Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (born November 28, 1937) is an American investor and government official who is the current United States Secretary of Commerce. On November 30, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Ross to be United States Secretary of Commerce. On February 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed Ross as United States Secretary of Commerce by a margin of 72â€"27. He was sworn into office on February 28, 2017.
Before he was appointed as Secretary of Commerce, Ross was a banker known for restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, foreign investment and textiles. He specializes in leveraged buyouts and distressed businesses. In February 2017, Forbes magazine reported that Ross has a net worth of $2.5 billion. He is often called the "King of Bankruptcy" because of his experience in buying bankrupt companies, primarily in the manufacturing and steel industries, and later selling them for a large profit after operations improve.
Early life
Ross was born on November 28, 1937 in Weehawken, New Jersey, and grew up in suburban New Jersey. His father, Wilbur Louis Ross Sr., was a lawyer who later became a judge, and his mother, Agnes (née O'Neill), was a school teacher.
Ross drove two hours a day from New Jersey to attend the Catholic college preparatory Xavier High School in Manhattan. He ran track and was captain of the rifle team. He received his bachelor's degree from Yale College, his father's alma mater. At Yale, Ross edited one of the literary magazines and worked at the radio station. Initially, he wanted to be a writer, but after his experience in a fiction class requiring 500 words daily, he concluded that he had "run out of material." His faculty adviser at Yale helped him get his first summer job on Wall Street. He earned his MBA degree at Harvard Business School.
Career
Rothschild Investments
In the late 1970s, Ross began his 24 year career at the New York City office of N M Rothschild & Sons, where he ran the bankruptcy-restructuring advisory practice.
Representation of investors in casinos owned by Donald Trump
In the 1980s, Donald Trump was in financial trouble because of his casinos in Atlantic City. His three casinos in Atlantic City were under foreclosure threat from lenders. Ross, who was then the Senior Managing Director of Rothschild Inc., represented investors in the casino. Along with Carl Icahn, Ross convinced bondholders to strike a deal with Trump that allowed Trump to keep control of the casinos.
Establishment of WL Ross & Co.
In the late 1990s, Ross started a $200 million fund at Rothschild to invest in distressed assets. As the U.S. bubble began to burst, he decided he wanted to invest more and advise less. In 2000, the 62-year-old banker raised $450 million to buy out the fund from Rothschild and make further investments in distressed assets. The new firm was named WL Ross & Co. Staff included four top managers who, along with Ross, make up the firm's investment committee: David H. Storper, who runs trading; David L. Wax, a longtime workout specialist; Stephen J. Toy, an Asia expert; and Pamela K. Wilson, a J.P. Morgan & Co. veteran. WL Ross & Co. was acquired by Amvescap (now Invesco) in 2006. In August 2016, Ross agreed to reimburse investors $11.8 million and pay a fine of $2.3 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission probe into the overcharging of fees by WL Ross & Co. The company had self-reported the issue to the SEC and did not admit any liability.
Investments
International Steel Group (ISG)
In 2002, Ross founded International Steel Group after purchasing the assets of several bankrupt steel companies. Ross had support of the local steelworkers union, negotiating a deal with them to "save" Pennsylvania's steel industry. Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers union stated about Ross that "he was open and accessible and candid and honest and he put a lot of money back into the mills, so literally tens of thousands of jobs were saved." Ross sold International Steel Group to Mittal Steel Company for $4.5 billion, half in cash and half in stock, in April 2005.
International Textile Group (ITG)
Ross combined Burlington Industries and Cone Mills in 2004 to form International Textile Group. ITG operates five businesses, all of which operate under separate brand names: Cone Denim, Burlington Apparel Fabrics, Home Furnishings, Carlisle Finishing and Nano-Tex. In 2005, Ross purchased 77.3% of Safety Components International for $51.2 million. In 2006, Ross merged the firm into his International Textile Group. In February 2014, Ross paid $81 million to settle a lawsuit brought by shareholders that Ross breached his fiduciary duty when structuring the merger of two companies that he majority-owned: Safety Components International Inc. and International Textile Group Inc. International Textile Group was sold to private equity firm Platinum Equity in 2016.
International Automotive Components Group (IAC)
International Automotive Components Group was formed in 2006 by Ross and investment funds managed by Franklin Mutual Advisers. In 2006, International Automotive Components Group purchased the European operations of Lear Corporation. In 2005-2007, IAC purchased several divisions of Collins & Aikman. In September 2005, investors led by Ross made a $100 million investment in Oxford Automotive in exchange for approximately 25% of the company. In 2006, Oxford merged with Wagon Automotive.
International Coal Group (ICG)
Ross founded the International Coal Group in 2004, which was formed after several coal companies went bankrupt. The United Mine Workers of America protested the bankruptcy reorganization as it led to changes in health care and pensions for the existing employees.
The Sago Mine disaster was a 2006 explosion in a coal mine indirectly owned by International Coal Group that led to the deaths of 12 miners. Federal investigators said a lightning strike was the most likely ignition source for the blast. Following the disaster, the New York Post's Roddy Boyd reported that the mine had 12 roof collapses in 2005, and that the U.S. Department of Labor data showed 208 citations for safety violations in that same period, including 21 times for build-up of toxic gasses. Miners and their families accused Ross of ignoring safety violations. Ross defended his company's management of the mine. Arch Coal purchased International Coal Group for $3.4 billion in 2011.
Political activities
Ross was raised as a Democrat. He served under U.S. President Bill Clinton on the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund. Later, under New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Ross served as the Mayor's privatization advisor. In January 1998 he put $2.25 million in seed money into the campaign of his then-wife, Betsy McCaughey Ross, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York. Although he was an early supporter of Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Ross was previously a registered Democrat, served as an officer of the New York State Democratic Party, and held fundraisers for Democratic candidates at his apartment in New York City. Since at least 2011, Ross has been donating to Republican candidates and organizations. He became a registered Republican in November 2016.
Political views
On the subject of foreign trade, Ross has said: "I am not anti-trade. I am pro-trade, but I'm pro-sensible trade. [Being anti-trade] is a disadvantage of the American worker and the American manufacturing community." Ross has also said that the 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 the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Ross has said that after examining the agreement, he found it was "not consistent with what was advertised."
Organizational memberships and directorships
Ross is a hall of fame member and past director of the Turnaround Management Association. Since 2014, Ross has been the vice-chairman of the board of Bank of Cyprus PCL, the largest bank in Cyprus.
As of January 2012, Ross was the leader (or “Grand Swipeâ€) of the secret Wall Street fraternity, Kappa Beta Phi. He served on the board of trustees of the Brookings Institution. He is also on the board of advisors of Yale School of Management. He donated $10 million for the construction of Evans Hall at the Yale School of Management.
Video Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Commerce
On November 24, 2016, it was reported by the Associated Press that Ross would be nominated for United States Secretary of Commerce by incoming President Donald Trump. The Trump transition team confirmed Trump's intent to nominate him on November 30, 2016. On February 27, 2017, Ross was confirmed by the United States Senate in a 72â€"27 vote.
In May 2017, Ross accompanied Trump on his first foreign visit to Saudi Arabia. In an interview on CNBC, Ross said "there was not a single hint of a protester anywhere there during the whole time we were there." Saudi Arabia banned protesting after the 2011 Arab Spring, and dissenters face the death penalty.
In 2017, Ross said that agreeing to a trade deal with the United Kingdom was a low priority for the Trump administration.
Honors
In 1999, Ross was awarded the Order of Industrial Service Merit medal by South Korea's President Kim Dae Jung for his assistance during the 1998 Korean financial crisis.
Ross began working with Ireland and Irish-American causes starting in 2011 with an investment in the struggling Bank of Ireland. In recognition for his efforts on November 6, 2014 Ross was awarded the American Irish Historical Society Gold Medal at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, New York. The medal is awarded to "individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to Irish American Life".
Ross was awarded the medal of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by Japanese Ambassador Sumio Kusaka on behalf of the Japanese government at Kusaka's New York residence on February 2, 2015. This was in recognition for strengthening the bonds between Japan and the USA (including his service as Chairman of the Board of New York's Japan Society, which had begun in 2010 after being on its board of directors since 2005), his work to promote and strengthen the Japanese economy, and his relief efforts after the 2011 TÅhoku earthquake and tsunami.
Personal life
Ross married Judith Nodine in 1961. They divorced in 1995. Together, they had two children, Jessica and Amanda. In 1995, he married his second wife, New York Lt. Governor Betsy McCaughey. They divorced in 2000. On October 9, 2004, Ross married his third wife, Hilary Geary, a society writer for Quest magazine.
Art collection
Ross owns an art collection valued at $150 million that includes pieces ranging from Western surrealists to contemporary Eastern sculptures. Ross owns 25 works by René Magritte, valued at $100 million, including some of the artist's most valuable paintings such as The Pilgrim.
References
External links
- Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
- Stein, Nicholas. "Wilbur Ross Is A Man Of Steel... and textiles and optical networking and anything else in deep, deep trouble". CNN; Fortune (May 26, 2003).Â
- Gross, Daniel. "Is Wilbur Ross the next Andrew Carnegie?". Slate (January 16, 2003).Â
- Appearances on C-SPAN
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