Wilbur Ross

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Wilbur Ross, 2017

Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (born November 28, 1937 in Weehawken , New Jersey ) is an American businessman and politician . He worked for NM Rothschild & Sons as a banker for 24 years, specializing in the acquisition and restructuring of bankrupt companies. He has been the United States Secretary of Commerce since February 28, 2017 .

Life

Studies and entrepreneurship

Ross was born the son of lawyer Wilbur Louis Ross Sr. and his wife Agnes (nee O'Neill). He graduated from Yale University . After completing his Bachelor's degree there in 1959, he continued his studies at Harvard University , where he received a Master of Business Administration two years later .

Ross joined NM Rothschild & Sons in 1976, before founding the investment company WL Ross & Co in 2000 . In 2006, he sold the company for 375 million dollars to Amvescap , but remained chairman and chief strategy officer . In the course of his professional career he earned the reputation of the "King of Bankruptcy".

So in 2002 he bought the bankrupt steel company LTV Corp. , less than a month before President George W. Bush imposed punitive tariffs to protect the US steel industry from imports. From this and the subsequently acquired companies Weirton Steel , Acme Steel , Bethlehem Steel and Georgetown Steel , he founded the International Steel Group in the same year . In 2005, Ross sold the International Steel Group to Mittal Steel Company for $ 4.5 billion .

Private

Ross was married three times in total, his first two marriages were divorced, and has two daughters from his first marriage. His second marriage was from 1995 to 2000 with Betsy McCaughey , who was Lieutenant Governor of New York State from 1995 to 1998 .

He is an art collector and owns 40 works by the Belgian surrealist René Magritte as well as contemporary works by Chinese and Vietnamese artists . In 2016, it was ranked 595th in Forbes Magazine's annual compilation, The World's Billionaires, for $ 2.9 billion .

Political career

Ross was a member of the Democratic Party for a long time . In the 2012 presidential election he supported the Republican candidate Mitt Romney . In the 2016 presidential election , he served as economic policy advisor to Republican candidate Donald Trump , whom he has known for over 20 years. After his successful election, Ross was named United States Secretary of Commerce in Trump's future cabinet in November .

On February 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed Ross as Secretary of Commerce in the Trump administration by 72:27 . On February 28, 2017, he was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence .

Political attitudes

Ross is considered a strict opponent of the NAFTA free trade agreement .

Paradise Papers

In November 2017, the network of investigative journalists ( ICIJ ) published the research on tax avoidance in tax havens “ Paradise Papers ”. One trace led into the cabinet of US President Donald Trump to his Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. He is reportedly involved as a private individual in business with a Russian company that is partly owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin's son-in-law and business people close to the Kremlin . Several US senators criticized the Trump cabinet because of Wilbur Ross' ties to Russia .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Trump's possible Commerce head knows how to deal with China , November 19, 2016, New York Post
  2. ↑ The World's Billionaires 2016 at www.forbes.com
  3. ^ A b Billionaire Wilbur Ross said to be Trump's pick for commerce secretary , November 29, 2016, Chicago Tribune
  4. ↑ "Trump's Minister of Commerce Also Receives Democratic Votes" , accessed February 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-commerce/wilbur-ross-sworn-in-as-secretary-of-commerce-idUKKBN1671XC
  6. ↑ Trump's Cabinet: From “Mad Dog” to Islamophobia. In: tagesschau.de. January 4, 2017, accessed January 13, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Paradise Papers on Tax Loopholes: Which Companies Are Affected? What are the most explosive cases? In: Spiegel Online . November 6, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed November 6, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Maas wants to close tax loopholes in the EU . In: sueddeutsche.de . November 6, 2017, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed November 6, 2017]).
personal data
SURNAME Ross, Wilbur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ross, Wilbur Louis junior (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American entrepreneur and politician
DATE OF BIRTH November 28, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH Weehawken , New Jersey , United States