New research details how the Arnolds have funneled tens of millions of dollars to organizations actively fighting President Trump’s effort to end illegal, discriminatory DEI policies
The Institute for Health Policy Accountability (IHPA), an independent authority on key drivers of decision-making in the healthcare space, today released a new report in a series exposing how billionaire John Arnold and his organization, Arnold Ventures, have quietly poured tens of millions of dollars into organizations waging an aggressive campaign to preserve illegal, discriminatory DEI policies and block President Trump’s merit-based agenda.
One of President Trump’s very first acts upon taking office for his second term was to end illegal discrimination in the form of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies and restore a system of merit-based opportunity for all Americans. Rather than support this effort, John Arnold and his wife, Laura, have used their non-profit to funnel millions to institutions at the forefront of the legal and political fight to keep DEI entrenched in American society.
Some key findings from the IHPA report include:
Funding the Fights Against President Trump’s Anti-DEI Orders
- The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation has received between $5 million and $9.9 million from Laura and John Arnold, plus an additional $260,000 from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation since 2020, which immediately partnered with the National Education Association to file suit against the Department of Education after it reminded schools that “treating students differently on the basis of race… is illegal.”
- The Vera Institute of Justice has received nearly $14 million from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation since 2020. Vera signed onto an amicus brief opposing President Trump’s executive order ending DEI.
Bankrolling Think Tanks That Call Anti-DEI Policy “Robbery”
- The Brookings Institution has received $5.7 million from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation since 2020. Brookings scholars have described President Trump’s anti-DEI executive orders as “robbing people of the resources that they deserve.”
Funding Universities That Illegally Discriminated and Rejected the Trump Administration’s Academic Compact
- The DOJ found that both UCLA (which received $8.7 million from the Arnold Foundation) and Yale University (which received $7.2 million) illegally discriminated against White and Asian applicants in favor of Black and Hispanic applicants.
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 their bipartisan work, 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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