< 25 Top Pension Power Players

If Congress approves his nomination to what some have called Donald Trump’s cabinet of deplorables, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, 79, will take center stage in the president’s plan to kick-start the U.S. manufacturing sector. But the so-called king of bankruptcy doesn’t seem to have room for pension funds in his vision of a successful turnaround. Ross made his billions by using a slash-and-burn cost-cutting strategy to drag companies back from the brink of collapse, then selling them for a profit. He punted billions of dollars in defined benefit pension liabilities to a government-owned bailout fund, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. As Commerce secretary, Ross would inherit one of three seats on the PBGC’s board, where he would oversee the takeover of retirement funds when companies phased out their defined benefit plans. Ironically, Ross’s boss has his own union pension: According to his financial disclosure filings, Trump has collected more than $168,000 from his Screen Actors Guild union pension — a benefit from his work on The Apprentice. — Jess Delaney

 
The 2017 Pension Political Power 25

1. Andy Puzder Secretary of Labor 2. Bruce Rauner Governor of Illinois 3. Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education Private Markets Investment Outlook Q2 2025: Opportunities Amid Uncertainty Sponsored by Schroders Capital May 1, 2025 4. Laura & John Arnold Founders, Laura and John Arnold Foundation 5. Steven Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury

6. Wilbur Ross Secretary of Commerce 7. Tani Cantil-Sakauye California Chief Justice 8. Paul Ryan Speaker of the House 9. Anthony Scaramucci Founder, SkyBridge Capital 10. Kevin de León California State Senator and President Pro Tempore

11. Mike Enzi Chairman, Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security 12. Steve Sweeney President, New Jersey State Senate 13. Jerry Brown Governor of California 14. Corey Lewandowski Co-founder, Avenue Strategies 15. Paul Singer President, Elliott Management Corp.

16. Randel Johnson Senior Vice President, Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits, U.S. Chamber of Commerce 17. Joe Manchin U.S. Senator 18. Kenneth Feinberg Founder and managingpartner, Feinberg Rozen 19. Scott Walker Governor of Wisconsin 20. Richard Trumka President, AFL-CIO

21. Mike Rawlings Mayor of Dallas 22. Elizabeth Warren U.S. Senator 23. Kent Mason Partner, Davis & Harman 24. Bernie Sanders U.S. Senator 25. Randi Weingarten President, American Federation of Teachers