Roland Arnall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roland Arnall

Roland Arnall is the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands and billionaire owner of Ameriquest, which is one of the United States's leading wholesale sub-prime lenders. The company is the largest privately held retail mortgage lender in the United States and the largest subprime lender by volume. The company settled a class action case for $325M in early 2006 with 49 states over allegations of predatory lending practices. Ameriquest faced allegations that it misled and overcharged borrowers, falsified loan applications and saddled low-income and minority homeowners with loans which they could not afford.

[edit] Personal life

Arnall was born in Paris. After World War II, he moved to Canada, and relocated to California in the late 1950s.

In 1977, Arnall helped found the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Jewish human rights organization. He served for 16 years on the California State University board of trustees.

In recent years, he bought a 10-acre Los Angeles estate for $30 million from singer Engelbert Humperdinck and a ranch in Aspen, Colo., for $46 million from movie mogul Peter Guber.

[edit] Political activities

Arnall and his wife, Dawn, have been longtime, generous political contributors, giving generously to both parties and favoring incumbents, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Since 2002, Arnall has given campaign contributions of more than $7 million to California legislators, including $1.5 million to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In the 2003-2005 period, Arnall and his wife raised more than $12 million for George W. Bush's political efforts, including $5 million for the Progress for America Voter Fund, a self-proclaimed "conservative issue advocacy organization dedicated to keeping the issue record straight."

Mrs. Arnall also served as a co-chair for the 2004 Republican Convention and hosted a $1 million Bush-Cheney fund-raiser at the couple's 10-acre home in Holmby Hills, California. After Bush was reelected, The Arnalls contributed another $750,000 for inaugural balls in January 2005 and effectively secured his place in line for a plum ambassadorship.

On August 1, 2005, Bush nominated Arnall to become the U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands. The senate approved his nomination on February 9, 2006.

Arnall was successfully installed as ambasssador to the Netherlands on March 8, 2006 when the Dutch Queen Beatrix received Arnall's diplomatic letters.