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The 2017 Pension Political Power 25: Wilbur Ross
No. 6 Wilbur Ross, Secretary of Commerce


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
![]() 2. Bruce Rauner Governor of Illinois ![]() 3. Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education ![]() 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 |