US President Joe Biden talks about the state of vaccinations during a coronavirus (COVID-19) response in the East Room in the White House in Washington, March 18, 2021.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s closest advisers have ties to big business and Wall Street, and some are earning millions of dollars in their careers leading up to the White House, according to new financial statements.
Biden’s senior assistants appearing in the disclosures include Chief of Staff Ron Klain, Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, Senior Adviser Mike Donilon, White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients, and Director of National Economic Affairs council, Brian Deese.
These revelations show that many of the president’s closest associates have deep ties to the business world and have made more money in their previous corporate careers than was previously known.
These revelations were provided to CNBC by CNN early Saturday morning after they requested the documents a day earlier. None of these positions were confirmed by the Senate. Many of these advisers have had previous ties to Biden’s campaign or former President Barack Obama’s government.
A White House spokesman did not return a follow-up request for comment.
Deese was previously the world head of sustainable investment at BlackRock before becoming head of the National Economic Council. While at the investment firm, Deese’s revelation shows that he earned more than $ 2.3 million in salary and bonuses. Its disclosure also suggests that Deese could earn an additional $ 2.4 million through BlackRock’s limited share plan.
Klain, who was a manager at the venture capital firm Revolution before joining the White House, had a salary of $ 1.8 million. He joined the company in 2005.
O’Malley Dillon, who led Biden’s campaign before following him to the White House, was a co-founder of the consulting firm Precision Strategies. The firm’s founders are credited with helping re-elect Obama in 2012.
O’Malley Dillon’s new financial disclosure takes a look at the corporate advisory work she did for the firm before coming to the White House. The documentation contains a list of Gates Ventures as a client of O’Malley Dillon while she was at Precision Strategies.
According to PitchBook, Gates Ventures is a venture capital firm founded by billionaire Bill Gates. The current deputy head of the White House also advised the Chan Zuckerberg initiative, the philanthropic arm of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.
Other businesses that have seen her lead include General Electric and Lyft. The deferred compensation and separation of O’Malley Dillon of Precision is listed as more than $ 420,000.
Donilon was a board member of MCD Strategies, a media consulting firm, before his role in the White House. His filing shows that he earned more than $ 4 million in revenue while leading his consulting firm. Donilon cites the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee as two of its clients.
Zients was the CEO of Wall Street investment firm Cranemere before becoming chief adviser to the Biden White House on the coronavirus pandemic. His financial disclosure shows that he had a combined salary and bonus of $ 1.6 million. As a Facebook board member, the new report shows he earned more than $ 330,000.