Tag Archives: Wilbur Ross Jr.

Monday Trump administration fun-facts!

Donald Trump’s buildings are always (he says) the tallest, but according to the Washington Post  his cabinet really will, by far and away be the richest one ever! Biggestly!

When George W. Bush assembled his first Cabinet in 2001, news reports dubbed them a team of millionaires, and government watchdogs questioned whether they were out of touch with most Americans’ problems. Combined, that group had an inflation-adjusted net worth of about $250 million — which is roughly one-tenth the wealth of Donald Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary alone.

Commerce Department Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, Jr., is a longtime Trump acquaintance (he managed one of Trump’s bankruptcies). Forbes rates him the 232nd wealthiest person in the US, with a net worth of $2.5 billion.

Ross has worldwide interests according to the maritime news publication gcaptain.com: fatcatrowboat5[Ross] built his fortune investing in troubled companies, including the oil and gas, steel and financial industries. He has a large ownership stake in Navigator Holdings, and his Diamond S Shipping is one of the world’s biggest owners of medium-range products tankers.

As the agency’s name suggests The Department of Commerce is charged with promoting American business in the US and overseas.This  includes gathering economic data, enforcing international trade agreements, and issuing trademarks and patents. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is part of the Commerce Department. NOAA (which includes the National Weather Service) manages scientific data on weather, oceans, and climate conditions to assess the health of the world’s oceans. I recall recent efforts by Congressional Republicans to privatize the U S Weather Service.

So fat-cat Wilbur Ross, Jr., as Commerce Secretary may soon oversee NOAA — but under President Trump I doubt he needs a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.