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NEW YORK (TIP): President-elect Donald Trump‘s Cabinet picks have created a buzz as he is building it with his allies, old friends, and even some past rivals. But interestingly, list of his nominees as of Dec. 15, 2016, includes two billionaires and at least nine millionaires, with a combined net worth of about $5.6 billion, according to a report by the Bloomberg. There were no billionaires in the first confirmed cabinet of his predecessors – George W Bush and Barack Obama.
The report also says that fewer than half of Trump’s nominees have any prior government experience. Only 44% of appointees as of December 15, have government experience while it was 96% for Bush and 87% for Obama.
Here’s a look at the billionaires and millionaires whom Trump has picked so far:
Mike Pence, Vice President (Net Worth – $635K) – Pence, the 50th and current Governor of Indiana who served 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, will provide a channel to Congress for the new administration. The former radio talk-show host has championed limited government and social causes, such as opposition to abortion.
Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State (Net Worth – $365M) – Rex Tillerson is the chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, the world’s sixth largest company by revenue. An Exxon lifer, Tillerson would have to sell his 2.6 million shares of the company’s common stock, which had a value of about $240 million as of Dec. 14, He is stepping down as CEO and chairman at the end of the year.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, Attorney General (Net Worth $7.4M) -The Alabama senator became one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump this February. He became an adviser on almost every major decision and policy proposal Trump made during the campaign. As the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Sessions helped Trump craft a hardline immigration plan that he touted would prevent people from entering the country illegally. Sessions has opposed nearly every immigration bill that has come before the Senate the past two decades that has included a path to citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally.
Rep. Tom Price, Secretary of Health and Human Services(Net Worth $18.7M) – Georgia Rep. Tom Price, the six-term Congressmanis the fierce opponent of the Affordable Care Act. A Republican with a plan to simultaneously repeal and replace Obamacare, Obama’s signature legislative accomplishment, Price, 62, an orthopedic surgeon from the Atlanta suburbs and the chair of the House Budget Committee, began focusing his energies on dismantling Obamacare almost as soon as President Obama signed the landmark health insurance law in 2010.
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of the Department of Education(Net Worth $130M) – DeVos is aschool-choice activist, philanthropist and Republican mega-donor. The 58-year-oldbillionaire philanthropist, heads the American Federation for Children. Her group advocates for charter school education and she has been an advocate for school vouchers. Her foundation (American Federation for Children) has been mainly focused on trying to further the privatization of public education, not on strengthening it.
Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation (Net Worth $25.6M) – Trump tapped Chao, a former labor secretary, to head the Department of Transportation. Chao is the first American woman of Asian descent to be appointed to a President’s Cabinet in nation’s history. Having served from 2001-2009, she is the longest tenured Secretary of Labor since World War II, and the only member of President George W. Bush’s original cabinet to have served the entire eight years of his Administration.
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Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Treasury (Net Worth $655M) – Mnuchin, a banker, film producer, and political fundraiser served as the Trump campaign’s national finance chair and was largely considered the frontrunner for the job. He began his career at Goldman Sachs, where he spent 17 years and rose to become a partner. He left to start his own hedge fund and went on to become a financier of Hollywood films like “Avatar” and “American Sniper.” Throughout his career, Mnuchin showed only a limited interest in politics and remained mostly behind the scenes during Trump’s run.
Ben Carson, HUD Secretary (Net Worth $23M) – Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who has never held elected office, unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, rose to national prominence for the successful 1987 separation of twins conjoined at the head at the John Hopkins Hospital.
Andrew Puzder, Labor Secretary (Net Worth $110M) – Fast-food magnate Andrew Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. chains, was an economic adviser to Trump during the campaign.
Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce(Net Worth $2.9B) – The 79-year-old billionaire former banker, is known for restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles. He also has been an outspoken critic of free trade agreements, which was a hallmark of Trump’s campaign. His relationship with Trump goes back decades. Ross helped Trump keep control of his failing Taj Mahal casino in the 1990s by persuading investors not to push out the real estate mogul.
Linda McMahon, Small Business Administration (Net Worth $1.4B) – Linda McMahon co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment and shares a net worth of at least $1.35 billion with her husband, Vince. She spent $97 million on two failed bids to win a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut and gave an additional $7.5 million to the Trump campaign.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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