How a billionaire couple greased the skids for Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill

WASHINGTON — When House Democrats pass legislation next month that would slash prescription drug spending to the tune of $1 trillion, they’ll have John and Laura Arnold to thank.

The Texas billionaires, who in recent years have used their wealth to turbocharge America’s drug pricing debate, have brought their advocacy to a peak as Congress edges closer to enacting drug-price reforms. Last month, commercials cut by an Arnolds-backed political group aired on network television during the World Series. In September, a prominent former lawmaker contracted by the couple’s advocacy arm vocally endorsed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s marquee drug pricing legislation. And in 2019 alone, at least eight researchers and advocates funded by the Arnolds have testified on Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to move forward with legislation to slash the cost of prescription drugs.

John Arnold’s clout, in particular, has made for a strange-bedfellows alliance at a moment of surging populism: Democrats’ biggest ally as the party denounces corporate excess is a former hedge fund manager whose career began at Enron and whose net worth totals $3 billion. Progressive advocates, however, have been content to let Arnold shower cash on researchers, patient advocates, and political groups who favor lowering drug prices, helping to push their agenda to a country frustrated with pharmaceutical companies.

Thanks to their roughly $60 million drug pricing push, the Arnolds have quietly accumulated more clout on the issue than perhaps any entity besides the pharmaceutical industry itself. With John as the face of the couple’s drug pricing advocacy, they have made their presence most felt on Pelosi’s legislation, helping to generate shifts in public opinion and pushing Congress to take up major industry overhauls. While President Trump’s