Two Texas Billionaires Think They Can Fix Philanthropy

Billionaires aren’t too popular right now. As inequality surges, even the most generous of them are coming under attack. Philanthropy is just one more way the superwealthy grab too much sway over society, critics say, and there’s little check on their vast power.

John and Laura Arnold agree with many of these critiques. They’re also billionaires, and their full-time job is to give more and more of that fortune away—not to art museums or orphans but toward the goal of changing government policy. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Arnolds are worth $2.5 billion, not including more than $2 billion held by their foundation.