Donald Trump Set To Pick Billionaire Investor Wilbur Ross For Commerce Secretary

Donald Trump is expected to nominate billionaire investor Wilbur Ross for the secretary of commerce position, as per his duty as president-elect, according to a senior transition officer who requested anonymity, Bloomberg reports.

Wilbur Ross, known to many as the “King of Bankruptcy,” has made a name for himself investing in struggling companies that show potential in delivering profits. Ross also has a good track record merging companies and then earning big profits from selling them to giant multi-national companies.

As the secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross will oversee nearly 47,000 employees across the U.S., with a government budget of $8 million. Part of his responsibilities as secretary of commerce is to oversee economic data provided by the Cabinet department via the Census Bureau.

Wilbur Ross was a long-time Democrat who turned conservative and supported Republican candidate Mitt Romney in 2012. He supported Donald Trump not long after the then-Republican nominee announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential elections.

Businessman Wilbur Ross is a leading contender for commerce secretary https://t.co/G25unMjlF6

— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 21, 2016

“Part of the reason why I’m supporting Trump is that I think we need a more radical, new approach to government — at least in the U.S. — from what we’ve had before,” Ross said in an interview with CNBC in June.

Even with Ross’ knack for populist rhetoric, the 78-year-old business magnate has always adopted an extravagant lifestyle. He commutes between his offices in New York and his home in Palm Beach, Florida, on a regular basis, according to Haute Living magazine. It’s said that his entire art collection costs more than $100 million. A Yale graduate, Ross once pledged $10 million to help build the management school at the university.

As secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross is expected to enforce Donald Trump’s goal for the U.S. economy, which is to protect U.S. workers and challenge decades of globalization.

“Under a Trump administration, no American citizen will ever again feel that their needs come second to the citizens of foreign countries,” Trump said in April.

It’s not surprising that Trump would endorse Ross considering that the billionaire investor once took part in crafting and selling the president-elect’s tax-cut and infrastructure plans. He shares Donald Trump’s disdain for “political correctness,” often saying that he doesn’t want any part of it in his business dealings. He also suggested that middle-class and lower-middle-class workers are being taken for granted by Obama administration’s economic policies.

Ross is known for putting together big deals in coal mining, textile and steel industries, automotive parts, and more.

His lucrative business deal was made in 2002, when he merged numerous steel companies into International Steel Group, Inc. He and his backers then sold the entire company to an Indian native and U.K.-based steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The deal generated a profit of $2.9 billion.

Ross worked as a banker for 24 years, specializing in bankruptcy and corporate overhauling. In 2000, he founded his own firm, W.L. Ross, which gave him the leverage needed to earn big profit through investing in troubled factories.

Wilbur generated big profits from buying bankrupt companies at a steep discount and then shaving costs. Some of the cost reductions were made by altering employees’ benefits and cutting down on expenditures.

The investor was involved in a controversy in early 2006, in which the Sago coal mine exploded, resulting in a collapse that killed a dozen miners. According to a 2005 inspection report, the Western Virginia mine committed 208 safety violations.

Before long, Wilbur explained that he knew about the safety violations beforehand but was told by the mine’s management team that the workers will be working under safe conditions.

https://twitter.com/JimDabakis/status/801828007103053824

“Oh, my God, it’s the worst week of my entire life,” Wilbur Ross told ABC News a few days after the collapse.

[Featured Image by Carolyn Kaster/AP Images]