President Donald Trump has surrounded his second administration with an unprecedented number of ultrawealthy officials, with 57 appointees worth at least $100 million, according to a report from consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.<\/p>\n
The figure is more than four times the combined number of officials worth at least $100 million appointed by the previous three presidents, Republican George W. Bush and Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Bush and Biden each had five such officials, while Obama had three.<\/p>\n
Of Trump's 57 ultrawealthy appointees, 17 are ambassadors and the remaining 40 hold senior positions across the executive branch.<\/p>\n
Eight of Trump's 23 Cabinet members are worth at least $100 million, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, both of whom are billionaires.<\/p>\n
Other wealthy officials include Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, who are also billionaires, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and special envoy Steve Witkoff, both worth hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
The wealthy appointees also include officials selected to lead agencies such as NASA (Jared Isaacman), the Securities and Exchange Commission (Paul Atkins), the Social Security Administration (Frank Bisignano), the Office of Personnel Management (Scott Kupor), and the Federal Reserve (Kevin Warsh).<\/p>\n
The report does not include Trump, whose net worth Forbes estimates at more than $6 billion. It also excludes Elon Musk, whom Forbes estimates to be the world's wealthiest person.<\/p>\n
Trump has defended his preference for wealthy business leaders, pointing to their financial success as evidence of competence and executive ability. \u201cThey have great competence, those people. Incredible competence. Some of the smartest business leaders,\u201d Trump said last year.<\/p>\n
Public Citizen said the scale of wealth in Trump's administration stands out compared with previous White Houses.<\/p>\n
George W. Bush and Joe Biden each had five officials worth at least $100 million, while Barack Obama had three. Trump's 57 officials therefore represent more than four times the combined total of the three previous presidents.<\/p>\n
Public Citizen has raised concerns about the potential influence of wealthy donors and corporate interests within the administration.<\/p>\n
Lisa Gilbert, the group's co-president, said that when people holding government power are drawn overwhelmingly from the ultra-rich, it can lead to \u201cmisplaced incentives and corruption\u201d and raises questions about whose interests they are serving.<\/p>\n
The report also points to potential financial conflicts involving some Trump appointees. Commerce Secretary Lutnick, for example, has cross-shareholdings through Cantor Fitzgerald in companies across financial services, real estate, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence, technology, satellites, energy and other sectors.<\/p>\n
Education Secretary McMahon controls an entertainment empire that includes World Wrestling Entertainment and holds stakes in Ultimate Fighting Championship through TKO.<\/p>\n
The Public Citizen study comes amid broader questions about the relationship between Trump's administration and his family's business interests. Trump has said that his children run the trust holding his business assets and that he does not discuss government with them.<\/p>\n