1. As readers know, Carl Barney and Craig Biddle have been in litigation for a while now. Barney has gone on an internet offensive recently asserting that Biddle stole $9 million from him.
Craig originally drafted an Advisement Agreement that he, Sarah [Biddle], Lenny Esmond (our joint accountant at the time), and I signed. The Agreement required OSI to maintain these funds in a segregated investment account. Use of the funds required my approval; without my approval the “funds may not be used”.
On January 26, 2024, Craig confirmed: “The funds are held in trust by OSI, not grants to OSI”—emphasis added.
In the same exchange, Craig wrote: “They are held in trust and may be used only with Carl’s and Lenny’s permission.”
In January 2026, having become concerned with the Biddles’ behavior, I directed OSI to transfer the trust funds and demanded an accounting. Craig refused. On January 12, 2026, using money from the trust, Craig filed suit to seize the $9 million.
In any event, the episode has caused Barney to rethink his view of human nature.
For much of my life, I believed that people were fundamentally good. I was inclined to trust. I wanted to see the best in others. In many cases, that openness served me well, but that belief carried a cost.
Two long-term and personal relationships ended in profound betrayal. People I trusted personally and financially proved themselves dishonest. Those experiences forced me to reexamine my longstanding assumption.
I assume Barney is referring to Biddle and Yaron Brook.
2. Ayn Rand Institute President Tal Tsfani talked about the state of Objectivism. A few takeaways:
- The Ayn Rand Institute’s Ayn Rand Center will be breaking ground in Austin this September. The building sounds quite impressive. There will be a fountain at the entrance with a waterfall so that rivers of water and light will flow from the building to the world. Almost sounds like the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation (Rev 21-22).
- Tsfany said Objectivism is still in the “pre-movement phase,” which sound like a polite way of saying it doesn’t have anywhere near the number of members one might imagine, particularly if you consider that Atlas Shrugged will be 70 next year.
- The ARI has a new supporter, Ben Chestnut, who has made the biggest contribution ever to the ARI. For whatever reason, the ARI never seems to be lacking at least one large doner.
- The ARI is doing yet another rewrite of its website.
- The Ayn Rand Archives will be made publicly available via the internet without the need to obtain permission. I’ll believe it when I see it.
3. ARI Chief Philosophy Officer Onkar Ghate just published The Moral Idealism of Ayn Rand: From Anthem to Atlas Shrugged.
3 comments:
' Tsfany said Objectivism is still in the “pre-movement phase,” which sound like a polite way of saying it doesn’t have anywhere near the number of members one might imagine, particularly if you consider that Atlas Shrugged will be 70 next year. '
Funny, Marxism didn't have that problem. Karl Marx died in 1883, and Friedrich Engels in 1895. And yet a little over 2 decades after Engels's death, there were organized Marxist movements ready to use force to get their way in several parts of the world.
Sounds like two ***** falling out with each other! It doesn't auger well for the day we get "Galt's gulch"
"which sound like a polite way of saying it doesn’t have anywhere near the number of members one might imagine, particularly if you consider that Atlas Shrugged will be 70 next year" Objectivists on the 1st of January (each year)..."this year is the year of Ayn Rand, we will make big strides in changing the World" Objectivists on the 31st of December (each year)..."It's too early for change..."
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