‘Bankruptcy king’ Wilbur Ross is Trump’s commerce secretary pick, would be third billionaire in administration

Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor considered the “king of bankruptcy” for buying beaten-down companies with the potential to deliver profits, is US president-elect Donald Trump’s choice for Commerce secretary, a senior transition official said.

The official isn’t authorised to publicly discuss the matter and requested anonymity.

Reputed by Forbes to be worth nearly US$3 billion, Ross would represent the interests of US businesses domestically and abroad as the head at Commerce. His department would be among those tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s stated goal of protecting U.S. workers and challenging decades of globalisation that largely benefited multinational corporations.

Ross would also be the third billionaire in the administration, after Trump himself and Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Michigan conservative activist who was tapped on Wednesday to become Education Secretary.

With a Florida home down the road from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago retreat, the 78-year-old Ross played a role in crafting and selling the president-elect’s tax-cut and infrastructure plans. Ross has suggested that much of America is disgruntled because the economy has left middle-class workers behind and says Trump represents a shift to a “less politically correct direction.”

“Part of the reason why I’m supporting Trump is that I think we need a more radical, new approach to government— at least in the US — from what we’ve had before,” Ross told CNBC in June, referring to Trump’s blunt tone and sweeping promises to reinvigorate economic growth.