Swiss-born liberal megadonor slapped with lawsuit for allegedly groping, sexually harassing winery employee

One of the most prominent liberal donors in American politics has been hit with a sexual harassment lawsuit by a former employee at one of his properties in California.

Liberal megadonor Hansjörg Wyss is facing a sexual harassment suit from a former employee at a winery he owns. (Getty)

Over the next few years, the lawsuit alleges other harassment from Wyss, including "making several sexual propositions" including telling her "how much he enjoyed having a threesome" and suggesting they engage in a "foursome."

"Throughout 2021 and 2022, Mr. Wyss frequently shared unwelcome stories about his sexual exploits and various affairs with other women," the lawsuit states. "In 2021, Mr. Wyss told Ms. Busby and Mr. Mullins about his many sexual affairs outside of his marriage and stated there was nothing wrong with affairs. He further said that Americans were ‘too uptight’ around those having affairs."

Other allegations include Wyss telling Busby about going to a movie theater with a woman named "Lori" and meeting a man he did not know and "initiated oral sex with him" before going back to her apartment and having a threesome. 

SWISS BILLIONAIRE HANSJÖRG WYSS RECENTLY POURED OVER $60M INTO PROPPING UP LEFT-WING GROUPS AND CAUSES

Wyss is also alleged to have "subjected Ms. Busby to a live video of Lori while Mr. Wyss was having phone sex with her" and at one point told Busby "he often had phone sex with Lori and that she could orgasm multiple times just from ‘dirty talk.’"

"He went on to tell Ms. Busby that he usually had phone sex at Halter Ranch with Lori because his wife was not around," the lawsuit said. "Mr. Wyss mentioned to Ms. Busby that he wanted them to 'Facetime' Lori with him."

A spokesperson for Halter Winery dismissed the allegations as "not true," telling Fox News Digital that they "intend to vigorously advance the facts that surround Mr. Mullins’ and Ms. Busby’s time at the winery and their departure."

"For almost five years, starting in 2019, Mr. Mullins and his current wife voluntarily made themselves part of the Halter Winery community and took advantage of its owner’s generosity," the spokesperson continued. "This included deciding to become employees of the winery, choosing to live at the winery rent free for years, frequently traveling with the owner to Europe, the Caribbean and elsewhere at the owner’s expense, asking the owner and his wife to host their wedding party and inviting the owner to serve as Best Man. Through all these years, they never complained about the owner’s conduct, or simply declined to spend so much time with him, until after they voluntarily left their employment at the winery in 2024."

Wyss, according to the lawsuit, knew his actions could be legally problematic for him, telling Busby at one point in 2022, "If you ever went after me for sexual harassment, you would win."

When Busby and Mullins began pulling away and decided to move to a smaller house on the property in order to ensure that Wyss would not be able to stay with them when he visited, the lawsuit alleges that Wyss retaliated against them by forcing her to take a pay cut and insisting the couple pay rent. 

Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, left, and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss attend Oceana's 2015 New York City benefit. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Oceana)

Busby resigned from her position and sent a letter on the day she left to Wyss outlining her concerns about his "ongoing conduct and her own anxiety and distress as the result of that conduct."

The complaint filed in April accuses Wyss of sexual harassment, retaliation, wrongful termination, intentional infliction of emotional distress and sexual battery. 

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Wyss is also facing a lawsuit from Mullins, who says the billionaire "abruptly terminated" his employment after Busby's complaint, despite bringing him out from the East Coast to work at the ranch and once promising Mullins would "have full control of the Halter Companies upon Mr. Wyss’s death."

Fox News Digital reached out to Busby's legal team for comment. 

"The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund have no involvement with this matter. The organizations’ charitable activities are totally separate from those of the Halter Ranch," a Wyss foundation spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

Wyss, who is referred to by some as the "new George Soros," is well-known in American politics as one of the most prominent liberal megadonors and has given hundreds of millions to Democratic causes through a network of left-wing nonprofits.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/swiss-born-liberal-megadonor-slapped-with-lawsuit-for-allegedly-groping-sexually-harassing-winery-employee