Ayn Rand wrote that “One must never fail to pronounce moral judgment.” She warned that one must speak up when silence would objectively imply “agreement with or sanction of evil.”
Craig Biddle would like you to believe that I gave him $9 million to spend on whatever he personally desired as though I suddenly made him a multimillionaire! Of course, I did not do so! Why would I simply give him a personal fortune.
The $9 million in question came from funds I had placed in trust in an investment account because, unfortunately, I trusted Craig. These funds were to be held separately, protected, and used only for charitable purposes approved by me. A written agreement between Craig, my accountant, and me laid out the terms under which these funds could be used and was signed by all parties. The funds were never intended to be for OSI to draw upon. And they certainly were not intended to fund litigation against me! And they were not to finance OSI’s conferences, post-conference vacations for OSI’s staff, to increase Craig’s own compensation, or to buy the loyalty of Objectivist youth through grants, scholarships, and paid travel.
After years of failing to meet his promises and budgets, Prometheus Foundation sought to hold Craig accountable for inadequate performance before giving OSI more grant funds. When Prometheus reached out to OSI with the Board of Directors’ concerns, rather than answer our questions and demonstrate that OSI deserved continued funding, Craig served me and my organizations with a scurrilous lawsuit. According to him, by seeking accountability for his organization’s performance, Prometheus somehow breached a grant arrangement. More incredibly, this has justified him in spending the 9 million dollars sitting in trust, with no grant application, no review by the awards committee, no approval by Prometheus Board – no permissions whatsoever.
In effect, Craig declared himself a multimillionaire overnight.
Did he earn it?
Did he deserve it?
Did his prior performance at OSI justify such a windfall?
The trader principle is central to Objectivist justice: value for value, earned rewards, deserved benefits. One should not give or receive the unearned. And one certainly should not seize a value just because one “needs” it.
Yet for the money I earned, Craig’s position is: “We need it, so we’ll grab it.”
There is a grotesque inversion here: Craig publicly proclaims allegiance to Objectivist principles while acting in flagrant violation of them.
The 9 million dollars is important, however, by far the greatest betrayal is to Objectivist principals and young Objectivists who are looking for moral guidance.
Most concerning of all is that young people are being drawn into Craig’s immoral and unethical activities that violate Objectivist principles he is supposed to be following. They are being offered scholarships, conferences, travel, speaking opportunities, and other benefits paid for by the money that Craig is effectively looting from me in the Ayn Rand definition – see a later blog.
What sort of example does this set? What quality of intellectual will be attracted to Objectivism under such circumstances? What effect will this have on the public’s perception of Objectivism and our ability to promote the philosophy?
In closing, please consider this: Does it seem remotely plausible that I would give Craig $9 million to use however he wishes?
I welcome your questions, and if you wish to review the evidence, please request in the comment section and I will send them to you. In the next few days, I will issue the facts and evidence of the 9 million dollar heist.
Carl B. Barney
June 30, 2026