The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has recorded an unusual level of wealth concentration at the top of government. According to a report by the organization Public Citizen, cited by the Associated Press, 57 of its officials each hold at least $100 million in wealth.
A record figure in U.S. government
The report presents this as the highest level of super-rich officials in the modern history of the U.S. administration.
According to the same assessment, the number of officials with wealth on this scale is more than four times higher than the combined total recorded during the three previous administrations.
Who is included in this group
In total, the figure covers 57 officials: 17 ambassadors and 40 high-level functionaries.
The concentration of wealth is also clearly visible in the cabinet. Eight of Trump’s 23 cabinet members fall into the category of those with at least $100 million in wealth.
The most prominent names on the list
Among the officials mentioned are Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who are identified as billionaires.
The list also includes Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg and Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler, also billionaires. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff are estimated to have wealth in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The contrast with previous administrations
The figures create a sharp contrast with previous U.S. governments. According to the report, the administrations of George W. Bush and Joe Biden each had five members with net worth of at least $100 million.
Barack Obama’s administration had three officials at this wealth level, making the current lineup clearly wealthier than recent precedents.
Wealth as a political criterion and the cost in public perception
Trump, himself a billionaire, has justified the selection of extraordinarily wealthy figures for senior posts by presenting wealth as a sign of financial success and managerial ability.
But this composition of the administration comes at a time when he faces a more critical electorate over how the U.S. economy is being managed. That places even greater focus on the relationship between political power, the public interest and the wealth elite.
The debate raised by this report is not only about the numbers, but about the question of how represented the public interest remains when government relies so heavily on people with extreme wealth.
Politically, the contrast between the rhetoric on the economy and the financial profile of the leadership team is expected to remain one of the most sensitive points for the Trump administration.