Wilbur Ross | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| 39thUnited States Secretary of Commerce | |
| In office February 28, 2017 – January 20, 2021 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Karen Dunn Kelley |
| Preceded by | Penny Pritzker |
| Succeeded by | Gina Raimondo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (1937-11-28)November 28, 1937 (age 87) Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (before 2016) Republican (2016–present) |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) Harvard University (MBA) |
Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (born November 28, 1937) is an American businessman who served as the 39thUnited States Secretary of Commerce from 2017 to 2021. A member of theRepublican Party, Ross was previously chairman and chief executive officer ofWL Ross & Co from 2000 to 2017.
Ross ran the bankruptcy restructuring practice atN M Rothschild & Sons in New York beginning in the late 1970s. In the 1990s, Ross was an adviser to New York City mayorRudy Giuliani on privatization, and was appointed by U.S. presidentBill Clinton to the board ofThe U.S. Russia Investment Fund. In 2000, he left Rothschild to found WL Ross & Co. Ross was a banker known for acquiring and restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications and textiles, later selling them for a profit after operations improved, a record that had earned him the moniker "King of Bankruptcy".[1] Ross has been chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies operating in more than 20 countries. In 2017, Ross became commerce secretary in theDonald Trump administration; at age 79, Ross was the oldest first-time Cabinet appointee in U.S. history.
Ross was born on November 28, 1937, inWeehawken, New Jersey, and grew up in nearbyNorth Bergen, New Jersey.[2][3] His father, Wilbur Louis Ross, was a lawyer who later became a judge, and his mother, Agnes (née O'Neill), ofIrish descent, wasvaledictorian at Sacred Heart Academy in Hoboken and taughtthird grade in North Bergen for 40 years.[2][4]
Ross attendedXavier High School, aCatholic school, andcollege-preparatory school in Manhattan. He ran track and was captain of the rifle team. He graduated in 1955.[5] In 1959, he received a bachelor's degree fromYale College, his father's alma mater.[6] At Yale, Ross edited one of the literary magazines and worked at the radio station. His dream was to be a writer. He enrolled in an English course that required writing a thousand words by 10 a.m. every day; after two weeks, he ran out of things to write about and dropped the course.[7][8] His faculty adviser at Yale helped him get his first summer job onWall Street. In 1961, he received aMaster of Business Administration degree atHarvard Business School.[9][6][10]
In 1963, he joined what became Wood, Struthers &Winthrop. There, he liquidated the portfolio of itsventure capital affiliate.[11]
He then worked forFaulkner, Dawkins & Sullivan, an institutionalsecurities research company, where he rose to become president of itsinvestment banking operation. The firm was sold to what becameShearson Lehman.[11]
In 1976, Ross began his 24-year employment with theNew York City office ofRothschild & Co, where he ran thebankruptcyrestructuring advisory practice.[2][12] By 1998, Ross was involved in eight of the 25 biggest bankruptcies to date, includingDrexel Burnham Lambert,Texaco, Public Service of New Hampshire (nowEversource Energy), andEastern Air Lines.[11][13]
In the 1980s,Donald Trump's three casinos inAtlantic City were under threat offoreclosure from lenders. Ross, who was then the senior managing director of Rothschild & Co, represented investors in the casino. Along withCarl Icahn, Ross convinced bondholders to strike a deal that allowed Trump to keep control of the casinos.[12][14]
In November 1997, under Rothschild & Co, Ross started a $200 million fund to invest indistressed securities. In its first year, it earned a 15.2% return.[11] In April 2000, just before thedot-com bubble burst, Ross founded WL Ross & Co and raised $450 million to buy the fund from Rothschild and make additional investments.[12][2] By 2003, the fund had averaged a 30% return.[15]
In 2006, Ross sold WL Ross & Co to Amvescap (nowInvesco).[16][17]
In February 2002, WL Ross & Co foundedInternational Steel Group. He first agreed to buy the assets of bankruptLing-Temco-Vought for $325 million, paying $11 per ton of capacity when other firms were trading for $200 per ton of capacity.[18] A few weeks later,George W. Bush slapped a 30% tariff on many types of imported steel. A year later, WL Ross & Co acquired the assets of bankruptBethlehem Steel. As part of the bankruptcy reorganizations, these companies shifted their huge pension liabilities to the government-backedPension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.[2]
Ross had support from theUnited Steelworkers, negotiating a deal to save some jobs.[9][19]
In April 2005, WL Ross & Co soldInternational Steel Group toMittal Steel Company for $4.5 billion, half in cash and half in stock, and made 12.5 times its original investment.[20] Ross personally made a $260 million profit on his $3 million investment and gained a seat on the board of directors of Mittal Steel.[21]
After outbiddingWarren Buffett, who offered $579 million, WL Ross & Co acquiredBurlington Industries for $620 million and combined it withCone Mills in 2004 to formInternational Textile Group.[22]
In 2005, Ross acquired 77.3% of Safety Components International for $51.2 million.[23]
In October 2006, Ross hadInternational Textile Group acquire Safety Components International. Ross controlled both companies and in February 2014, Ross paid $81 million to settle a lawsuit brought by shareholders that Ross breached hisfiduciary duty when structuring the merger.[24]International Textile Group was acquired byprivate equity firmPlatinum Equity in 2016.[25]
International Automotive Components Group was formed in 2006 by WL Ross & Co and investment funds managed byFranklin Templeton Investments.[26] In 2006, the company acquired the European operations ofLear Corporation[27] and in 2007, it acquired Lear's North American interiors operations.[28] In 2005–2007, IAC purchased several divisions ofCollins & Aikman.[29] In September 2005, investors led by Ross invested $100 million in Oxford Automotive for 25% of the company.[30] In 2006, Oxford merged withWagon Automotive.[31]
WL Ross & Co foundedInternational Coal Group in 2004 after acquiring the assets of several bankrupt coal companies. TheUnited Mine Workers of America protested the reorganization as it led to changes inhealth care andpensions for the existing employees.[32]
In 2006, theSago Mine disaster, an explosion in a coal mine indirectly owned by International Coal Group, likely caused by alightning strike, led to the deaths of 12 miners.[33] The mine had 12 roof collapses in 2005, andU.S. Department of Labor data showed 208citations for safety violations in that same period, including 21 times for build-up of toxic gases.[34] Miners and their families accused Ross of ignoring safety violations. Ross defended his company's management of the mine.[35]
In 2011,Arch Coal acquired International Coal Group for $3.4 billion.[36]
By January 2016, WL Ross & Co was the "biggest investor" inNavigator Gas, a liquefied gas shipping company.[37]
In February 2017,Forbes reported that Ross has a net worth of $2.5 billion. Financial disclosure forms filed by Ross after his nomination as Commerce Secretary showed less than $700 million in assets, and Forbes later revised his net worth to $600 million.[38]
In August 2018,Forbes reported that Ross's business partners and workers accused Ross of illicitly siphoning or stealing a total of $120 million.[39]
In December 2017, a report by two Irish financial analysts, commissioned byLuke Ming Flanagan, an Irishmember of the European Parliament, accused Ross ofinsider trading as part of a 2014 sale of shares in theBank of Ireland by WL Ross & Co.[40]
In August 2016, Ross agreed to reimburse investors $11.8 million and pay a fine of $2.3 million to settle aU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the overcharging of fees by WL Ross & Co. The company had self-reported the issue and did not admit any liability.[41]
On August 7, 2018, five former WL Ross & Co. employees and investors claimed the firm was charging its investors fees on money it had lost, including allegedly charging fees on one investment that was essentially worthless.[39]
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On November 30, 2016, then-President-electDonald Trump announced that he would nominate Ross forSecretary of Commerce.[42][43] On February 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed Ross in a 72–27 vote.[44][45] Ross was sworn into office on February 28, 2017.[46]
Ross took office at the age of 79, making him the oldest first-time Cabinet appointee in U.S. history. The previous record-holder was another Secretary of Commerce,Philip Klutznick, who took office in 1980 at the age of 72.[47]
In December 2016, after being designated by Trump as his nominee to lead the Commerce Department, Ross said in a speech to Cypriot financiers thatBrexit was a "God-given opportunity" for other countries, such as Ireland and Germany, to draw business away from theUnited Kingdom's financial services industry.[48][49] In 2017, Ross said that a trade deal with the UK was a low priority for the Trump administration; however, he outlined possible terms.[50][51] No U.S. trade deal with the UK was concluded, although Ross and Treasury SecretarySteve Mnuchin stated in January 2020 that they hoped to have an "easy" agreement with the UK that year.[52][53]
In September 2017, Ross traveled to Beijing as part of efforts to de-escalate theU.S.–China trade war.[54] In February 2018, the Commerce Department recommended an increase of tariffs in aluminum and steel imports.[55][56] On March 1, 2018, Trump implemented a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports.[57] In September 2018, Ross said that the tariffs are meant to "modify China's behavior".[58]
In 2018, under Trump and Ross, the U.S. imposed tariffs on the import of steel and aluminum from theEuropean Union,Canada, andMexico.[59] Ross dismissed concerns that the tariffs would increase costs to U.S. consumers, harm the U.S. economy, and damage relations with U.S. allies, saying that tariffs were "blips on the radar screen" and that the EU "will get over this in due course."[59] He also dismissed concerns over EU retaliatory tariffs.[59] In November 2019, Ross indicated that the Trump administration might now also impose tariffs on imports of automobiles from the EU;[60] in January 2020, however, Ross said that the Trump administration might still impose tariffs on European cars despite ongoing trade talks.[61] Also in January 2020, Ross threatened retaliation if the EU adopted a proposedcarbon tax, comparing it to a proposed EUdigital services tax, to which the administration has also threatened tariffs in response.[62]
In January 2019, Ross was present with other American politicians when 23 criminal charges were announced againstHuawei and its CFOMeng Wanzhou, includingfinancial fraud,money laundering,conspiracy against the United States,industrial espionage,mail and wire fraud,obstruction of justice and violation ofsanctions against Iran. In July 2019, Ross stated that the United States will keep Huawei on its blacklist but will allow licensed sales.[63][64]
In May 2017, Ross accompanied Trump on his first foreign visit, toSaudi Arabia, where Ross generated controversy after heralding the president's visit as a success due to a lack of protests, unaware that the Saudis had banned public protest and demonstrations since 2011.[65][66]
During the2018–19 federal government shutdown, Ross was criticized as being out of touch with average American citizens after expressing bewilderment about why furloughed, unpaid workers and contractors would choose to visitfood banks rather than apply for a personal loan.[67][68]
In February 2019, Ross's financial disclosure was rejected by theOffice of Government Ethics after he reported that he had sold bank stock when in fact he held on to them.[69][70]
Ross failed to disclose a lawsuit from ex-business partner David Storper on his financial disclosure forms. Ross settled the lawsuit for $9 million after beingsubpoenaed for information that he did not want to disclose.[71]
In June 2018, an investigation byForbes found that Ross, while Secretary of Commerce, owned "stakes in companies co-owned by the Chinese government, a shipping firm tied toVladimir Putin's inner circle, a Cypriot bank reportedly caught up in theRobert Mueller investigation, and that Ross had failed to divest his financial holdings, instead putting them in a trust for his family members, contradicting Ross's written statement in November 2017 that he had divested all his financial holdings.[72] Ross may have broken the law in doing so.[72] These holdings posed a conflict of interest for Ross, as the Trump administration was in a position to affect the value of the holdings.[72]
Ross was confirmed by the Senate in February 2017 and he agreed to sell his stocks before the end of May 2017. In July 2018, it was reported that Ross divested from his stock inInvesco, originally worth between $10 million and $50 million, in December 2017. Between the end of May and the sale date in December, the value of Ross's holdings in Invesco increased by between approximately $1.2 million to $6 million, depending on the number of shares he owned, which was not disclosed. Ross said that he "mistakenly believed that all [his] previously held Invesco stock was sold".[73] On July 13, 2018, after he received a letter from the government's top ethics watchdog warning of "potential for a serious criminal violation", Ross announced that he will sell all his remaining stock.[74]
In October 2018, documents showed that Ross had participated in a meeting with executives fromChevron Corporation where they discussed oil and gas developments, tax reform and trade issues. Ross's wife owned a stake in Chevron worth at least $250,000 at the time.[75]
In October 2020, it was reported that Ross had continued to serve on the board of a Chinese joint venture until January 2019 (which was nearly two years into his tenure as Secretary of Commerce); at the same time, the United States and China were engaged in a trade war.[76]
While Secretary of Commerce, Rossshorted at least five stocks.[77] In June 2018, it was revealed that Rossshorted stock after he knew of an upcoming report with information that would adversely affect the company but before the story was published. Ross later closed out the position at a substantial profit after the story was published.[72][78] Ethics experts said that the shorting was alarming given that federal office-holders are prohibited from profiting on nonpublic information.[78] Ross denied that he had engaged ininsider trading.[79] Ross had shorted two additional stocks in June 2018 and two additional stocks in July 2018.[77]
As Secretary of Commerce, Ross oversaw theCensus Bureau and the2020 Census. In December 2017, he approved sending, in the form of a letter (which was originally drafted byThomas Hofeller, a noted anti-immigrant political figure) that was later copied by James Uthmeier into a memo, a request to the Department of Justice to add a question to the Census for the first time since the 1940s asking about the U.S. citizenship status of the members of the responding household. Specifically, Ross sought to amend the decennial Census to add the controversial question: "Is this person a citizen of the United States?"[80]
New York solicitor generalBarbara Underwood led a lawsuit filed by 18 states and many cities to attempt to stop the Trump administration from adding a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.[81][82] The Department of Justice supported the Department of Commerce.U.S. federal judgeJesse M. Furman ruled against the Department of Justice and Wilbur Ross, stating that if the trial is delayed the appeals process may not be done by summer 2019, the printing deadline of the census.[82] Furman blocked the census question proposal on January 15, 2019, saying Ross had violated a "veritable smorgasbord" of federal rules, asserting Ross and his aides made false or misleading statements under oath[83] and that he sought to add the question to the Census based on a pretext.[84] The House of Representatives held Ross in contempt of Congress and accused Ross of lying about the citizenship question's origins.[85] Specifically, Ross had testified under oath that the addition of the question was prompted by DOJ when in fact he had made the request via the Hofeller letter he had transmitted. It became known in July 2021 that theJustice Department inspector general had determined Ross had misled Congress, but the Trump Justice Department declined to prosecute him.[86]
Ross and the Trump administration refused to comply with acongressional subpoena, issued by theHouse Oversight Committee, for documents regarding efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.[87] After Trump assertedexecutive privilege over the subpoenaed documents, the House Oversight Committee voted to hold Ross and Attorney GeneralWilliam Barr in criminalcontempt of Congress, with the committee's chairman saying that Ross and Barr had "blatantly obstructed our ability to docongressional oversight."[85][84] In June 2019, the House held Barr and Ross in contempt of Congress on a mostly party-line 230–198 vote; this was only the second time in U.S. history that a sitting Cabinet member was held in contempt.[84][85] The vote signified an escalation of the House of Representatives' battles with the Trump White House over congressional oversight, but was largely symbolic as Trump's Justice Department did not act on the criminal citation.[84][85]
On June 27, 2019, the Supreme Court, inDepartment of Commerce v. New York, left the citizenship question blocked from the 2020 census, in part because of the government's explanation for why it was added.[88] In the Supreme Court opinion,[89] there was a significant mismatch between Secretary Ross's decision to add the question, and his stated reason that the question would support Department of Justice's Voter Rights Act.
In November 2017, leaked documents known as theParadise Papers showed that, during his confirmation hearings, Ross had failed to clearly disclose a financial interest inNavigator Gas, a shipping company which transports petrochemicals for Russian gas and petrochemicals companySibur.[90][91] Ross had failed to clearly disclose ties to Russian interests during his confirmation hearings.[91] While his confirmation was pending, Ross promised in a letter to theOffice of Congressional Ethics to cut ties "with more than 80 financial entities in which he has interests". This letter played a key role in securing his confirmation. However, according to the leaked documents, while he did divest some holdings, he did not disclose the full extent of those he retained.
Speaking about his financial ties to Navigator, Ross said the media was making "a lot more out of it than it deserves" and "There is nothing wrong with it. The fact that it happens to be called a Russian company doesn't mean there is any evil in it."[92] A spokesman for Ross stated that Ross has never met Shamalov, Timchenko or Mikhelson and that Ross "recuses himself from any matters focused of transoceanic shipping vessels, but has been generally supportive of the administration's sanctions of Russian and Venezuelan entities".[90]
In July 2019,Politico reported that the Commerce Department under Ross reached "new heights of distraction"; an outside source, as well as multiple senior staffers, described Ross as "seen as kind of irrelevant" and morale at the department as "very low because there's not a lot of confidence in the secretary." Ross allegedly left his department leaderless due to the large amounts of time spent in the White House trying to win support from President Trump. Also, Ross allegedly tended to fall asleep in meetings to the extent that senior staffers avoided putting him in critical meetings where he could fall asleep.[93] Reports of Ross's inability to stay awake have gone back as far as May 2017, where in a meeting inRiyadh with the Arab-Islam-American Summit during PresidentDonald Trump's speech, Ross appeared to have been completely asleep.[94]
On September 1, 2019, President Donald Trump made the incorrect claim thatHurricane Dorian presented a major threat toAlabama; minutes later theBirmingham, Alabama, branch of theNational Weather Service (NWS) (which is under theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Commerce Department) reported that Alabama was not at risk.[95][96]The New York Times reported that Ross had threatened, a few days late, to fire high-level NOAA staff unless the agency disavowed its contradiction of Trump's false claim,[95][97] leading to a September 6 NOAA statement from an unidentified spokesperson endorsing Trump's position and declaring that the NWS Birmingham's contradiction of Trump was incorrect.[95] The Commerce Department denied that Ross had threatened to fire "any NOAA staff over forecasting and public statements about Hurricane Dorian."[97][98] Later reporting said that Ross had made the call from Greece, where he was traveling, after being told to "fix the problem" by acting White House chief of staffMick Mulvaney, reportedly on Trump's orders.[99][100] NOAA's disavowal prompted an outcry from scientists and others, who said that the agency's failure to back its hurricane forecasters damaged its credibility.[96]
A subsequent report by theNational Academy of Public Administration, commissioned by NOAA, found that NOAA's leadership violated the agency's scientific integrity policy by releasing a statement backing Trump's false statement aboutHurricane Dorian's path.[101] TheOffice of Inspector General (OIG) of the Commerce Department separately investigated the incident and concluded that the Commerce Department "ran a 'flawed process' that did not sufficiently engage NOAA and went against the interests of the agency and the National Weather Service."[96] In a July 2020 letter to Ross, Inspector General Peggy Gustafson expressed "deep concern" that the department was blocking OIG from publicly releasing its report by asserting "amorphous and generalized privileges."[96] The letter prompted Democratic SenatorMaria Cantwell, theranking member of theSenate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, to call upon Ross to "immediately cease this campaign to keep the public in the dark."[96] TheHouse Science Committee also probed Ross's role in the issuance of the NOAA statement.[102]
In a January 30, 2020, interview withMaria Bartiromo ofFox Business, when asked if theCOVID-19 outbreak in China would threaten the U.S. economy, Ross said, "I think it will help to accelerate the return of jobs to North America ... I don't want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease ... the fact is, it does give business yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain."[103][104] The outbreakbecame a pandemic, and caused amajor recession, with 10 million Americans filingunemployment claims and unemployment rising more than during the entirety of theGreat Recession.[105]
Due to delays and operation challenges brought about by theCOVID-19 pandemic, Ross andU.S. Census Bureau directorSteven Dillingham announced on April 13, 2020, that they would extend the timeframe for field data collection and self-response for the2020 United States Census to October 31, 2020.[106] However, on August 3, 2020, the Census Bureau announced that they were moving this deadline up to September 30, 2020.[107] Community advocates and former Census Bureau employees expressed concern that this shortened timeframe would result in poor-quality data and a significant undercount that would disproportionately affect traditionally hard-to-count groups such as ethnic minorities, young adults, and people living in rural areas.[107][108]
On September 24, 2020, federal district court judgeLucy Koh issued a preliminary injunction against the plan to end counting on September 30 rather than the scheduled October 31, saying the Commerce Department "never articulated a satisfactory explanation." She also blocked a plan to deliver the count results to the White House by December 31, rather than the original April 2021 delivery date when Trump might be out of office.[109] On the next business day, Ross announced the count would end October 5, as the administration appealed Koh's decision to the9th circuit. Koh subsequently called the October 5 end date "a violation" of her court order and prepared to begincontempt proceedings against Ross and the Commerce Department.[110] The appeals court rejected the administration's appeal,[111] and the Census Bureau announced on October 2 that the count would continue until October 31.[112] However, the counted ultimately ended at 11:59 PM on October 15 after the administration appealed to theSupreme Court, which issued a 7–1 ruling allowing the count to finish early.[113]
On July 23, 2021, the Chinese government sanctioned Ross as part of "reciprocal counter-sanctions" after the U.S. government imposed sanctions on Hong Kong officials.[114]
In 1999, Ross was awarded theOrder of Industrial Service Merit medal by South Korean presidentKim Dae Jung for his assistance during the1997 Asian financial crisis.[115] He was awarded theAmerican Irish Historical Society Gold Medal in 2014 in recognition of his work in Ireland andIrish-American causes.[116][5] TheJapanese government awarded Ross theOrder of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in recognition of his service as Chairman of the Board of New York'sJapan Society, his work to promote and strengthen the Japanese economy, and his relief efforts after the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[117][118][119]
Ross is a past director of the Turnaround Management Association and member of its hall of fame.[120] Ross has been the vice-chairman of the board ofBank of Cyprus, the largest bank in Cyprus, after he and his investors invested €400 million in the bank in 2014.[121] As of January 2012, Ross was the leader (or "Grand Swipe") of the secret Wall Street fraternity,Kappa Beta Phi.[122] Ross served on the board of trustees of theBrookings Institution. He is also on the board of advisors ofYale School of Management and is a former board member of theYale University Art Gallery.[123] He served as International Counsel Member of theMusée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and President of the American Friends of theRené Magritte Museum in Brussels.[124] Ross has been on theboard of directors ofNavigator Gas since March 2012.[125]
Although he was an early supporter ofDonald Trump's presidential campaign, Ross was previously a registeredDemocrat, served as an officer of theNew York State Democratic Committee, and held fundraisers for Democratic candidates at his apartment in New York City.[2] He served under PresidentBill Clinton on the board ofthe U.S. Russia Investment Fund.
In January 1998, he funded $2.25 million inseed money into the campaign of his then-wife,Betsy McCaughey, who was seeking the Democratic nomination forgovernor of New York.[2] Since at least 2011, Ross has donated to Republican candidates and organizations.
Ross became a registered Republican in November 2016.[126]
In the 1990s, New York City mayorRudy Giuliani appointed Ross as hisprivatization advisor. He helped push to privatize the city'spublic broadcasting stations and thePort Authority of New York and New Jersey, and worked to sell off emptyland lots to businesses.[127]
Ross has described himself as "pro-sensible trade" and said that the U.S. government "should provide access to our markets to those countries who play fair, play by the rules and give everybody a fair chance to compete. Those who do not should not get away with it – they should be punished." Initially in favor of theTrans-Pacific Partnership, Ross has said that after examining the agreement, he found it was "not consistent with what was advertised".[2]
In 2004,The Economist described Ross as a supporter ofprotectionism.[128]
At the 2018World Economic Forum inDavos, Ross responded to concerns of a trade war by noting that "There have always beentrade wars. The difference now is U.S. troops are now coming to theramparts."[129]
Ross married Judith Nodine in 1961. They divorced in 1995.[6] After the divorce, Nodine sued Ross for failing to transfer stock by the agreed-upon deadline and Ross counter-sued.[130] They had two children, Jessica Colby Ross (b. 1962) and Amanda Colby Ross (b. 1965). Amanda attended theFrench Culinary Institute and founded a baking company, while Jessica worked forSotheby's.[131] In 1995, Ross married his second wife,Lieutenant Governor of New YorkBetsy McCaughey. They divorced in 2000.[9][6] On October 9, 2004, Ross married his third wife,Hilary Geary Ross, a society writer forQuest magazine.[132]
In December 2016, while his Manhattan penthouse apartment atThe Briarcliffe was on the market for $21 million,[133] Ross purchased a 10,000 square foot house in theMassachusetts Heights neighborhood ofWashington, D.C., fromAdrienne Arsht for $10,750,000.[134][135] In 2018, he purchased a $3.2 million house inThe Berkshires. He also owns two multimillion-dollar properties inPalm Beach, Florida.[136]
Ross owns an art collection valued at $150 million that includes pieces ranging from Westernsurrealists to contemporary Eastern sculptures. Ross owns 25 works byRené Magritte, valued at $100 million, including some of the artist's most valuable paintings, such asThe Pilgrim.[137]
Ross donated $10 million for the construction of the new campus ofYale School of Management.[123]
Yet viewing the evidence as a whole, this Court shares the District Court's conviction that the decision to reinstate a citizenship question cannot adequately be explained in terms of DOJ's request for improved citizenship data to better enforce the VRA. Several points, taken together, reveal a significant mismatch between the Secretary's decision and the rationale he provided.
Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, retained investments in a shipping firm with business ties to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin's inner circle.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Commerce 2017–2021 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
