During his victory speech on election night, Donald Trump was acknowledging those who helped fuel his astonishing political comeback when members of the crowd erupted in a chant.
E-LON! E-LON! E-LON!
"We have a new star. A star is born: Elon," gushed Trump, who then launched into a four-minute riff about the world's richest person, a "supergenius" to whom the 78-year-old president-elect has promised vast powers to shape both American policy and federal spending.
Musk is the most famous of a new pack of Trump allies, and by far the wealthiest. The next-generation Trump cabal includes podcaster Joe Rogan, biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy and UFC president Dana White. Some are expected to serve as cabinet members. Others will settle into potentially even more influential roles in Trump's kitchen cabinet, bending his ear while he plays golf, dines at Mar-a-Lago or watches Fox News.
It's a tough gig. According to the Brookings Institution, during his first term Trump had 92% turnover among his senior staff. He burned through four national security advisors and seven communications directors, including the ill-fated Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted just 11 days. A cavalcade of informal advisors fell in and out of favor with equal regularity.
Nonetheless, enormously accomplished people are now lining up for jobs. Hedge fund moguls John Paulson and Scott Bessent-both early candidates to be Treasury secretary-have vowed to help Musk slash federal spending. "I would like to be part of it, either from the inside or the outside," says Bessent, who once worked for financier George Soros, a major MAGA bogeyman.
Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both of whom mounted semi-credible presidential campaigns before bending the knee and endorsing Trump, likely want more: the power to remake entire federal agencies. Kennedy, an anti-vaxxer who embraces pseudoscientific theories about fluoridated drinking water, wants oversight of health care, vowing to "clean up the corruption" at the Food and Drug Administration. Ramaswamy has publicly stated his desire to shutter the entire U.S. Department of Education (states would presumably st...
E-LON! E-LON! E-LON!
"We have a new star. A star is born: Elon," gushed Trump, who then launched into a four-minute riff about the world's richest person, a "supergenius" to whom the 78-year-old president-elect has promised vast powers to shape both American policy and federal spending.
Musk is the most famous of a new pack of Trump allies, and by far the wealthiest. The next-generation Trump cabal includes podcaster Joe Rogan, biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy and UFC president Dana White. Some are expected to serve as cabinet members. Others will settle into potentially even more influential roles in Trump's kitchen cabinet, bending his ear while he plays golf, dines at Mar-a-Lago or watches Fox News.
It's a tough gig. According to the Brookings Institution, during his first term Trump had 92% turnover among his senior staff. He burned through four national security advisors and seven communications directors, including the ill-fated Anthony Scaramucci, who lasted just 11 days. A cavalcade of informal advisors fell in and out of favor with equal regularity.
Nonetheless, enormously accomplished people are now lining up for jobs. Hedge fund moguls John Paulson and Scott Bessent-both early candidates to be Treasury secretary-have vowed to help Musk slash federal spending. "I would like to be part of it, either from the inside or the outside," says Bessent, who once worked for financier George Soros, a major MAGA bogeyman.
Ramaswamy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both of whom mounted semi-credible presidential campaigns before bending the knee and endorsing Trump, likely want more: the power to remake entire federal agencies. Kennedy, an anti-vaxxer who embraces pseudoscientific theories about fluoridated drinking water, wants oversight of health care, vowing to "clean up the corruption" at the Food and Drug Administration. Ramaswamy has publicly stated his desire to shutter the entire U.S. Department of Education (states would presumably st...
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Forbes (Digital) - 1 Issue, December 2024/January 2025