By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-04-04 02:46:56 | Updated at 2025-04-04 23:01:05
21 hours ago
Trump's tariff announcement that tanked retirement accounts around the globe as the market shed more than $2.5 trillion has even impacted wealthy members of his own cabinet.
Trump famously stocked his administration with a record number of billionaires. With the Dow dropping nearly 1,700 points Thursday and other indexes head south, these top advisors cheering and promoting Trump's agenda are among those suddenly forced to calculate their personal financial hit.
The very richest members of Trump's team have their money stashed in real estate holdings, private companies, and LLCs headquartered in Delaware whose value is difficult to assess on a daily basis.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was among those who suffered in the markets on Thursday, according to DailyMail.com's analysis of financial disclosure forms.
Bessent's form reveals more than $50 million in the Key Square Group investment firm, but it wasn't immediately clear how that performed.
He also has up to $500,000 in iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which dropped 5.75 percent, plus more than $50 million in SPRDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which dropped 4.9 percent.
His Invesco QQQ Trust valued at over $50 million, which tracks the Nasdaq, dropped 5.3 percent and his Invesco S&P Equal Weight valued at more than $50 million dropped 4.8 percent.
Combined, those four investments alone dropped $7.5 million.
Wealthy members of President Trump's cabinet took stock market hits on Thursday, as global markets tanked in response to his new trade tariffs
Some of Bessent's other holdings – over $50 million in U.S. Treasury Bills, as an example, probably performed better. His holdings are dotted with smaller $5 million investments in cash, stocks, and start-up companies. Even a hedge in gold didn't pan out Thursday.
The hedge funder was worth an estimated $521 million when he joined the cabinet. He advised foreign countries Wednesday not to hit back amid international outrage at the tariffs.
'My advice to every country right now is: Do not retaliate. Sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes. Because if you retaliate, there will be escalation,' he told Fox News Special Report.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was worth up to $4 billion when he joined the Trump administration after helping build the Cantor Fitzgerald firm.
Although Lutnick could get blamed if the tariffs throw the world economy into recession without delivering on the promised benefits to U.S. manufacturing, his own asset performance is almost impossible to discern from his disclosure.
His wealth is spread among more than 800 companies, mostly LLCs incorporated in tax friendly Delaware.
Some like BGC China, BGC Canada Securities Company, and BGC Brazil Holdings, would seem to be subject to tariff volatility.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged foreign countries to hold off on retaliating against the U.S. His own portfolio took a stock hit, as his trio of separate $50 million funds tracking market indexes got slammed
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saw her stocks go down, as her Vanguard accounts were dogged by the same forces prompting a broader market selloff. Some experts have said the immigration crackdown could also hike prices by contributing to a labor shortage in construction and low-wage jobs filled by migrants
Trump himself brushed off a question by DailyMail.com when asked about the impact on retirement savings on day the tariffs wiped $2.5 trillion from the S&P 500.
'I haven’t checked my 401k,' Trump replied. His own assets are tied up in his golf and real estate empire, as well as a media company he launched during the campaign.
He spoke en route to Florida, where he was visiting a Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament at one of his courses. His own Trump Media was down 1.9 percent – faring better than the S&P. The company was down 44 percent before he announced the tariffs.
Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem isn't the wealthiest cabinet member by any stretch. But what the former South Dakota governor does have saved is invested in the stock market – leaving her vulnerable during volatile times.
Worth about $1 million when she joined the administration, Noem, 53, might want to postpone any plans for an early retirement.
A big chunk of her assets and retirement funds are invested in market indexes and other funds that got savaged.
Her Vanguard Capital Appreciation Fund, valued at up to $50,000, dropped nearly 2.8 percent, while her Vanguard Equity Income Fund was off nearly 4 percent for a loss of $2,000.
The six funds combined, worth up to $300,000, lost close to $12,000 in a single trading day.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, a former NFL player who played three seasons for the former Washington Redskins, put many of his investments in tech companies that have performed well in recent years.
The tariffs subjected him to an open field tackle in the markets. His up to $50,000 in Amazon dropped 4.5 percent, while his up to $50,000 in Alphabet dropped 4 percent. His other holdings in Microsoft didn't fare any better, and his ETFs of the smaller Russell index and Dow Jones average were both down.
Just one tranche of his stock investments totaling $1.2 million just a few months ago took a hit of up to $58,000.
But unlike some Americans who may have nothing but a 401(k) to retire on, Turner has an NFL Player Annuity Program, valued at up to $1 million, according to his disclosure, along with a defined benefit plan that pays $4.950 per month.
