October 16, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
John D. Arnold, a 37-year-old billionaire hedge-fund manager, and his wife, Laura, a lawyer, have chosen to support causes that sometimes can’t be advanced fully without legislative action.
That’s why their $670-million Houston fund, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, is paying for a mix of research and efforts to educate the public and policy makers about key issues affecting the criminal-justice, education, and pension systems.
The Arnolds also say they plan to sometimes step in with personal contributions to support political activities. In Florida, they financed radio advertising this year to advance legislation to make changes to the state’s pension system. (They declined to say how much). A law did pass, but it didn’t include the sort of systemic changes the Arnolds support.
The Arnolds have toyed with the idea of starting a separate advocacy organization, which doesn’t face the same restrictions on political work as a private foundation, but they declined to say much more about that possibility.
The couple, whom Ms. Arnold describes as Democrats “without strong political leanings,” have hired a politically savvy Republican to run their foundation.
He is Denis Calabrese, who served as chief of staff to Dick Armey, the Tea Party activist and one-time House majority leader.
Ms. Arnold says neither she nor her husband have had clashes about politics or approach with Mr. Calabrese.
“People ask all the time, Are you becoming some sort of right-wing organization?” says Ms. Arnold. “But really and truly, that hasn’t been an issue.”
