World’s richest man, Elon Musk, is overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency under Trump administration.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
U.S. President Donald Trump’s brash populism has always involved incongruence: the billionaire businessman-politician stirring the passions of millions who, regardless of the U.S. economy’s trajectory, could never afford to live in his Manhattan skyscraper or visit his club in south Florida.
His second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his administration.
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency, which is a special commission charged with slashing federal spending. The extensive ties his businesses have to the government have raised questions about Mr. Musk’s potential conflicts in the role.
Meanwhile, billionaires or mega-millionaires are lined up to run key posts in the administration.
People are raising concerns about conflicts of interest at odds with Mr. Trump’s pledge to fight for “forgotten men and women” in a country where the median household net worth is about $1,93,000 and median annual household income is about $81,000.
“It’s hard to conceive how the wealthiest set of Cabinet nominees and White House appointments in history will understand what average working people are going through,” said former Labour Secretary Robert Reich, who served under President Bill Clinton and has warned for decades about the nation’s widening wealth and wage gaps.
Published – January 29, 2025 09:39 am IST
