Trump Economic Adviser Gary Cohn Gets $100M Golden Handshake From Goldman Sachs

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By Daniel J. Solomon January 25, 2017

Gary Cohn, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the National Economic Council, will receive severance in excess of $100 million as he exits Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street firm where he was second in command.

The finance behemoth will give him $100 million, and will also permit him to cash in on $23 million of stock options. Cohn has to divest himself of Goldman holdings in order to comply with ethics requirements.

Trump’s stable of advisers will be stocked with Goldman Sachs execs, including Treasury Secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon. Aside from that, he has chosen billionaires for other posts, among them Wilbur Ross for Commerce Secretary and Andy Puzder for Labor Secretary.

It’s a stark reversal for a candidate who ran on a promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, which included running a divisive commercial that was seen as attacking the banking sector and rival Hillary Clinton in borderline anti-Semitic fashion.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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