Jerome Powell Net Worth 2017
There is still speculation over whom—if anyone—will succeed Janet Yellen as Chair of the Federal Reserve. Still, a handful of names has received more attention. It will be President Trump’s task to choose the next Fed Chair. The person that pundits are suggesting more often than others is Jerome Powell. Few will be surprised that he’s a former Wall Street banker.
But many will be astounded to discover that Jerome Powell’s net worth in 2017 could be in the tens of millions—it was nearly $50.0 million in 2013.(Source: “The Fed’s millionaires,” CNN, August 28, 2013.)
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It’s not as if Powell is the only millionaire in the prestigious club of Fed bankers. Ben Bernanke is said to have a few millions in assets and Janet Yellen was even richer around the time she replaced him, with assets listed at $4.8-$13.2 million. Jerome Powell has served on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors since May 2012. In 2013, rumors circulated that he was to succeed Ben Bernanke. But President Obama chose Janet Yellen instead.
Should Trump appoint Jeremy Powell to replace Yellen—her five-year term closes in February 2018—Jerome Powell will not notice a surge in his net worth. Jerome Powell’s salary for 2017 is well known. As a Fed Board Member, he receives a set salary of $179,700 a year and not a penny more, because Congress establishes the value of all Federal Reserve members. Should Powell graduate to Fed Chair—Trump could still change his mind and keep Janet Yellen, whose work he has praised—his salary will be $199,700, based on the current pay scale. (Source: “FAQs,” BOARD OF GOVERNORS of the FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, January 2011.))
Evidently, Powell will not be taking on the role of Fed Chair—if Trump confirms the recent rumors—to boost his net worth. Based on how rich Jerome Powell is, his present salary is a mere pittance. Even when accounting for the additional $20,000 per year that a promotion to Chair would imply, it would fail to make an impression.
So, how much does Jerome Powell make? That’s not the right question. It’s not how much he makes that counts. Rather, it’s his net worth. Clearly, Powell is one of the richest members of the Federal Reserve and he has worked on Wall Street for years. Should he get the promotion, “Fed Governor Jerome Powell” would scarcely notice his salary increase—let alone how much the new salary would add to his already spectacular net worth.
Will Powell Chair the Fed after Yellen?
Trump is not an easy president to read. His top critics still accuse him of plotting with Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. Somehow, Putin managed to persuade most Americans—especially those who happened to belong to electoral colleges—to vote for Trump. Yet, once in office, Trump has done little to please Putin. American forces have interfered with Russian-backed Syrian efforts to reclaim their territory from ISIS as well as the other rebels.
The Trump White House has not changed its Syria script one iota from Obama’s White House. Trump is also stepping on Russian policy interests in North Korea and especially Ukraine. Yet, everyone expected Trump to play buddy to Putin. In fact, the U.S. media remains obsessed with this very idea. The FBI has started to send out related arrest warrants and some of the first big names are falling—or at least being asked to check into the FBI Plaza. Still, nobody has yet shown exactly how, if at all, Trump’s presidency is benefiting the Russians.
Therefore, nobody should make any bets on what Trump will or will not do, who he will appoint or fire. However, betting is not an easy habit to break. If you wanted to wager on who the next Fed chairman—or next chairwoman—could be, you could do worse than to start from Trump’s view on interest rates.
These views, of course, are not set in stone. But when still a Republican candidate in May 2016, Trump expressed a desire to maintain low interest rates and a low dollar. (Source: “‘Low-interest-rate’ Trump wants to replace Yellen, refinance U.S. debt,” MarketWatch, May 5, 2016.)
Janet Yellen has been one of the chief proponents—and architects—of the current quantitative easing (QE) policy that has turned interest rates policy on its head. There’s a whole generation of financial analysts on Wall Street and in all major financial capitals, who have known nothing but near-zero rates.
Janet Yellen has raised rates under pressure and fear of—exaggerated—inflation expectations. Trump stated clearly that he appreciated Janet Yellen, stating the only reason he would not keep her on as Fed Chair would be because she is a Democrat rather than a Republican. Trump may have been playing to his audience, pushing his partisan credentials, but the implications are easy to discern.
Is Trump Leaning Towards Jerome Powell to Run the Fed?
Trump does not want any abrupt interest rate change. He will be reluctant to experiment new financial paths. After all, the biggest success for which Trump can claim any credit is that the stock market has outperformed all expectations. Clearly, unless there’s some secret self-destructive wish we don’t know about, Trump and his advisers will not do anything to alter the course of the Dow Jones. Of course, should a crash occur between now and February, Trump can still blame it on Obama and Yellen.
All things staying equal and bullish, the one Fed Chair choice that addresses Trump’s concerns is Jerome Powell. Trump sees Powell as maintaining the low-interest course and being a Republican. PredictIt, a stock market site that focuses on political events, rates the odds that Powell will be the next Fed Chairman as 80%. His second-closest competitor is John Taylor. (Source: “Jerome Powell Is Widely Predicted as Next Federal Reserve Chair,” The Street, October 30, 2017.)
Until recently, monetary policy has not been political in the sense that Fed chairs have not necessarily matched the leanings of the person sitting in the Oval Office. President George W. Bush kept Alan Greenspan as Chair when he took over from Bill Clinton in 2001. Likewise, President Barack Obama retained Ben Bernanke, whom Bush II appointed to replace Greenspan in 2006 after five consecutive terms in charge of U.S. monetary policy.
There may be others in the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, who favor low interest rates. Very few would take the risk of a massive hike now. But, Powell’s chances get a boost from his Republican partisanship. Powell also has a reputation for disliking regulation. Thus, his appointment to the post of Fed Chair would also resonate with other aspects of Trump’s laissez-faire character, such as low taxes and refuting the post-2008 crisis Wall Street regulations such as the Volcker Rule of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. (Source: “The Volcker Rule: What Is It, and Why Does It Need Changing?,” Fortune, June 17, 2017.)
