Former hedge fund billionaire John Arnold and his wife Laura are quietly rewriting the rules of philanthropy among America’s ultra-rich — by actually giving most of their money away.
The Arnolds have donated more than $2 billion, or roughly 42% of their $2.9 billion net worth, according to Fortune. Their approach to giving — data-driven, research-backed, and focused on measurable results — stands in stark contrast to the traditional model of legacy-building endowments.
Both signatories of the Giving Pledge, the global initiative launched in 2010 to encourage billionaires to give away at least half their wealth, the Arnolds are among the very few who have actually met the mark. A 2025 report by the Institute for Policy Studies found that John and Laura Arnold are the only participants technically in full compliance since signing.
“The Arnolds should be commended,” said Bella DeVaan, co-author of the report. “They’ve boldly decided to give and to study how philanthropy can actually move money out the door instead of sequestering wealth.”
Through Arnold Ventures, the Houston-based foundation they launched in 2008, the couple funds evidence-based initiatives in health care, education, criminal justice reform, and infrastructure. John Arnold has emphasized that they do not intend to build a permanent foundation, arguing that wealth should be used to solve problems today, not stored for future generations.
Arnold, who has a Forbes philanthropy score of 5 out of 5, belongs to a rare group of billionaires who have contributed more than 20% of their total wealth.
Meanwhile, fellow Houstonians Nancy and Rich Kinder — with an estimated net worth of $11.2 billion — have also made significant strides in giving. The Kinders pledged 95% of their wealth to charity in 2011, channeling their resources through the Kinder Foundation, which has funded major projects in parks, education, and the arts, including an $18.5 million expansion of Emancipation Park in Houston’s historic Third Ward.
“Whatever wealth you accumulate is really the result of a lot of other people helping you along the way,” Rich Kinder has said. “Our goal has always been to leave the world a little better than we found it.”
