page_title: Wilbur Ross
section_title: United States Secretary of Commerce (2017–present)
hierarchical_section_title: Wilbur Ross / United States Secretary of Commerce (2017–present)
caption_attribution_description: Senior White House Adviser Jared Kushner, and his wife, Assistant to the President Ivanka Trump, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus are seen as they arrive with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to the Murabba Palace as honored guests of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Saturday evening, May 20, 2017, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
context_page_description: Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. is an American investor and businessman serving, since 2017, as the 39th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Republican Party, Ross was previously chairman and chief executive officer of WL Ross & Co from 2000 to 2017.
  Before founding WL Ross & Co, Ross ran the bankruptcy restructuring practice at N M Rothschild & Sons in New York beginning in the late 1970s. In April 2000, Ross left Rothschild to found WL Ross & Co. Ross was a banker known for acquiring and restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, and textiles, later selling them for a profit after operations improved, a record that had earned him the moniker "King of Bankruptcy". Ross has been chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies operating in more than 20 different countries.
  Named by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 most influential people in global finance, Ross was previously an adviser to New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on privatization, and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund.
context_section_description: On November 30, 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Ross for United States secretary of commerce. On February 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed Ross in a 72–27 vote. Ross was sworn into office on February 28, 2017.
  Ross took office at the age of 79, making him the oldest first-time Cabinet appointee in U.S. history. The previous record-holder was Philip Klutznick, who took office at the age of 72.
caption: Ross in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 2017
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