Wilbur Ross Jr. Tapped by Donald Trump as Commerce Secretary

Wilbur Ross Jr. is set to serve in the executive branch after being tapped by Donald Trump, the President-elect, as commerce secretary.

The 79-year-old billionaire and a part-time Palm Beacher stated that he received official word of the selection when he met with Trump in New York on Tuesday. He also stated that it’s likely he will spend less time in Palm Beach as of now, except during the holidays, but won’t cause as much traffic as Trump did during his Thanksgiving visit to Palm Beach.

Wilbur Ross Jr. serves on Palm Beach Underground Utilities Task Force, the Palm Beach Civic Association and the Retirement Board of Trustees, all positions he plans to resign from in order to avoid conflicts of interest and to make time to do his new job. He owns a home on El Vedado Road that he doesn’t plan to sell, and says he’ll still be around.

Ross was a registered Democrat until this month, according to a Palm Beach Post report, that also states he contributed $274,400 to the Republican National Committee over the past couple of years. Reportedly, he’s known Trump for 30 years, both personally and on a business level, and he was a vice chairman of the “2016 Trump Victory leadership team” that raised money for Trump and the RNC.

Wilbur Ross Jr. Tapped by Donald Trump as Commerce Secretary

According to Forbes, Ross is worth $2.9 billion, and is best known in his career for his ability to restructure failed companies and then turn them around for a profit, which earned him the nickname “king of bankruptcy.”

One of the most visible of his new post’s functions is certainly trade oversight. Ross said that he plans to seek revisions on some trade agreements and improve dealings with countries with which we have trade deficits. According to Ross, the main struggle will be to improve American exports and “bring back American jobs.”