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In the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election, all eyes have been on President-elect Donald Trump to see who he’ll pick to be part of his cabinet. While some pro-Trump figures have celebrated the idea of potentially being a part of his administration (take Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for example), some have preemptively turned down positions.
Billionaire investor John Paulson announced Tuesday he removed himself from consideration as a potential nominee for Treasury secretary by Trump, Paulson told The Wall Street Journal.
“My complex financial obligations would prevent me from holding an official position in President Trump’s administration at this time,” Paulson told WSJ in a statement. Paulson heads up the Paulson & Co. family office, founded in 1994, and has an estimated net worth of $3.8 billion, according to Forbes.
“I’m ecstatic that President Trump will be back in office,” Paulson said in a statement shared with Fortune. “He is off to a fast start with his appointments, and his policies will have an immensely positive impact on all Americans.”
It’s unclear what “complex financial obligations” Paulson is referring to, although he and his wife, Jenica Paulson, are involved in a complex divorce. His wife accused him of hiding billions of dollars in the split and secretly setting up three irrevocable trusts. She sued him for $1 billion in 2022. Bloomberg reported Paulson was engaged to 35-year-old weight-loss coach and influencer Alina De Almeida.
Hedge funder Paulson famously made his fortune betting against subprime mortgages at the peak of the 2007 credit bubble, and has since been considered “one of the most prominent names in high finance,” according to The New York Times. Paulson correctly predicted the mortgage crisis, banking $4 billion.
It’s somewhat surprising Paulson would turn down a potential position from Trump, considering he was a major donor to the former president’s 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential campaigns, raising more than $40 million in the most recent cycle. Paulson was also critical of Vice President Kamala Harris’ capital gains tax and other economic proposals during the presidential campaign, and even threatened to pull his money from the market if she won.
“If they do implement a 25% tax on unrealized gains, that would cause mass selling of almost everything — stocks, bonds, homes, art,” Paulson told Fox News. “I think it would cause a crash in the markets and a pretty quick recession.”
Even before his win last week, Trump was reportedly considering Paulson for the Treasury secretary position, calling Paulson a “money machine,” according to The New Yorker.
Paulson isn’t completely pulling away from Trump, however.
“I intend to remain actively involved with the President’s economic team and helping in the implementation of President Trump’s outstanding policy proposals,” Paulson told WSJ.
Fellow investor and current economic adviser to Trump, Scott Bessent, is also reportedly in consideration to become Treasury secretary. Amid tensions between Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Trump, Bessent has suggested an early appointment of Powell’s replacement could serve as a “shadow Fed chair,” which would essentially make Powell a lame duck through the rest of his term, expiring in 2026.
Key advisers to Trump have also reportedly backed a Bessent appointment, according to Bloomberg.
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