Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross was confirmed as the United States' new secretary of commerce Monday by a 72-27 margin in the senate.
Ross, 78, made a fortune restructuring failed companies in the manufacturing and steel industries, amongst others, earning him the moniker, the “King of Bankruptcy.”
Prior to his nomination by President Donald Trump, he worked as chairman and chief strategist of the equity firm W.L. Ross and Co.
Ross is hailed as a hero by some for saving failing industries but critics have likened the enterprise practice to becoming a "vulture investor," though Ross himself disdains the term, according to a 2004 New York Magazine profile, which also noted that he prefers the description “a phoenix that rebuilds itself from the ashes.”
Here's what you need to know about Ross:
Name and Age: Wilbur Ross Jr., 78
Celebration: Ross was a noted donor to Republicans through this election cycle. Nevertheless, Ross was a registered Democrat in the 1990s.
Hometown: Weehawken, New Jersey
What He Did Ahead of Nomination: Chairman and chief strategist of private equity firm W.L. Ross and Co. The business invests billions in restructuring firms in the steel and manufacturing industries that have declared bankruptcy.
What You May possibly Not Know About Him: **Ross is identified for his robust art collection, and once lent a painting by famed Belgian artist René François Ghislain Magritte to the Tate Liverpool and the Albertina in Vienna. Ross owns 25 Magritte paintings reportedly worth $100 million, according to an estimate by Forbes.**
**Ross' relationship with Trump dates back to the 1990s when he represented investors who have been considering whether or not to remove Trump from his position as head of his Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Ross reportedly was a leading advocate in claiming the casinos would remain profitable if Trump were to stay on -- permitting Trump to save his image, according to The New York Times. Trump sold his interest in the Trump Taj Mahal in 2009. The casino closed in October of this year following enduring years of losses.**
History With regards to 2016 Election/Trump Assistance: Ross said in March of 2016 that he was arranging to vote for Donald Trump.
"I think the purpose why the Trump phenomenon has develop into so vital ... is due to the fact middle-class and reduce-middle-class America has not actually benefited by the final ten to 15 years of economic activity and they're sick and tired of it and they want one thing unique," Ross told CNBC at the time.
He went on to become a close economic adviser to Trump by means of his presidential campaign and a public advocate for him in enterprise circles.
Controversies:
**As the owner of the Sago mine, Wilbur Ross was accused by miners and their households of ignoring security regulations that cost the lives of 12 miners in the 2006 Sago mine disaster. Days right after the mine explosion, ABC News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross had a sit-down interview with the billionaire in which he defended his company's management of the mine even with many warning indicators in the form of previously-issued safety citations.**
**In August of this year, Wilbur Ross' corporation paid out a $two.3 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission right after the SEC charged the business for not disclosing its charge practices to funds it advised and to investors. The organization paid the fine “without admitting or denying the findings," according to the SEC.**
**In 2014, Ross told Bloomberg Television he believed the best 1 percent of wealthiest men and women in the country had been "being picked on for political purposes" when asked about actual estate magnate Sam Zell’s comments that the 1 % "ought to be emulated."**
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