Ameriquest founder, Bush ambassador Roland E. Arnall, 68
Posted: Monday, April 14th, 2008 3:22 pmAmeriquest Mortgage founder Roland E. Arnall, 68, a billionaire who became a symbol of the subprime lending industry he helped create, died March 17 at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center. Esophageal cancer was diagnosed…
Mr. 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 who had Hodgkin’s disease.
Intensely private about his business and charitable affairs, Mr. Arnall built a real estate and financial services empire that transformed him into one of the nation’s wealthiest people, with his fortune estimated last year at $1.5 billion by Forbes magazine.
Once the nation’s largest subprime mortgage lender, Ameriquest was shadowed by accusations that it engaged in improper practices that included lying about borrowers’ income to qualify them for loans they couldn’t afford. Ameriquest advertised heavily on television, sent blimps soaring above stadiums bearing the company’s name and Liberty Bell logo and sponsored a Super Bowl halftime show and a Rolling Stones tour. …
A major supporter of Bush and Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mr. Arnall and his second wife, Dawn, gave more than $12 million to GOP causes and candidates, becoming the heaviest donors to the 2004 election cycle, according to campaign finance records.
Mr. Arnall said he backed Bush because of his support for Israel. … Read full obituary
