President-elect Donald Trump is seriously considering making Mark Rowen, CEO of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, his new Treasury Secretary. The New York Times According to the report sources Times say are “close” to Trump, Rowan has become the likely front-runner as Trump grows increasingly frustrated with other candidates.
At a time when regulators have sought to rein in the risky behavior of the private equity industry, the appointment of one of them would surely be a boon for the industry. Accounting firm EY was valued at $24.4 trillion earlier this year – much of it at stake in private markets run by industrial giants Apollo, Blackstone and KKR.
Rowan has done a lot for him. gave Times Trump is reported to be influenced by Apollo’s CEO, who has been outspoken in support of Israel and other Trump positions. Last week, Trump appointed Rowan’s fellow Apollo board member and former SEC chief Jay Clayton as U.S. attorney for the powerful Southern District of New York, known for prosecuting white-collar crime. Former Republican Senator Pat Toomey joined Apollo’s board last February.
The wealth-obsessed Trump is likely inspired by Rowan’s estimated $8.6 billion fortune, and Rowan and his wife, Carolyn, reportedly donated $1 million to Trump’s 2020 reelection bid. gave The Wall Street Journal It was reported Sunday that Rowan is interested in the role and is expected to meet with the president-elect this weekend at his Mar-a-Lago compound.
Neither Apollo nor the Trump media team responded to a request for comment.
SEC Fails to Expand Private Equity Oversight
So how can Rowan help private equity? Before the Great Recession, banks facilitated the bulk of private equity deals, leaving specialists like Blackstone, Apollo Global Management and Carlyle Group to fight over scraps. As banks became more highly regulated and risk-averse in the aftermath of the crisis, these private equity firms became larger superpowers than many of their bank rivals.
Since 2007, global assets under management of these three firms alone have fallen from $2 trillion to more than $8 trillion. Financial Times The report became a standout among New York-based Apollo Global, which now manages $733 billion in assets, mostly from private wealth clients.
Although the DOJ has increased its enforcement actions against private equity firms in recent years, the regulations have so far amounted to a mass of controls. The SEC sought to expand its mandate last year by proposing measures that would require private fund managers to provide quarterly reports detailing fund fees, expenses and performance. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated those counselor rules in June.
Enter the US Treasury Department.
But even as the SEC’s efforts to rein things in on the private equity side failed, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and other regulators in May finalized separate rules under which banks will need to share private equity exposure. The new rules will come into effect on December 31, 2024, with the first report expected to be filed in the first quarter of 2025, according to law firm Mayer Brown.
As U.S. Treasury Secretary, Rowan will oversee not only the OCC but also other bureaus, including the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the IRS and the Inspector General.
Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s last Treasury Secretary, also came from the world of private equity, where he ran Liberty Strategic Capital. He was elected on hopes that he would cut regulations, and after leaving office he signed several lucrative deals, including a 5.5% stake in Lionsgate and a 7.7% stake in New York Community Bancorp.
Other candidates for Trump’s new Treasury secretary include former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh and Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, whose enthusiasm for the job is reportedly rubbing Trump the wrong way. Also in the running is Scott Besant, founder of investment firm Square Capital Management, who Trump adviser Elon Musk described as a “business-as-usual” candidate on his social media platform.
