The Institute for Health Policy Accountability (IHPA), an independent authority on key drivers of decision-making in the health care space, today released the first in a series of reports shining the spotlight on Arnold Ventures and their efforts to destabilize America’s health care system. The new research details how Arnold Ventures publicly claims to “work across the political spectrum to build durable, bipartisan coalitions” to specifically “improve health care delivery, lower costs, and reduce disparities in access,” while its funding tells a different story.

With $4.77 billion in assets and approximately $200 million in annual spending, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation has bankrolled left-leaning organizations that actively oppose President Trump and his administration, raising questions about the disconnect between the organization’s stated bipartisan mission and its funding priorities.

Key findings from the IHPA research include:

• RAND Corporation: Arnold has provided $12.76 million in funding since 2020
  • RAND scholars have compared President Trump to authoritarian leaders in El Salvador, Tunisia, Peru, and Pakistan.
  • RAND political scientist Alexander Noyes described January 6th as a “failed executive coup” aimed at perpetuating Trump’s “hold on power after losing at the ballot box.”
  • RAND researchers have accused the President of spreading misinformation that “undermines the United States’ credibility with its allies.”

• Brookings Institution: Arnold has provided $5.7 million in funding since 2020
  • Brookings scholars accused the Trump Administration of “weaponizing federal civil rights enforcement to promote discrimination.”
  •  The think tank claimed the administration has engaged in “an unprecedented effort to repurpose federal anti-discrimination law to reverse longstanding efforts to promote equality in public life.”

• Brookings contradicted itself on education policy, first criticizing Trump for ignoring poor NAEP scores, then defending those same scores when the President cited them as justification for closing the Department of Education.

• Center for American Progress: Arnold has provided $1.5 million in funding since 2020
  • CAP, led by former Biden Administration official Neera Tanden, has published articles claiming Trump “brings Chinese-style authoritarianism to America.”
  • The organization stated that the “Trump administration is learning the worst lessons from Beijing—lessons about the use of state power for extortion, the demand for absolute fealty, and the control of information and ideas.”
  • CAP maintains a tracker called “Trump’s Take” to document alleged corruption by the President and his family, claiming it tracks “the cash and gifts that President Donald Trump and his family have received by selling the presidency.”

Read the full report here.

Arnold Ventures was founded by billionaires Laura and John Arnold, who have cultivated an image of bipartisanship, particularly in healthcare policy. The Laura and John Arnold Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of Arnold Ventures and commands $4.77 billion in assets with approximately $200 million in annual spending. Despite publicly emphasizing bipartisan collaboration, Arnold Ventures has directed substantial funding to organizations that have made opposing President Trump a central focus of their advocacy and research. 

The Institute for Health Policy Accountability is an independent authority on key drivers of decision making in the health care space. IHPA provides fact-based research and analysis across the public policy landscape, adding a central and currently missing voice to the conversation.

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