Donald Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself and his family, and his cabinet officials have followed in his footsteps. Trump appointed the richest cabinet in history, initially tapping at least 13 billionaires for government posts — and a cabinet with a combined net worth of at least $7 BILLION. Trump’s cabinet officials and appointees have countless ties to corporations and special interests, many of which are directly related to the agencies they oversee. On his first day in office, Trump rescinded ethics requirements for political appointees to comply with restrictions that ensure conflicts of interest while failing to implement any ethics guidelines for his administration.
While Americans foot the bill for Trump’s war with Iran, Trump and his corporate donors have cashed-in. Trump has seen his wealth increase by as much as $15.5 million solely through stocks he owned in oil and gas companies at the end of 2025 due to the surge in global oil prices because of his war with Iran. Meanwhile, Big Oil companies have reported a whopping $125 billion in profits this year — after Trump promised them on the campaign trail that he would reward them if they donated $1 billion to his campaign.
Various cabinet officials have also used their positions to enrich themselves and further their business dealings, or refused to divest from corporate ties:
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
Earlier this year, Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick struck a self-enriching deal with Kazakhstan’s president, giving a group of American investors with ties to the Trump and Lutnick families access to one of the world’s largest reserves of tungsten. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump’s investing firm took a 20% stake in a corporate entity related to the Kazakhstan project, and Lutnick’s family helped one of the lead investors work on a deal to raise $210 million in new capital for a related entity.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Prior to his confirmation, Hegseth’s wife owned thousands of dollars in defense stocks, including companies that contract with the Defense Department. Hegseth also brought his wife to meetings with foreign defense officials at a NATO gathering where Ukraine policy was discussed.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
RFK Jr. refused to completely cut ties to a vaccine lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company while serving as HHS Secretary. While he divested his personal stake, he arranged that proceeds from the lawsuit would instead go to his son.
FBI Director Kash Patel
Kash Patel refused to divest from his significant stock holdings in a company that controls a Chinese fast fashion firm with allegations of forced labor and child labor — as Patel is charged with enforcing human trafficking and labor laws.
