Donald Trump's billionaire cabinet: Who are the big names apart from Elon Musk

Many others, including Trump family in-laws Charles Kushner and Massad Boulos, have been tapped in for diplomatic roles.

Published on: Dec 8, 2024, 13:51:00 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Shivam Pratap Singh

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Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States next month but his cabinet is already taking shape. With as many as 13 billionaires set to take up different roles under him, many argue that it is a government of billionaires.

Donald Trump's inner circle feeling ‘iced out’ due to his close bond with Elon Musk. (AFP)

According to a report in Axios, prominent names in the cabinet include Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick, Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon and Doug Burgum, who will lead Interior.

Small Business Administration has fallen to Kelly Leofler and Jared Issacman will lead NASA.

These are all the names of the billionaires inside the Trump cabinet. But there are others who have been tapped for other key roles in the administration. Trump announced on Thursday that tech investor David Sacks will guide the administration's policy on Artificial Intelligence and crypto currencies.

Many others, including Trump family in-laws Charles Kushner and Massad Boulos, have been tapped in for diplomatic roles.

These names are besides that of Trump himself and his two biggest allies Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, and Indian-American billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. Both of them will be serving as the Co-chairs of the newly created Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Why does it matter?

The last richest government in the US was Donald Trump’s first term from 2017-2021. This time, he is breaking his own record by a margin of billions of dollars. This gives teeth to the Democrat claim that his government will be for the billionaires.

While Trump has repeatedly dismissed the claim, having so many rich people in the government could test his legacy as a populist leader and even potentially tarnish it.

The outgoing cabinet of President Joe Biden has a combined net worth of $118 million, according to Axios. The figure stands nowhere against that of $10 billion if one counts just the Trump cabinet alone, excluding the likes of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

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HT News Desk
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