President-elect Donald Trump will name longtime banker and former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary, turning to a campaign loyalist and fundraiser for the incoming administration’s top economic cabinet post, a transition official said Tuesday.
Mnuchin built his career sniffing out undervalued assets and converting them into massive profits. But perhaps his greatest trade just came in the political arena.
Mnuchin, 53, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker turned Hollywood financier, parlayed a six-month stint as Donald Trump’s campaign finance chair into the president-elect’s pick to be Treasury secretary.
Mnuchin’s Wall Street pedigree presents a contrast with the populist themes Mr. Trump struck in his campaign, railing against big banks and vowing to close tax loopholes that benefit hedge funds. Mr. Trump also repeatedly attacked his rivals in the primary and general elections for their Wall Street ties, especially those connected to Goldman Sachs.
Mnuchin’s links to the world of high finance, in particular Goldman, go back to before he was born. His father, Robert Mnuchin, started at Goldman in 1957 and spent his entire Wall Street career at the firm. The elder Mnuchin was among those who pioneered block trading, the buying or selling of large numbers of shares at once. Steven’s brother Alan also worked at Goldman.
“He’s a person of great integrity,” the elder Mnuchin said of his son. “[We] expect he will do a good job in this very exciting and demanding position.”
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