All together, the billionaires tapped for the Trump administration are worth at least $344 billion – higher than the GDP of 169 countries.
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen billionaires to help shape his administration.
Is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. the new Billionaires’ Row?
President-elect Donald Trump – who often campaigned on the idea that he would “rescue our middle class” and fight for the average American – has chosen billionaires to help shape his administration.
So far Trump’s billionaire nods include Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon, Wall Street executive Howard Lutnick, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and money manager Scott Bessent. With the exception of Musk and Ramaswamy – who were picked for an advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency rather than a Cabinet position – the group will need to be confirmed by the Senate before they are official.
The total net worth of the billionaires in the Trump administration, as of the morning of Nov. 25, equals at least $344.4 billion – which is more than the GDP of 169 different countries. Since Musk and Ramaswamy won’t be part of Trump’s Cabinet, excluding them brings the net worth of Trump’s Cabinet to at least $10.7 billion, assuming all nominees are approved in the Senate.
The figures are most likely significantly higher, but finding the net worth of Bessent, a known billionaire, is tricky, and therefore he’s been left out of the above calculations.
By comparison, President Joe Biden’s Cabinet total net worth was about $118 million, and Trump’s first Cabinet total net worth was about $6.2 billion. Prior to Trump, former President Barrack Obama’s Cabinet net worth was about $2.8 billion in his second term, according to Forbes.
Here’s a look at the billionaires shaping the Trump administration, their estimated net worth and plans for their roles:
Meet the Billionaires
?President-elect Donald Trump, $5.6 billion
Trump’s original fortune comes from real estate, which includes residential and office buildings, hotels and golf courses worldwide, including Mar-a-Lago in Florida and Trump Tower in New York.
The former president also has a $3.5 billion stake in his social network, Trump Media & Technology Group, though he has vowed not to sell his shares.
Trump’s net worth is $5.6 billion, according to Forbes.
Elon Musk, $332.6 billion
Trump tapped Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an outside of government advisory group Trump plans to establish once he takes office. Much is still unknown about the new commission, how exactly it will function, whether Musk and Ramaswamy will have a staff and what kind of funding it will need, but Musk promised it “will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste.”
Musk said last month he believes he can cut $2 trillion from the country’s $6.75 trillion budget and acknowledged that such large cuts could be uncomfortable.
“We have to reduce spending to live within our means,” he said. “And, you know, that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”
Musk’s net worth is $332.6 billion, according to Forbes.
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Elon Musk’s DOGE Agency, ExplainedLinda McMahon, $2.5 billion
Trump turned to McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, as his choice to lead the Department of Education – possibly hoping for a pro wrestling-style takedown of the department. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly spoke about dissolving the federal education department and instead leaving education decisions up to the individual states.
McMahon, who donated $6 million to Trump’s first presidential campaign, served as leader of the Small Business Association in the former president’s first administration and currently works as co-chair of Trump’s transition team.
Prior to that, McMahon served for a year on the Connecticut Board of Education, and served on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. McMahon, along with her husband Vincent McMahon, founded WWE in the early 1980s.
McMahon shares a $2.5 billion net worth with her husband, Vincent McMahon, according to Forbes.
Howard Lutnick, $1.5 billion
Trump nominated Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, to be his Secretary of Commerce. Lutnick, who currently serves as co-chair of the Trump transition team, would be in charge of promoting and building American industries.
While campaigning, Trump proposed tariffs on imported goods as a way to drive sales for American-made products. Among his proposals were a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 20% tariff on all other imports.
Lutnick supports the use of tariffs, and said that “balanced tariffs … make the most sense,” in a September interview with CNBC.
Lutnick’s net worth is $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Vivek Ramaswamy, $1.1 billion
Trump tapped Ramaswamy to join Musk in co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency. In an opinion column they co-wrote for the Wall Street Journal, the two said they view their role is to “cut the federal government down to size.”
“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs,” they wrote.
Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur and former pharmaceutical executive who rose to prominence as one of the Republican presidential candidates, and as a challenger to Trump. He eventually dropped out and threw his support behind the former president.
Ramaswamy’s net worth is $1.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Doug Burgum, estimated $1.1 billion
Trump picked Burgum, current Republican governor of North Dakota and former Great Plains Software executive, to head the Department of the Interior. As secretary, he would be responsible for managing federal land and natural resources. The Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks Service would fall under his leadership.
While campaigning, Trump said “drilling, drilling, drilling” was one of his Day One promises. Trump believes by increasing oil and gas drilling and rolling back clean energy regulations, inflation will come down. Burgum, whose state ranks third in oil and gas production, is likely to uphold Trump’s commitment to increase drilling.
Burgum previously ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary, but dropped out and eventually threw his support behind the former president. His exact net worth is not listed with Forbes, but Yahoo Finance estimates it is $1.1 billion.
Scott Bessent, Undetermined
Trump selected money manager Scott Bessent for the coveted role of Treasury Secretary, a move that will likely please Wall Street. He served as an economic advisor to Trump on the campaign trail and is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management. He also worked at Soros Fund Management, a hedge fund started by George Soros, a major Democratic donor. As treasury secretary, Bessent would be responsible for advising Trump on domestic and international financial, economic and tax policy.
While Bessent has been widely reported to be a billionaire, his exact amount of wealth is hard to pin down.
Bessent has defended Trump’s use of tariffs, writing in an op-ed earlier this month that they are a “revenue-raising tool and a way of protecting strategically important industries in the U.S.” He called warnings that tariffs will lead to higher prices for Americans “fundamentally incorrect,” despite 16 Nobel prize-winning economists saying otherwise.
If confirmed, Bessent will be the first openly gay treasury secretary, and first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration, according to the Associated Press.
Tags: politics, Donald Trump, Linda McMahon, Elon Musk, government
