[13][15], In November 1997, under Rothschild & Co, Ross started a $200 million fund to invest in distressed securities. The previous record-holder was Philip Klutznick, who took office at the age of 72. [30] In September 2005, investors led by Ross invested $100 million in Oxford Automotive for 25% of the company. 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". 11/29/2016 07:23 PM EST. [62] Also in January 2020, Ross threatened retaliation if the EU adopted a proposed carbon tax, comparing it to a proposed EU digital services tax, to which the administration has also threatened tariffs in response. 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. [122] He served as International Counsel Member of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and President of the American Friends of the René Magritte Museum in Brussels. [99][100] The 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. In April 2000, Ross 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". 1965). The company had self-reported the issue and did not admit any liability. By Charles P. Pierce ", had been working from his home in Palm Beach, Florida, since at least late March, a small business showcase at the White House on July 2. Ross was sworn into office on February 28, 2017. [35] Miners and their families accused Ross of ignoring safety violations. [64][65], In May 2017, Ross accompanied Trump on his first foreign visit, to Saudi 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. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/25/opinion/wilbur-ross-shutdown.html [132][133] In 2018, he purchased a $3.2 million house in The Berkshires. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was reportedly hospitalized in upstate New York Friday night for minor, non-coronavirus-related health issues. Before founding WL Ross & Co, Ross ran the bankruptcy restructuring practice at N M Rothschild & Sons in New York beginning in the late 1970s. [12] In April 2000, just before the dot-com bubble burst, Ross founded WL Ross & Co and raised $450 million to buy the fund from Rothschild and make additional investments. © 2021 CNBC LLC. [78] In June 2018, it was revealed that Ross shorted stock after he knew of an upcoming report with information that would adversely affect the company but before the story was published. Ross settled the lawsuit for $9 million after being subpoenaed for information that he did not want to disclose. On Wednesday morning, Trump announced the nomination of hedge fund titan Wilbur Ross, 78, to lead the Department of Commerce. [74] 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. His agency's credit union is charging nearly 9%", "A 'Let Them Eat Cake' Shutdown? Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross entered government in early 2017 with a conflict … However, according to the leaked documents, while he did divest some holdings, he did not disclose the full extent of those he retained. The Department of Commerce said … [12], He then worked for Faulkner, Dawkins & Sullivan, an institutional securities research company, where he rose to become president of its investment banking operation. [76], 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. There, he liquidated the portfolio of its venture capital affiliate. [42], 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. The 82-year-old secretary of Commerce had been working from his home in Florida since at least late March.