The fight for the working class voter bloc dominated the trajectory of the 2024 presidential election. Perhaps the most unambiguous conclusion following President Donald Trump’s decisive defeat of former Vice President Kamala Harris is Republicans have gained solid control over the working class coalition. Exit polls show a 56% to 42% split for Trump among all working class voters, with significant gains among Black and Latino voters that were previously thought to be squarely in the Democratic Party camp.
The populist focus of the MAGA movement, whether demonstrated through condemnation of academic elites or fiery appeals for the prioritization of the American worker, stands in sharp contrast to how the Trump administration has aligned itself with billionaire interests. As of Dec. 10, 2024, the total net worth of the Trump administration amounted to $382.2 billion, with $11.8 billion residing solely in his Cabinet. This is nearly twice the net worth of the first Trump administration Cabinet, and 100 times that of former President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
Who are these billionaires composing Trump’s inner circle? And, most importantly, what does this mean for blue collar workers that were so central to his election?
Donald Trump — $6.2 billion
Before he was the face of the American right wing movement and two-time president of the United States, Donald Trump was an extremely prolific business mogul and reality TV star. His family made its fortune from real estate, with properties ranging from Trump Tower in New York to the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Trump’s newest wealth-building venture is the Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT), encompassing Trump’s own social media platform Truth Social. DJT is subject to extreme price fluctuations, hitting a high of $5.9 billion on Oct. 29, 2024, but falling by over half its value before the week’s end.
Regardless of his stock market vulnerability, the fact remains Trump is one of the wealthiest people in the world, which exacerbates his already great influence as leader of a global superpower. In the years leading up to the 2016 campaign, the Donald J. Trump Foundation donated over $200,000 to conservative PACs and other organizations, including Citizens United and the American Conservative Union.
In 2024, Trump was also found guilty on 34 counts for a $130,000 hush money payment given to porn actor Stormy Daniels; witness testimony also implies other large hush money payments to Playboy model Karen McDougal, who did not testify.
Linda McMahon — $3 billion
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) CEO Linda McMahon was confirmed as Education Department secretary earlier in March. For many, this nomination came out of left field — the secretary of Education is typically a former educator or education policy activist, yet McMahon had little education experience before being offered up for the role. Her most prominent ties to politics are through her roles as the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term and chairs of the America First Action Super PAC and America First Policy Institute (AFPI).
It’s unclear whether the department she manages will even be around much longer. McMahon recently claimed it was “crystal clear” President Trump would soon sign executive orders to dissolve the Department of Education and said she was happy to “put [herself] out of a job” to do so. McMahon and the Trump administration claim this development will advance school choice and reduce harmful federal bureaucracy, while critics contend it will disadvantage minority and low-income students.
Warren Stephens — $3.4 billion
Now the appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Warren Stephens was formerly the CEO of Stephens Inc. The firm was created by his uncle in 1933, and primarily focuses on small- and middle-market mergers in aerospace, defense, construction and technology. Stephens served as CEO from 1986 until his appointment in January, passing the title down to his daughter.
Stephens has no diplomatic or foreign policy experience, but that is not necessarily out of the ordinary for this position. The U.K. ambassadorship is considered one of the most prestigious and comfortable diplomatic positions, and therefore many presidents offer it to close supporters. Trump nominated Woody Johnson, a prominent Republican donor, to the position during his first term and Obama similarly selected Louis Susman, a Democratic fundraiser, for his first emissary to the U.K.
Stephens signals a continuation from his predecessors in the role, expressing a desire to “strengthen the long-standing alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Howard Lutnick — $1.5 billion
Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group Howard Lutnick was confirmed as the secretary of Commerce in January. Before assuming this role, Lutnick served alongside McMahon as the co-chair of Trump’s presidential transition team, staffing over 4,000 political employees.
Lutnick’s position as Commerce secretary is one of the positions under the spotlight as Trump aggressively pursues the tariff policies central to his campaign. He’s been taking some of the heat as Trump flip-flops on actually instituting the tariffs, levying 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China only to repeal them days later, and promising retaliatory tariffs that will go into effect April 2 during his address to Congress. Lutnick maintains “tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use” to protect the American worker, despite warnings from economists high tariffs will increase costs and destabilize the stock market.
Elon Musk — $363.3 billion
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the richest man in the world, is perhaps in the headlines more than the president himself. Adopting the title of “First Buddy,” Musk serves as the head of the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) that has cut over 10,000 federal jobs in a slash-and-burn offensive against what the administration sees as bureaucratic waste.
Musk has faced heavy criticism from the American public and GOP officials alike for the unprecedented nature of his firings as Republicans that want Musk to have “a lot” of influence fell from 47% in November 2024 to 26% in February. Although many Republicans praise the concept of reducing the size of government and making the federal bureaucracy more efficient, they also are taken aback by the recklessness of the cuts and the constant mistakes that are continually being rolled back.
Americans are also concerned about the growing influence of Musk, an unelected czar with unprecedented power, whose cuts come at the expense of cabinet secretaries and other more traditional positions of power. A clash between Musk and Secretary of State Marcio Rubio occurred in a Cabinet meeting in early March, where Rubio criticized the firings of more than 1,500 State Department employees and quipped that Musk was asking Rubio to rehire them only to fire them again. Some believe Trump will reign in Musk’s role to ease these tensions, but the validity of that claim remains unclear.
Takeaways
Critics of Trump and his administration insist that the rising presence of the ultra-wealthy in politics is an overt threat to the working class. In his farewell address, Joe Biden warned of an “oligarchy” of tech billionaires fundamentally reshaping Washington, a claim echoed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Workers union groups also express discontent with how officials in labor relations have been replaced by pro-business counterparts. United Electrical published a statement warning Musk and other ultra-wealthy individuals threaten the ability of unions to effectively advocate for workers’ rights. The union is also calling for the creation of a labor party as the only way to secure the wellbeing of workers.
The unprecedented nature of this “billionaire cabinet” makes it difficult to predict how the working class will react to it in the midterm election and beyond. The extent to which the ultra-wealthy can influence Washington remains an ongoing question as Trump moves full speed ahead with his agenda to radically reshape the American political landscape.
Featured image by Daniel from Pixabay
Edited by James Sutton
