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Here’s a breakdown of reported industry ties and holdings among top White House figures—including the president’s inner circle, cabinet members, military advisors, and others—with a focus on industries, boards, and family interests:
🏛️ Treasury & Economic Figures
Tom Krause (lead of Treasury “DOGE” team) & colleagues:
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Hold major stock positions in big banks (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, PNC, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Santander) and large tech/government contractors (Accenture, Oracle, Google, Amazon, Intuit)quiverquant.com+9propublica.org+9citizensforethics.org+9politico.com.
→ Possible conflict given Treasury’s role in debt issuance, payments, IRS initiatives.
Gary Cohn (former Trump NEC Director, adviser to current leadership too):
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Ex‑Goldman Sachs COO with substantial investments/dividends tied to Goldman.
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Serves on boards and advisory roles in tech (IBM, blockchain/cybersecurity startups like Hoyos Integrity, Spring Labs, Sotera Digital) politico.comen.wikipedia.org.
Cabinet-Level Interests
Trump-era
Jared Kushner & Ivanka Trump:
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Retain real estate holdings valued over $240 million—mostly family trusts and New York investment propertiestherevolvingdoorproject.org+9cbsnews.com+9foxbusiness.com+9.
Steve Bannon:
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Maintains or liquidating interests in conservative media (Breitbart, Cambridge Analytica), film production, and consulting cnbc.com+5cbsnews.com+5propublica.org+5.
Kellyanne Conway:
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Owns modest stakes (under $200K) in consumer staples, pharma, and tobacco: Pfizer, Kraft Heinz, Mondelez, Altria, Philip Morris cbsnews.com+1foxbusiness.com+1.
Wilbur Ross:
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Made a fortune restructuring distressed assets in steel, coal, telecom, textiles, and held board roles across dozens of firms en.wikipedia.org.
Elaine Chao (Sec. of Transportation):
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Daughter of a shipping magnate; initially deferred but later sold Vulcan Materials deferred units after ethics scrutiny en.wikipedia.org+1citizensforethics.org+1.
Biden-era
Cabinet members by and large divested publicly traded stock to avoid conflictreddit.com+6citizensforethics.org+6citizensforethics.org+6. Exceptions:
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Jennifer Granholm (Energy Sec.): retained small stakes in energy, finance, healthcare, real estate, and tech sectors (Invesco, Gilead, Cedar Fair, Vivint, Redfin, Teledoc, Uber) —likely de minimis citizensforethics.org.
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Tom Vilsack (Ag Sec.): retained minor stock interest, also likely de minimis .
White House Senior Staff
Biden senior aides
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Most divested upon appointment; Catherine Russell (Presidential Personnel) retains BlackRock holdings via spouse Tom Donilon (over $2 M) citizensforethics.org.
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Ryan Montoya (Scheduling) retains cryptocurrency assets worth roughly $470K–1.1 Men.wikipedia.org+2citizensforethics.org+2citizensforethics.org+2.
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Susan Rice holds (or held) assets in Amazon, AbbVie, DuPont, Canadian timber enterprises, and Amplo Partners venture capital; reportedly working through divestment or recusal measurescnbc.com+4citizensforethics.org+4citizensforethics.org+4.
Other senior officials sometimes retained small holdings in tech/growth stocks (Microsoft, Facebook, Google, IBM) until divestment reddit.com+3citizensforethics.org+3foxbusiness.com+3.
Trump-era staff
CNBC analysis shows staff held stocks in Apple, GE, Microsoft, and contract-heavy firms —like Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, United Technologies— common among defense and industrial advisors cnbc.com.
Broader Executive Branch Trends
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Over 1,800 federal officials (2016–21) reportedly held FAANG stocks while their agencies oversaw those firmsreddit.com+2foxbusiness.com+2reddit.com+2.
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Senior staff in Defense and EPA held holdings in aerospace, defense, oil, and gas sectors totaling up to $3.4 M and nearly $2 M, respectively reddit.com.
Summary Table
| Person/Group | Industries / Firms Held or Influential In |
|---|---|
| Tom Krause & DOGE team | Major banks, tech, contractors |
| Gary Cohn | Goldman Sachs, IBM, tech/biotech start‑ups |
| Kushner & Ivanka | New York real estate |
| Steve Bannon | Media, data firms, entertainment |
| Kellyanne Conway | Pharma, food, tobacco stocks |
| Wilbur Ross | Steel, coal, telecom, textile restructuring |
| Elaine Chao | Shipping (family), construction materials (Vulcan) |
| Jennifer Granholm | Energy, finance, healthcare, real estate, tech – small retained stakes |
| Catherine Russell (via spouse) | BlackRock (investment management) |
| Ryan Montoya | Cryptocurrency holdings |
| Susan Rice | Tech, pharma, chemicals, timber, venture capital |
| Broader staff & exec branch | FAANG, defense, aerospace, oil & gas stocks |
⚖️ Ethical Implications
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Trump-era figures often retained substantial assets in sectors directly overseen by their agencies—raising strong conflict concerns.
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Biden-era officials have generally resigned or divested from problematic holdings; exceptions usually involve de minimis or mitigated holdings (via recusal, spousal holdings, etc.).
Overall, the pattern shows common White House ties to key sectors: finance (banks, BlackRock, Goldman), tech (FAANG, IBM, startups), defense/aerospace, energy, real estate, healthcare/pharma, and commodities/mining—with varying levels of transparency and mitigation efforts over time.
