Steven Mnuchin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Steven Mnuchin
Steven Mnuchin.jpg
United States Secretary of the Treasury
Nominee
Taking office
TBD*
President Donald Trump
Succeeding Adam Szubin (Acting)
Personal details
Born Steven Terner Mnuchin
(1962-12-21) December 21, 1962 (age 54)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Political party Democratic (formerly)
Republican
Spouse(s) Heather deForest Crosby (1999–2014)
Domestic partner Louise Linton (engaged)
Children 3
Parents Robert Mnuchin
Elaine Terner
Education Yale University (BA)
*Pending Senate confirmation

Steven Terner "Steve" Mnuchin (Listeni/məˈnuːtʃɪn/ mə-NOO-chin;[1] born December 21, 1962) is an American hedge fund manager. On November 30, 2016, it was announced that Mnuchin would be nominated as United States Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of President Donald Trump.[2]

After he graduated from Yale University in 1985, Mnuchin worked for investment bank Goldman Sachs for 17 years, eventually becoming its Chief Information Officer. After he left Goldman Sachs in 2002, he worked for and founded several hedge funds. During the financial crisis of 2007–2008, Mnuchin bought failed residential lender IndyMac. He changed the name to OneWest Bank and rebuilt the bank, then sold it to CIT Group in 2015. Mnuchin joined Trump's presidential campaign in 2016, and was named national finance chairman for the campaign.

Mnuchin is estimated to have a net worth of as much as $500 million.[3]

Early life[edit]

Steven Mnuchin was born on December 21, 1962, in New York City, as the second-youngest son of a Jewish family.[4][5] He is a son of Robert E. Mnuchin, of Washington, Connecticut, and Elaine Terner Cooper, of New York.[6] Robert Mnuchin was a partner at Goldman Sachs in charge of equity trading and a member of the management committee. He is also the founder of an art gallery, Mnuchin Gallery, at 45 East 78th Street, New York.[6][7]

Steven Mnuchin attended Riverdale Country School in New York City. He graduated from Yale University in 1985 with a bachelor's degree.[4][8] At Yale, Mnuchin was publisher of the Yale Daily News,[9] and was also initiated into the exclusive society Skull and Bones in 1985 according to membership documents leaked to writer Antony C. Sutton.[10]

Mnuchin's first job was as a trainee at investment bank Salomon Brothers in the early 1980s, while still studying at Yale.[11]

Finance and banking career[edit]

Goldman Sachs[edit]

After he graduated from Yale in 1985, he started working for Goldman Sachs, where his father had worked since 1957.[4][12] He started at the mortgage department, and became a partner at Goldman in 1994.[13][14] Until he left the company in 2002, Mnuchin held the following positions as a partner:[15][16]

  • November 1994 – December 1998: Head of the Mortgage Securities Department
  • December 1998 – November 1999: Overseeing mortgages, U.S. governments, money markets, and municipals at the "Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Division"
  • December 1999 – February 2001: Member of the Executive Committee and co-head of the Technology Operating Committee
  • February 2001 – December 2001: Executive Vice President and co-Chief Information Officer
  • December 2001 – 2002: Executive Vice President, member of the Management Committee, and Chief Information Officer[17]

He left Goldman Sachs in 2002 after 17 years of employment, with an estimated $46 million of its stock and $12.6 million that he received in the months prior to his departure.[13]

Hedge funds[edit]

After he left Goldman Sachs in 2002, Mnuchin briefly worked as vice-chairman of hedge fund ESL Investments, that is owned by his Yale roommate Edward Lampert.[18] The following year, he established the company SFM Capital Management together with financier George Soros. Mnuchin founded a hedge fund called Dune Capital Management, named for a spot near his house in the Hamptons, in 2004 with two ex-Goldman partners.[4] After its founding, Mnuchin served as the CEO of the company.[19] The firm invested in at least two Donald Trump projects, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Honolulu and its namesake in Chicago. Dune Capital Management and other lenders to the skyscraper in Chicago were sued by Trump before a settlement was reached.[20][21]

Mnuchin was outbid by Lone Star Funds on a portfolio of residential mortgage-backed collateralized debt obligations being sold by Merrill Lynch during the financial crisis, which sold for $6.7 billion.[4]

Mnuchin has been criticized for his use of offshore entities for investment purposes as a hedge fund manager, which is a common practice in the industry. Mnuchin has stated “In no way did I use [offshore entities] to avoid U.S. taxes”.[22]

OneWest[edit]

Purchase of IndyMac and other loan portfolios[edit]

In 2009, a group led by Mnuchin bought California-based residential lender IndyMac, which had been in receivership by the FDIC and owned $23.5 billion in commercial loans, mortgages, and mortgage-backed securities. The purchase price was a $4.7 billion discount to its book value.[23][4] Mnuchin's investment group included George Soros, hedge fund manager John Paulson, former Goldman Sachs executive J. Christopher Flowers, and Dell Computer founder Michael Dell.[4][24] The FDIC agreed to retain some of the more problematic assets of the bank, and signed a loss-sharing agreement. The FDIC was estimated to pay $2.4 billion to IndyMac under the shared loss agreement.[25] After purchasing IndyMac, renamed OneWest Bank, Mnuchin served as CEO and chairman.[24] OneWest then bought several other failed banks including First Federal Bank of California in 2009 and La Jolla Bank in 2010. Furthermore, OneWest bought a portfolio belonging to Citi Holdings for $1.4 billion.[4] OneWest was profitable one year after Mnuchin had bought it, and it became the largest bank of Southern California, with assets worth $27 billion.[20]

Sale to CIT[edit]

In 2015, Mnuchin sold OneWest to CIT Group for $3.4 billion.[21][20] After the acquisition by CIT, Mnuchin remained at OneWest, and became member of CIT Group's board of directors.[24] As of August 2016, Mnuchin owned $97 million in CIT Group stock, most of which he received in exchange for his stake in OneWest.[26] On December 2, 2016, Mnuchin resigned from the board of directors of CIT as a result of his selection as nominee for Secretary of the Treasury.[27]

Criticism for aggressive foreclosure practices[edit]

OneWest was criticized for aggressively foreclosing on homeowners. The high foreclosure rate may have been a result of the loss sharing agreement with the FDIC, whereby the FDIC had to reimburse OneWest for losses.[4] According to The New York Times, OneWest "was involved in a string of lawsuits over questionable foreclosures, and settled several cases for millions of dollars."[28] In one instance, OneWest foreclosed on a 90-year old homeowner because she mistakenly underpaid her bill by 27 cents. OneWest later dropped its foreclosure suit.[29] Because of another foreclosure, around 100 protesters of Occupy Los Angeles gathered outside Mnuchin's home in October 2011, and held signs, that read "Make Banks Pay."[20] Two California fair-housing groups filed complaints to the federal government alleging that OneWest violated the Fair Housing Act by not lending money to African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.[18][21][30]

In November 2016, after OneWest was sold to CIT, the California Reinvestment Coalition submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to learn more about CIT's reverse mortgage subsidiary, Financial Freedom.[30] According to the HUD's response, CIT/Financial Freedom foreclosed on 16,220 federally insured reverse mortgages from April 2009 to April 2016. This represents about 39% of all federally insured reverse mortgage foreclosures during that time. CRC estimated that Financial Freedom only serviced about 17% of the market and thus was foreclosing more than twice as often as its competitors.[31] CIT Group disclosed to investors that it had received subpoenas from HUD's Office of the Inspector General in the third and fourth quarters of 2015.[32] In November 2016, two nonprofits filed a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, alleging redlining by OneWest Bank.[33]

Motion pictures career[edit]

In 2004, he founded RatPac-Dune Entertainment as a side business, which was the financier of a number of notable films, including the X-Men film franchise and Avatar.[19][34][35]

In Hollywood, Mnuchin, along with film producer Brett Ratner and financier James Packer, working with RatPac-Dune Entertainment, produced American Sniper and Mad Max: Fury Road. Mnuchin was co-chairman of the trio's movie company, Relativity Media, but left before it went bankrupt.[28] A source close to the company said that he had resigned because of the potential for a conflict of interest between his duties at Relativity and OneWest.[34]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Notes
2014 The Lego Movie executive producer
Winter's Tale executive producer
Edge of Tomorrow executive producer
This Is Where I Leave You executive producer
Annabelle executive producer
Inherent Vice executive producer
American Sniper executive producer
2015 Run All Night executive producer
Get Hard executive producer
Mad Max: Fury Road executive producer
Entourage executive producer
Vacation executive producer
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. executive producer
Black Mass executive producer
The Intern executive producer
Pan executive producer
Our Brand Is Crisis executive producer
In the Heart of the Sea executive producer
2016 How to Be Single executive producer
Midnight Special executive producer
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice executive producer
Keanu executive producer
The Conjuring 2 executive producer
Central Intelligence executive producer
The Legend of Tarzan executive producer
Lights Out executive producer
Suicide Squad executive producer
Sully executive producer
Storks executive producer
The Accountant executive producer
Rules Don't Apply producer
Collateral Beauty executive producer
2017 The Lego Ninjago Movie

Political involvement[edit]

Donations[edit]

Before joining the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016, Mnuchin had been involved in politics only by donating money to campaigns.[36] Between the years 1995 and 2014, he donated over $120,000 to political organizations, PACs, politicians, and political parties according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From his donations to individual politicians, 11 donations went to Republicans, while he contributed to Democrats 36 times. The election campaigns of Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney were among those to which he donated money.[37] Mnuchin said most of those donations were favors for friends.[20]

During June to September 2016, Mnuchin made several contributions to the Republican Party, Donald Trump, and Paul Ryan. He donated over $400,000 to the Republican Party, over $5,000 to each of Paul Ryan's and Donald Trump's campaigns. Earlier in 2016, Mnuchin had donated $4,000 to Democrats Kamala Harris and Michael Wildes according to the Center for Responsive Politics.[37]

2016 Presidential campaign of Donald Trump[edit]

Mnuchin had been an early supporter of Trump, and attended his victory party after the New York Republican primary victory on April 19, 2016 after he had received a last-minute invitation.[21] He was called the following day by Trump, who asked him if he wanted to be the national finance chairman of his campaign.[20] Mnuchin, who later said in an interview he had known Trump "for over fifteen years," accepted the offer.[19][20] In the statement, in which the appointment was announced, Trump said "Steven is a professional at the highest level with an extensive and very successful financial background." He also said Mnuchin would bring "unprecedented experience and expertise," that would benefit the Republican Party. After being appointed main fundraiser, Mnuchin said "It’s a great privilege to be working with Mr. Trump to create a world class finance organization to support the campaign in the General Election."[38]

Mnuchin worked with RNC counterpart Lewis M. Eisenberg on a late-developing joint operation for the committee and the Trump campaign. Before Mnuchin's appointment, no large-scale fundraising operation had been started for the Trump campaign. The late-summer fundraising goal was close to $500 million.[20] The New York Times described his role during the campaign as "relatively behind the scenes," and the newspaper noticed he never "seemed to seek the spotlight."[19] During an interview, Mnuchin said that because of his connection to the Trump campaign "a lot of people in California and New York [...] wanted to stop being friends."[39] After Donald Trump won the election, he announced Mnuchin would join the transition team on November 11.[40]

Nomination for Secretary of the Treasury[edit]

On November 30, 2016, President Trump announced on his website that he would nominate Mnuchin as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury .[8] In the statement, Trump called Mnuchin a "world-class financier, banker and businessman," and he said Mnuchin played an important role in developing his "plan to build a dynamic, booming economy." Mnuchin himself said he was "honored to have the opportunity to serve our great country in this important role." He called Trump's economic agenda a "bold" one "that creates good-paying jobs and defends the American worker."[8]

On February 1, 2017, the Senate Finance Committee approved his nomination by a vote of 11-0 with all Democrats boycotting the vote, sending the nomination to the Senate floor.[41]

After the nomination was announced, Mnuchin resigned from his position on the board of trustees of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, to which he had donated between $100,000 and $250,000.[42][43] When the pick was announced, Mnuchin was also a member of the boards of UCLA Health System, the NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital, and the Los Angeles Police Foundation.[8]

The New York Times noted that Mnuchin's selection "fits uneasily with much of Mr. Trump’s campaign attacks on the financial industry." For example, an ad of Trump's campaign said Goldman Sachs' CEO had "robbed [the] working class." Mnuchin will be the third Goldman alumnus to serve in the job, after Henry M. Paulson Jr., under President George W. Bush; and Robert E. Rubin, under President Bill Clinton in the 2000s and 1990s, respectively.[21]

During his Senate confirmation hearing on January 19, 2017, Mnuchin was condemned by Democrats due to the foreclosure practices at OneWest. Mnuchin said "Since I was first nominated to serve as Treasury secretary, I have been maligned as taking advantage of others' hardships in order to earn a buck. Nothing could be further from the truth".[44]

During his Senate confirmation hearing on January 19, 2017, Mnuchin was criticized for failing to disclose, in required disclosure documents, $95 million of real estate that he owned and his role as director of Dune Capital International, an investment fund in a tax haven. Mnuchin described the omissions as mistakes made amid a mountain of bureaucracy.[45]

Following Trump's January 2017 announcement about an investigation into voter registration, it was discovered that Mnuchin is registered to vote in two states. Mnuchin holds registration in both California and New York.[46]

Political views[edit]

In a November 30, 2016, interview on CNBC, Mnuchin called it the Trump administration's job to "make sure that the average American has wage increases and good jobs." Furthermore, he said his priority was getting a sustained growth of GDP of 3% or 4%. He said in order to get there "our number one priority is tax reform." Mnuchin said he would reduce corporate taxes to 15%, cut taxes for the middle class, and simplify the tax system.

When asked about trade, he said he believed in trade deals with individual countries, as opposed to regional trade deals. About Trump's deal with Carrier Air Conditioning to prevent jobs from going to Mexico, Mnuchin said "this president [...] is gonna have open communication with business leaders."

Mnuchin said he wants to "strip back parts of Dodd–Frank," because he argued it was too complicated, and it prevented banks from lending. He called the stripping back of Dodd–Frank "the number one priority on the regulatory side."[19]

Personal life[edit]

When Mnuchin studied at Yale University, he lived in the former Taft Hotel in New Haven, Connecticut together with businessman Edward Lampert and lawyer Salem Chalabi as roommates.[20] In 1999, Mnuchin married Heather deForest Crosby,[6] who was his second wife,[47] and they had three children together.[48] A year after the marriage, Mnuchin bought an apartment in 740 Park Avenue in New York City for $10.5 million from his aunt.[13] Heather Mnuchin was active in philanthropy.[49] After he bought IndyMac, Mnuchin moved to a 21,000 square feet (2,000 m2), $26.5 million house in Bel Air, Los Angeles, California, because the company's headquarters was situated in Pasadena.[4][48] Steven and Heather divorced in 2014, and he is now engaged to the actress Louise Linton.[47]

Mnuchin served as a member of the development board of Yale University, as board member of the Riverdale Country School, as member of the national board and senior member of the non-profit youth organization Junior Achievement, to which he had donated money, and as a board member of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.[16][50]

Mnuchin is Jewish.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Mui, Ylan Q.; Rucker, Philip (29 November 2016). "Trump expected to name financier Steve Mnuchin to Treasury". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 December 2016. 
  2. ^ "Former US banker Steve Mnuchin confirms he will be US treasury secretary". BBC News. November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2016. 
  3. ^ Jen Wieczner (January 12, 2017). "Trump Treasury Pick Mnuchin Is Much Richer Than Most People Thought". Fortune Magazine. 
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Greenfeld, Karl Taro (22 March 2012). "From IndyMac to OneWest: Steven Mnuchin's Big Score". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  5. ^ Guttman, Nathan (7 May 2016). "Trump Names Jewish Financier, Fixer to Major Campaign Positions". The Forward. Retrieved 12 December 2016. 
  6. ^ a b c "WEDDINGS; Heather Crosby, Steven Mnuchin". The New York Times. September 26, 1999. Retrieved May 10, 2016. 
  7. ^ a b c d "President-Elect Donald J. Trump to Nominate Steven Mnuchin as Secretary of the Treasury, Wilbur Ross as Secretary of Commerce and Todd Ricketts as Deputy Secretary of Commerce". Greatagain.gov. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  8. ^ Stern, Jacob (2 December 2012). "Trump nominates Steve Mnuchin '85 for Treasury secretary". yaledailynews.com. Yale Daily News Publishing Co. Retrieved 12 December 2016. 
  9. ^ Sutton, Antony C. (2002). America's Secret Establishment: An Introduction to the Order of Skull & Bones. Walterville, Oregon: Trine Day. p. 11. Retrieved 12 December 2016. 
  10. ^ Jacobs, Jennifer; Campbell, Dakin (5 May 2016). "Trump Names Hedge Fund Manager as National Finance Chairman". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 30 January 2017. 
  11. ^ Das, Anupreeta (29 November 2016). "Treasury Pick Steven Mnuchin Bet on Donald Trump and Won". The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 November 2016. 
  12. ^ a b c d Gross, Michael (2006). 740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building. New York City: Broadway Books. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  13. ^ Zuckerman, Laurence (16 October 1994). "The Good Life After Goldman". The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2016. 
  14. ^ "Mnuchin, Steven". OpenSecrets.org. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  15. ^ a b "The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.: Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Fiscal Year Ended November 30, 2001" (PDF). Goldman Sachs. p. 25. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  16. ^ "Board of Directors and Officers". Goldman Sachs. June 2002. Retrieved 10 December 2016 – via Wayback Machine. 
  17. ^ a b Frank, Jacqui; Turner, Matt; Bryan, Bob (30 November 2016). "Here's everything we know about former Goldman Sachs banker Steve Mnuchin - Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  18. ^ a b c d e Sorkin, Andrew Ross (30 November 2016). "Steven Mnuchin, Expected Treasury Pick, Is an Outsider to Public Policy". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i Abelson, Max; Mider, Zachary (31 August 2016). "Trump's Top Fundraiser Eyes the Deal of a Lifetime". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 23 December 2016. 
  20. ^ a b c d e Davis, Julie Hirschfeld; Appelbaum, Binyamin; Haberman, Maggie (29 November 2016). "Trump Taps Hollywood's Mnuchin for Treasury and Dines With Romney". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  21. ^ Ylan Q. Mui (January 19, 2017). "Trump's treasury nominee defends his record at bank labeled as 'foreclosure machine'". The Washington Post. 
  22. ^ Audit of OneWest Bank’s Loan Modification Program
  23. ^ a b c Turner, Matt (30 November 2016). "There's a long list of reasons people might not like Trump's pick for Treasury secretary". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  24. ^ Fact Sheet: OneWest Bank Expected to Receive Over $2.4 billion from the FDIC
  25. ^ "Mnuchin Said to Be Top Treasury Pick Among Trump's Advisers - Bloomberg Politics". Bloomberg News. August 31, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 
  26. ^ "Steven Mnuchin, Trump's Treasury secretary pick, resigns from CIT Group board". Housing Wire. December 2, 2016. 
  27. ^ a b Sorkin, Andrew Ross (May 10, 2016). "Unlikely Fund-Raiser for Trump and Party (hardcopy)". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2016. 
  28. ^ Kim Bellware (December 1, 2016). "Bank Owned By Trump's Top Treasury Pick Foreclosed On A 90-Year-Old Over 27 Cents". The Huffington Post. 
  29. ^ a b Woellert, Lorraine. "Trump Treasury pick made millions after his bank foreclosed on homeowners". Politico. Retrieved December 5, 2016. 
  30. ^ "Is Something Amiss in the Reverse Mortgage Industry?". DSNews. November 13, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 
  31. ^ Dreier, Peter (May 10, 2016). "The Worst of Wall Street: Meet Donald Trump's Finance Chairman". The Nation. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 
  32. ^ "Bank tied to Trump adviser accused of discrimination". Usatoday.com. September 27, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016. 
  33. ^ a b Rainey, James (August 5, 2015). "Relativity Co-Chairman Steven Mnuchin Quietly Exited Just Before Big Losses". Variety. Retrieved May 11, 2016. 
  34. ^ Izadi, Elahe. "Trump's Treasury pick Steven Mnuchin is behind some of Hollywood's biggest movies". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 December 2016. 
  35. ^ Godfrey, Elaine (5 May 2016). "The Edge: Ryan and Trump's Relationship Status: It's Complicated". The Atlantic. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  36. ^ a b "Results: Steven Mnuchin". OpenSecrets.org. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  37. ^ Keneally, Meghan (5 May 2016). "Donald Trump's New Finance Head Has History of Donating to Democrats". ABC News. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  38. ^ Bryan, Bob (30 November 2016). "TRUMP TREASURY SECRETARY: 'There were a lot of people in California and New York who wanted to stop being friends'". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  39. ^ "President-Elect Donald J. Trump Announces New Implementation Phase of Presidential Transition Team". Greatagain.gov. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  40. ^ Lee, M. J. (1 February 2017). "Republicans suspend committee rules, advance Mnuchin, Price nominations". CNN. Retrieved 2 February 2017. 
  41. ^ "THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART, LOS ANGELES (MOCA), ANNOUNCES THE RESIGNATION OF BOARD MEMBER STEVEN MNUCHIN" (PDF). The Museum of Contemporary Art. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  42. ^ "Many Thanks". The Museum of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 11 December 2016. 
  43. ^ Chris Isidore (January 19, 2017). "Trump Treasury pick: 'I have been maligned'". CNN Money. 
  44. ^ Alan Rappeport (January 19, 2017). "Steven Mnuchin, Treasury Nominee, Failed to Disclose $100 Million in Assets". The New York Times. 
  45. ^ Gabrielle Levy (January 19, 2017). "Tiffany Trump, Steve Bannon, Steven Mnuchin Registered to Vote in Multiple States". US News and World Report. 
  46. ^ a b "Steven Mnuchin Businessweek Profile - Bloomberg Politics". Bloomberg.com. August 31, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016. 
  47. ^ a b "Film financier and Wall Street executive Steven Mnuchin a leading candidate for Treasury secretary". Los Angeles Times. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2016. 
  48. ^ Boncampagni, Tatiana (2 May 2009). "What a hedge fund wife looks like these days". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 
  49. ^ "2001 • 2002 Financial Report". Junior Achievement. 2002. Retrieved 10 December 2016. 

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steven_Mnuchin&oldid=764807682"