< 25 Top Pension Power Players

Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s 59-year-old pick to head the Department of Education, is an advocate of charter schools. These alternatives to public schools are allowed to use teachers not represented by unions — teachers who won job security and comprehensive benefit plans, including guaranteed pensions, through their union membership. DeVos’s husband is Dick DeVos, former president and CEO of multilevel-marketing giant Amway Corp.; her Michigan-based family has donated millions to charter schools, and if she’s confirmed for the Education post, expect her advocacy and clout to shrink union power and whittle away at teachers’ retirement plans. The DeVos family has a history of backing similar causes. Every year it hosts the West Michigan Policy Forum, which has decided to fight to restructure government pensions and benefits in 2017. — Julie Segal

 
The 2017 Pension Political Power 25

1. Andy Puzder Secretary of Labor 2. Bruce Rauner Governor of Illinois 3. Betsy DeVos Secretary of Education Building Resilient Portfolios: Infrastructure’s Strategic Advantage Sponsored by IFM Investors May 9, 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