James Arthur Pope (born May 5, 1956) is an American businessman, philanthropist, attorney and former government official. Pope is the owner, chairman and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, a group of 370 retail stores in 16 states. He is also the president and chairman of the John William Pope Foundation. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives and served as the Budget Director for North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory.

He founded the American conservative North Carolina think tank the Civitas Institute and co-founded the John Locke Foundation and the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal. Pope's family foundations contributed millions of dollars to conservative causes, both nationally and in his home state.

Pope was born May 5, 1956, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to John W. and Joyce Wilkins Pope. He spent his early childhood in the town of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. He moved with his family to the capital city of Raleigh, North Carolina, in the early 1960s. Pope graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978 with a B.A. with honors in political science and went on to earn his J.D. from the Duke University School of Law in 1981.

Pope is the chairman and president of Variety Wholesalers since 2006. Variety owns and operates 370 stores under the names Roses, Roses Express, Maxway, and Super 10, in sixteen states. Sales for Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a privately held company, are estimated to be at least $700 million and up to $1 billion. In 2025, Variety Wholesalers, Inc. acquired and re-opened an additional 219 Big Lots stores, as part of an asset purchase from the Big Lots bankruptcy. The company headquarters is located in Henderson, North Carolina, with a distribution center in Henderson. Pope first joined Variety Wholesaler in 1986.

Before entering business, Pope was an associate attorney with the firm of Skvarla, Boles, Wyrick and From in Raleigh, from 1982 through 1984. In 1984, Pope took a leave of absence from the firm to work as the director of organization for the North Carolina gubernatorial campaign of Jim Martin. Pope served as special counsel to Governor Jim Martin in 1985. Governor Pat McCrory appointed Art Pope State Budget Director in 2013. Pope served as State Budget Director from 2013 to 2014, and then stepped down to return to the private sector.

Pope is chairman and president of the John William Pope Foundation, which he founded with his father, John W. Pope, in 1986. The foundation has donated to Campbell University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the John Locke Foundation (for which Pope was the founding chairman), The Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute, and other organizations. From 1986 to 2024, the foundation has given more than $244 million in grants. In 2017, Art Pope became chairman of the Bradley Foundation, a conservative charitable organization.

Pope has been active with the Republican Party since the late 1970s, serving in a variety of roles ranging from precinct chairman to chairman of the North Carolina GOP State Convention. Pope has also served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention on three occasions. Pope was appointed to serve on the North Carolina State Goals and Policy Board from 1985 to 1989. He also served on the North Carolina Capital Planning Commission.

Pope was first elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives in 1988 to represent House District 61. He served four complete or partial terms in office, winning elections in 1988 and 1990, being appointed to fill a vacancy in 1999, and winning another election in 2000. He was elected Republican Joint Caucus Leader during the 1991–1992 session. Pope was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state's most prestigious award for public service, in 1992 at age 36.