John D. Arnold is an American philanthropist and businessman. Arnold and his wife, Laura Munoz, together run the John and Laura Arnold Foundation, a major private grantmaking foundation. In early 2019 he and his wife Laura started Arnold Ventures, a for-profit limited liability company (LLC) and grantmaking organization. ¹

Background

Arnold began his career as a trader for Enron: He would leave the company taking an $8 million bonus before the energy company collapsed. He was never accused of wrongdoing in the investigation of the energy company’s sudden collapse.²

In 2002, Arnold founded a hedge fund, Centaurus Advisors, LLC, with his bonus and some early investors. During his time running the fund, Arnold gained a high reputation among his colleagues and even among the federal investigators who investigated the Enron collapse. In 2012, with the growth of hydraulic fracturing and the expansion of gas supply undermining the natural gas futures market, Arnold decided to retire to focus on philanthropy.³

Controversy

In May 2023, Arnold posted a thread on Twitter discussing his thoughts on rising costs of solar energy, which included, “removing tariffs on solar panels, addressing hurdles to development of transmission, easing permitting, and adding resources to fast-track interconnection studies. But first we must acknowledge the problem rather than ignoring it.” ⁴ According to reporting by The Washington Free Beacon, Centaurus Renewable Energy, a company owned by Arnold, imported over 1000 tons of solar panels in May 2016 from Shanghai Byd Co., a subsidiary of Chinese company Byd Co. In 2012, an investigation by the U.S Department of Commerce found that Byd Co. was one of four Chinese companies to circumvent U.S solar tariffs by shipping panels through Southeast Asia before being imported to the U.S. According to The Washington Free Beacon, the 2016 shipment by Centaurus came directly from China. ^{5 6} In June 2022, the Department of Commerce imposed a two-year suspension of tariffs on solar products imported from the Southeast Asian countries Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam; however, they also ruled that tariffs would remain on solar imports from China. ^{7 8}

1. Gose, Ben. “John and Laura Arnold Join Other Billionaires in Move Away From Traditional Philanthropy.” The Chronicle of Philanthropy. January 28, 2019. Accessed January 30, 2019. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/JohnLaura-Arnold-Join/245557?cid=pw&utm_source=pw&utm_medium=en&elqTrackId=3746a4e54a4f41f3b66fdf6ab3a8668f&elq=9af8f9b3e3854e37867a88ead5c70d7a&elqaid=22092&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=10827.
2. Preston, Caroline. 2011. “A Thirtysomething Billionaire Couple’S Bold Philanthropy”. The Chronicle Of Philanthropy. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/A-Thirtysomething-Billionaire/157613.
3. Goodman, Leah McGrath. 2012. “When A Billionaire Trader Loses His Edge”. Fortune. http://fortune.com/2012/05/04/when-a-billionaire-trader-loses-his-edge/.
4. Arnold, John (@JohnArnoldFndtn). “What can be done? Easier measures include removing tariffs on solar panels, addressing hurdles to development of transmission, easing permitting, and adding resources to fast-track interconnection studies. But first we must acknowledge the problem rather than ignoring it. 6/6.” Twitter, May 21, 2023. https://twitter.com/JohnArnoldFndtn/status/1660337924246847488?s=20
5. Kerr, Andrew. “Liberal Billionaire Who Made a Killing on Chinese Solar Panels Wants Biden To Dump Chinese Solar Tariffs.” The Washington Free Beacon, August 2, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/energy/liberal-billionaire-who-made-a-killing-on-chinese-solar-panels-wants-biden-to-dump-chinese-solar-tariffs/
6. Hayashi, Yuka. “Chinese Solar Manufacturers Dodged U.S. Tariffs, Probe Finds.” The Wall Street Journal, December 5, 2022. https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-solar-manufacturers-dodged-u-s-tariffs-probe-finds-11669952820
7. Kerr, Andrew. “Liberal Billionaire Who Made a Killing on Chinese Solar Panels Wants Biden To Dump Chinese Solar Tariffs.” The Washington Free Beacon, August 2, 2023. https://freebeacon.com/energy/liberal-billionaire-who-made-a-killing-on-chinese-solar-panels-wants-biden-to-dump-chinese-solar-tariffs/
8. “Commerce Department Issues Proposed Rule Suspending Solar Tariffs.” Kirland & Ellis, July 17, 2022. https://www.kirkland.com/publications/blog-post/2022/07/commerce-department-suspending-solar-tariffs#:~:text=On%20July%201%2C%202022%2C%20the%20U.S.%20Department%20of,subject%20of%20antidumping%20and%20countervailing%20duty%20circumvention%20inquiries.