Trump's Administration Poised to Be Wealthiest in Modern US History
"The collective wealth of Trump's appointees is astronomically larger than the previous richest cabinet under George W. Bush, whose administration had an "inflation-adjusted net worth" of about $250 million combined, as the Post's Jim Tankersley and Ana Swanson point out. Trump's nominee for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, has roughly 10 times that wealth alone. In addition to Ross, who is worth about $2.5 billion, Trump's nominee for education secretary, Amway heiress Betsy DeVos, has a family net worth of $5.1 billion. Todd Rickets, the nominee for deputy secretary of commerce, is the son of a billionaire and co-owns the Chicago Cubs. Elaine Chao, transportation secretary appointee and wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is the daughter of a shipping and trading tycoon. In 2014, following several generous gifts from the Chao family, McConnell's personal wealth stood at $22.8 million. Steven Mnuchin, Trump's pick for head of the Treasury Department, is a former Goldman Sachs executive and Hollywood producer whose net worth is estimated at $40 million, much of it accrued while working in the financial industry—including profiting off the financial crisis."
