of the Dodd Center and cc'ed both Foulkes and her uncle, former Chris Dodd.
In a letter to Sackler dated September 20, 2018, related to the email, the Dodd Center wrote to Jonathan Sackler, “I write to express my heartfelt gratitude for your years of service as an Advisory Board member of the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center long before, and since its inception in 1996. Words simply cannot express our profound appreciation for your faithful efforts, your wise counsel and your staunch leadership on behalf of the Dodd Center and its multifaceted programs.”
“Your longstanding commitment and dedication to the Dodd Center is immeasurable. Over the years, you volunteered your time, approached the task at hand both judiciously and efficiently, and brought an invaluable perspective to defining and shaping our strategic initiatives,” states the letter.
Sackler served as an executive and board member for Purdue Pharma. He died in 2020.
Dr. Raymond Sackler
Raymond and Beverly Sackler — underwrote the “Raymond and Beverly Distinguished Lecture Series” at the Dodd Center.
Raymond Sackler was one of the three brothers who created the massive Purdue Pharma empire. He and his wife pumped millions into the Dodd Center and UConn as a whole — a reported $4.5 million. UConn would not release the details on the Sacklers' donations.
At the dedication of the Dodd Center on October 15, 1995, UConn President Harry Hartley made sure to thank Dr. Raymond Sackler for his role in the center's development and his role on the Advisory Council.
The donations and the service on the board of The Dodd Center went on for decades. And much of it while Foulkes served and chaired the board.
The Sacklers and the Foulkes family are intertwined.
Stephen Kinney, Foulkes Family Advisor, Purdue Pharma Lobbyist
While Helena Foulkes chaired the Board of the Dodd Center, family political adviser and Purdue Pharma lobbyist Stephen Kinney was her vice chair.
Kinney is the longtime advisor to U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), having advised Dodd on four campaigns for U.S. Senate and a presidential campaign.
And, Kinney has given thousands to Foulkes’ gubernatorial campaigns.
The Purdue Pharma lobbyist has donated thousands to Foulkes' campaign.
Andrew Tisch, Former Tobacco CEO
In her campaign announcement in September for her run for governor, Foulkes hyped her role in removing cigarettes from CVS stores and linked it to her mother’s cancer.
“You didn't prioritize short-term bottom line, and that's why we removed cigarettes from all of our stores. My mom died of lung cancer, so this was very personal for me. It cost us [CVS] $2 billion a year in revenue,” said Foulkes.
“And don't think for a second that this was an easy thing to do, or that everyone was immediately on board, but it was the right thing to do. And when you do the right thing, great things happen. You attract a new generation of people who are drawn to your purpose,” she added.
But while Foulkes talks about cancer and removing cigarettes, her campaign is gobbling up tobacco cash from the most powerful families in the industry.
In 2022, GoLocal uncovered that Foulkes had solicited a $1,000 donation from Andrew Tisch, the former CEO of Lorillard Tobacco Company — when GoLocal raised the issue, Foulkes’ campaign said it was unaware of the connection and would donate the money to the American Lung Association, which her campaign did.
But, then, the Foulkes campaign solicited his wife.
Ann Tisch
After the Foulkes campaign donated the campaign funds from former Tobacco CEO Andrew Tisch, the Foulkes campaign then turned around and solicited Andrew Tisch's wife, Ann.
Ann Tisch has donated $2,000 to Foulkes.
PHOTO: Matheus Frade, Unsplash
Tobacco Heiress Elizabeth Bagley
Bagley hosted the $ 2,000-a-ticket fundraiser in June 2025 for Foulkes in Washington, DC.
Bagley's late husband, Smith Bagley, was heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune.
She has been a major Democratic donor and was awarded an ambassadorship.
Her 2022 appointment by Joe Biden to serve as the Ambassador to Brazil was almost derailed when it was uncovered that Bagley repeatedly made multiple antisemitic comments.
In 2022, The Jewish Journal wrote:
The nominee, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, came under fire in June after The Washington Free Beacon unearthed comments from a 1998 Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training interview in which Bagley said, “There is always the influence of the Jewish lobby because there is major money involved. But, I don’t remember any major issues coming out on that, besides the usual ‘make Jerusalem the capital of Israel,’ which is always an issue in the campaign.”
Bagley was responding to a question about the “Israeli influence” on the Clinton administration; at the time, Bagley was the administration’s ambassador to Portugal. Bagley then claimed in the interview that Democrats pander to “the Jewish constituency” and say “stupid things” like moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. She added that the “Jewish factor” in political campaigns is “money.”
GoLocal reached out to Foulkes to ask about the appropriateness of having Bagley associated with her campaign. She did not respond.
PHOTO: Jake Elledge, Unsplash
