Billionaire Roland E. Arnall, whose widespread philanthropy and extraordinary political friendships stood in contrast to repeated investigations into alleged lending abuses at his giant subprime company, Ameriquest Mortgage Co., died Monday. The longtime Holmby Hills resident was 68.
Arnall, a Holocaust survivor who co-founded the Simon Wiesenthal Center, had resigned as President Bush's ambassador to the Netherlands on March 7, returning to Los Angeles to be with a seriously ill son, the family said.
The senior Arnall was diagnosed Wednesday with esophageal cancer that had metastasized and died early Monday at UCLA Medical Center, a spokesman for the family said.
Intensely private about his business and charitable affairs, Arnall was personally a gregarious character known for befriending service workers he encountered, along with some of the most powerful politicians in California and the nation.
Earlier donations went mostly to Democrats, including statewide races by Tom Bradley, John Van de Kamp and current state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, to whom Arnall lent $25,000 for his 1978 gubernatorial bid.
When Gray Davis ran for governor in 1998, Arnall advised him that he would need 20 backers good for $250,000 each -- and stepped in as the first, according to Davis strategist Garry South, who told The Times in 2005: "Roland was responsible for Gray becoming governor." When Arnall married his second wife, Dawn, two years later, Davis officiated at the ceremony.
A few years later, the Arnalls became major backers of President Bush and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, both Republicans. Since 2004, the couple had given more than $12 million to GOP causes and candidates, becoming the heaviest donors to the 2004 election cycle, including the Republican National Convention and Bush's inaugural celebration, campaign finance records showed.
Arnall said Bush won his support because of his pro-Israel stance. He maintained that he supported individuals, not parties, and continued to donate to certain Democrats, including many members of the Latino Caucus in the state Legislature. Even while giving $1.4 million to Schwarzenegger and his campaign committees, the Arnalls donated $130,000 to Davis, plus $100,000 more to oppose Davis' recall.
"He had an upbeat and indefatigable personality -- sort of an Energizer Bunny -- and he infused other people with that same confidence," South said Monday.
