THE $4.5 BILLION CABINET
Donald Trump might have run as a populist, but he has assembled the most plutocratic group of top advisors in recent American history.
A POPULIST WAVE may have propelled Donald Trump to the nation’s highest office, but he is proving to be no man of the people. Trump has already proposed what appears to be the wealthiest Cabinet in modern U.S. history, a collection of elites that includes a billionaire heiress, Exxon Mobil’s CEO, a former Goldman Sachs partner and an investor who made millions off underwater mortgages during the financial crisis. All told, Trump’s Cabinet is worth an estimated $4.5 billion, 60% more than Barack Obama’s second-term Cabinet. That sum doesn’t include Trump’s own fortune or that of any billionaire officials outside the Cabinet, such as Army secretary pick Vincent Viola—and as of press time, Trump still has two picks (the secretaries of agriculture and veterans affairs) to make.
Ryan Zinke $800,000 Secretary of the Interior
The Montana congressman owns a number of rental properties in Whitefish, Montana, his hometown (pop. 7,073); an art collection worth at least $100,000; and a garage full of automobiles that includes a 1938 Cadillac.
Rex Tillerson $325 mil Secretary of State
Tillerson started at Exxon Mobil straight out of the University of Texas. As chairman and CEO he accumulated more than 2.6 million shares of company stock and hefty pay packages (nearly $90 million over the past three years alone).
betsy Devos $1.25 bil Secretary of Education
Daughter-in-law of Amway cofounder Richard Devos, she’s married to Richard Jr., the eldest of Devos’ four children; FORBES estimates that the couple has about one-fourth of the family fortune. She previously served as chair of the Michigan GOP.
John kelly $4 mil Secretary of Homeland Security
Kelly spent over four decades in the military, rising to become a four-star general. He has two sons who’ve served, one of whom died in combat in Afghanistan. The bulk of his wealth comes from his government pension.
Wilbur Ross $2.5 bil Secretary of Commerce
For a quarter-century, Ross ran Rothschild’s bankruptcy advisory business before starting his private equity firm, WL Ross & Co., in 2000. He sold it to investment management firm Invesco in 2006 for some $375 million while staying as chairman and chief strategy officer. He made millions servicing subprime mortgages during the financial crisis.
Jeff sessions $6 mil Attorney General
Sessions, a senator from Alabama, owns more than 1,500 acres in the western part of the state that are worth at least $2.5 million. The rest of his fortune is in Vanguard mutual funds and municipal bonds.
Rick PERRY $2 mil Secretary of Energy
Since Perry left the Texas governor’s office in 2015, he has banked at least $100,000 from speeches and another $250,000 consulting for a Caterpillar heavy equipment dealer. About 20% of his portfolio is in oil-andgas partnerships and energy stocks.
ben carson $29 mil Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
The neurosurgeon earned millions from six bestselling books, media roles at Fox News and the Washington Times and numerous speaking gigs. He accumulated more than $6 million worth of stock serving as a director at Kellogg and Costco before leaving their boards in May 2015 to run for president. America’s first billionaire president brings to the Oval Office unprecedented potential for conflicts of interest just about everywhere from Chicago and Istanbul to Scotland and the Philippines. More than half of Trump’s fortune is tied up in Manhattan real estate.
Mike Pence $800,000 Vice President
The Indiana governor and former congressman lives modestly and has largely stayed away from commercial gigs. He gets most of his wealth from his state and federal pension accounts; the father of three also owes at least $95,000 in Parent Plus student loans.
elaine chao $24 mil Secretary of Transportation
Married to Senate majority leader Mitch Mcconnell, Chao is the daughter of a shipping magnate, and the bulk of her and husband’s wealth comes from her family (including an investment account worth at least $5 million given to the couple). The Harvard grad sits on four corporate boards, including Wells Fargo’s.
TOM Price $10 mil Secretary of Health and Human Services
The orthopedic surgeon and Georgia congressman owns a medical office building in his home state, plus rental apartments and condos in Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
James Mattis $5 mil Secretary of Defense
Most of his fortune comes from his military salary and pension (nicknamed the “warrior monk,” Mattis is a four-star general who retired in 2013). The ex-marine sat on the board of disgraced blood-testing unicorn Theranos and is still a director of General Dynamics. Trump’s gilded Cabinet raises the bar, but Obama’s inner circle isn’t exactly full of paupers. All but three are millionaires; his commerce secretary, Penny Pritzker, is a Hyatt heiress and a billionaire.
steve Mnuchin $300 mil Secretary of Treasury
After buying subprime mortgage lender IndyMac for $1.6 billion in 2009 with a group of billionaire investors, Mnuchin sold it to CIT Group for $3.4 billion six years later. A former Goldman Sachs partner, he also dabbles in financing movies ( Avatar, American Sniper).
andy PUZDER $45 mil Secretary of labor
After negotiating a deal to help Carl’s Jr. founder Carl Karcher escape financial trouble in the early ’90s, Puzder eventually became CEO of CKE Restaurants, parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s, and has earned at least $25 million in salary and bonuses since 2000.