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US President daughter Ivanka Trump meeting students in a Washington D.C. Museum, last week.  EFE/Jim Lo Scalzo
US President daughter Ivanka Trump meeting students in a Washington D.C. Museum, last week.  EFE/Jim Lo Scalzo

The Richest Administration in History

President Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are the beneficiaries of interests worth as much as $740 million. Mr. Trump’s chief…

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Last Friday, the White House issued financial statements from dozens of senior officials which confirmed that President Donald Trump has surrounded wealthy officials, including his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Kushner, who shares most of his possessions with his wife, Ivanka Trump, has a $741 million real estate and financial empire, according to the New York Times, that analyzed the 54 pages of his statement.

Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser to the president, quit more than 260 entities and sold off 58 businesses or investments identified as posing potential conflicts of interest, the AP reported. But his lawyers, in consultation with the Office of Government Ethics, determined that his property assets are unlikely to pose the kinds of conflicts that would trigger a need to divest.

Ivanka will keep a stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, the New York Times said. Kushner’s financial disclosures put the value of Ivanka’s stake at between $5m and $25m and say she earned between $1m and $5m from January 2016 to March 2017.

The hotel, where the president sometimes dines just a few blocks the White House, has raised concerns that foreign governments or special interest groups could stay there in order to gain political favours, as reported in The Guardian.

With Trump favouring Wall Street and fellow billionaires, the White House has made little secret of the fact that the current staff’s net worth is thought to be the richest in US history. A pie chart released to the media showed that, whereas incoming Obama employees’ finances eight years ago were found to be “simple” or “moderate” by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), the Trump appointees’ holdings were judged “complex” or “extremely complex”.

Another of Trump's richest advisers is Gary Cohn, director of the national economic council and former number two of investment bank Godman Sachs, with assets valued at at least $230 million, but could be more.

Also on the list is Steve Bannon, President Trump's chief of strategy, who earned $ 1.3-3.3 million last year and has assets valued at $ 3.3- $ 12.6 million.

One of Trump's top advisors, Kellyanne Conway, who in 2016 worked first for Ted Cruz's campaign and then for the now-president, earned $800,000.

Most of Conway’s assets, more than $31 million, are held in cash or money-market accounts, probably because she had to sell most of her investments before taking a job in the White House. She does still own stock in drug giant Pfizer, snack food companies Kraft Heinz and Mondelez, and tobacco companies Altria and Philip Morris. Those stock holdings are comparatively minor, amounting to less than $200,000 of her net worth.

Conway gave speeches or provided consulting services to dozens of political interest groups, mostly advocating conservative causes. She also gave a paid speech to Point 72 Asset Management, the firm owned by billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen.

The financial statements of Trump's advisors stand out from the "complexity and sophistication of their assets and financial structures," a White House source said, calling for anonymity, as reported in EFE.

Trump likes to surround himself with successful entrepreneurs, and has chosen, among others, Cohn, a former "number two" from investment bank Goldman Sachs; As well as his multimillionaire son-in-law among his closest advisers.

The White House publication does not cover some of Trump's top cabinet billionaires, such as Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross; Or the state, Rex Tillerson; As they have already released their assets weeks ago as part of the process to be confirmed by the Senate.

Nor do the rules apply to Trump himself, who is not required to report his financial assets until next year, and who resisted the campaign to make public his tax returns.

Her daughter Ivanka also did not make public her investments today, since she has only "two days" as a White House employee and has a deadline of 30 days to give that information to the government's ethics office, according to the official source.

Kushner resigned "to 266 positions" or financial interests, according to the White House source, and liquidated "most if not all" investments that may present a conflict of interest with his new position, according to the source.

Cohn, for its part, is subject to a "two-year ban" which prevents it from becoming involved in or deciding on "specific matters" related to Goldman Sachs, but not on general economic policies that may have an indirect impact on that investment bank. Source of the White House.

In addition to submitting their financial information within 30 days of becoming White House employees, such senior officials must also sign ethics agreements to avoid engaging in conflicts of interest, although the latter are confidential, the source said. 

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