President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees represent a wide range of backgrounds, from politicians to Fox News hosts to Wall Street investment bankers and hedge fund managers.
Their wealth varies widely too. Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, whose confirmation hearing will be held Wednesday, disclosed income of at least $356 million and assets of at least $806 million, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio had at least $421,000 total.
Still, Trump’s affinity with the rich is clear, with 14 of his picks reporting a combined $1.5 billion in assets — at least. In some cases, this wealth can be viewed as a qualification for the job — Energy Secretary nominee Chris Wright is currently chief executive officer of oilfield services company Liberty Energy Inc., giving him a hands-on familiarity with the industry — but it can also pose conflicts of interest.
In addition to publicly disclosing their assets, political appointees are required to divest assets that could pose a conflict. They generally do so by agreeing to sell holdings, usually within 90 days of their Senate confirmations.
Using the financial disclosure forms that cabinet nominees are required to file ahead of their confirmation hearings, Bloomberg News tallied the income, assets and liabilities of each of Trump’s picks. Where ranges are given, we chose the lowest possible number, so the actual totals may be higher than shown. For a complete methodology, see the bottom of this story.
Trump’s Cabinet Picks
Click on any nominee to read more and see their sources of wealth from a two-year reporting period
Vice President JD Vance disclosed investments in the venture capital firm he founded to invest in US companies, as well as some broad-based mutual funds and Bitcoin. He also disclosed rental income from residential real estate and royalties from William Morris Endeavor, his agent for works like Hillbilly Elegy in publishing and entertainment. Like Trump, Vance, an elected official, won’t have to divest any of his holdings.
Marco Rubio
State
Confirmed
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s biggest source of income was his Senate salary. He was among Trump’s nominees who weren’t required to sell off any assets to avoid a conflict.
Scott Bessent
Treasury
Confirmed
Scott Bessent is winding down his hedge fund, Key Square Group, and divesting his stake in its underlying assets. Those include large, open positions on the dollar’s value relative to foreign currencies including the Japanese yen and the Chinese yuan, which could cause a conflict of interest for the US Treasury Secretary.
Pete Hegseth
Defense
Confirmed
Fox News Network, where he was a weekend host, was Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s biggest source of income. Because most of his holdings were in cash or the kind of broad-based mutual funds that don’t pose conflicts of interest, Hegseth didn’t have to divest a single asset, unlike his recent predecessors who held stock in military contractors.
Pam Bondi
Attorney General
Confirmed
One of Pam Bondi’s biggest assets comes from her biggest source of income: Doing consulting work for the blank-check company that launched Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. She’ll divest her payoff, which came in the form of nearly $3 million worth of shares in the company that owns Truth Social.
Doug Burgum
Interior
Confirmed
Doug Burgum, Trump’s pick for Interior Secretary, needs six paragraphs to describe his land holdings and how he’ll avoid potential conflicts of interest posed by them. These include farms, ranches and an oil and gas lease, most of which are located in North Dakota. He’s holding on to his venture capital funds and some real estate businesses.
Brooke Rollins
Agriculture
Nominated
Brooke Rollins served in the White House during Trump’s first term and then ran America First Policy Institute, a think tank and administration-in-waiting for his second. She made more than $1 million in salary and bonus there over two years.
Howard Lutnick
Commerce
Nominated
Howard Lutnick, who disclosed roles at more than 800 entities, is selling his stake in Wall Street bank and brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The combative billionaire, who co-chaired Trump’s transition team, listed assets worth at least $806 million — including 12 he valued at more than $50 million.
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Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Labor
Nominated
Lori Chavez-DeRemer served as a Republican representative for Oregon’s 5th congressional district for one term before losing her re-election bid in November. She built a pro-labor record in Congress, potentially putting her at odds with other pro-business members of Trump’s administration.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Health and Human Services
Confirmed
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is severing his relationship with his law firm, giving up referral fees for cases mounted against a program run by the agency he’s been tapped to lead. But he’s holding on to a chance to profit from cases against drugmaker Merck & Co. over its Gardasil vaccine, his ethics documents show.
Scott Turner
Housing and Urban Development
Confirmed
Scott Turner’s income mostly comes from JPI Development, a development and construction firm where he is chief visionary officer. His biggest single assets, a pension and an annuity, are tied to his nine-season career as a cornerback in the National Football League. But if confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, he’ll divest more modest investments in Zillow Group Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Sean Duffy
Transportation
Confirmed
Since leaving Congress in 2019, Sean Duffy has worked at the lobbying juggernaut BGR Group, Fox Corp., where he co-hosted a show, and his own consulting firm. Among his biggest assets are a stake in the KKR Private Equity Conglomerate, which he’s agreed to sell, and two crypto wallets, which he’s keeping.
Chris Wright
Energy
Confirmed
Trump has promised to “drill, baby, drill” in his second term and picked Chris Wright, CEO of a fracking services company, to lead the Energy Department. Wright will have to divest his holdings in Liberty Energy Inc., the company he leads, as well as a stake in Oklo Inc., which makes nuclear fission reactors and counts OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman as its chairman.
Linda McMahon
Education
Nominated
Linda McMahon’s fortune, estimated at $850 million by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, stems from her longtime ownership stake in the professional wrestling empire she built with her husband Vince. She left WWE to pursue politics in 2009 but continues to hold a large stake. She also serves on the board of directors of Trump Media & Technology Group, the publicly traded company behind Truth Social.
Doug Collins
Veterans Affairs
Confirmed
Doug Collins is letting his consulting and media services firm go dormant, shutting down his law firm and selling his real estate company’s only holding. The former congressman tapped to lead Veterans Affairs wasn’t required to divest any of his modest assets, his ethics agreement shows.
Kristi Noem
Homeland Security
Confirmed
Kristi Noem, the South Dakota governor Trump tapped to run Homeland Security, disclosed modest holdings, including her husband’s insurance business and car wash, and a six-figure advance for the book in which she detailed shooting Cricket, the pet dog she described as dangerous and untrainable. She’s divesting one holding, an interest in an ethanol producer.
