February 10, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2013: $296.2-million
Top beneficiary: Laura and John Arnold Foundation
Other notable gift: Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Background: Mr. Arnold founded Centaurus Energy, a hedge fund. Ms. Arnold is a former corporate lawyer.
Mr. and Ms. Arnold, ages 39 and 40, respectively, gave $235.9-million to the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Established in 2008, the philanthropy supports programs to improve the reliability of scientific research, K-12 public education, the criminal-justice system, and public-policy practices.
Last year the foundation awarded grants totaling $127.5-million. Some of those grants included $35.5-million to the Nutrition Science Initiative to improve the quality of science in nutrition and obesity research; $15-million to MDRC for programs that advocate for public policy to address the causes of poverty; $10.6-million to public charter schools in New Orleans; and $9.8-million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to establish a North American office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, a research center focused on the use of randomized evaluations to answer policy questions related to fighting poverty.
To date, the Arnolds have put more than $1-billion into their foundation.
The couple also donated $60-million to Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund for their donor-advised fund and through that fund gave $10-million to Baylor College of Medicine, $10-million to the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, $1.5-million to the ACLU Foundation, $1.2-million to the Center for Reproductive Rights, and other grants.
In addition, the Arnolds gave about $300,000 personally to other charities.
The Philanthropy 50: Browse the full list of America’s most generous donors in 2013.
Learn more: See this donor’s listing in our database of major gifts, America’s Top Donors.
