# Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner Mnuchin (b. December 21, 1962) is an **American investment banker and financier**, **77th United States Secretary of the Treasury (February 13, 2017 – January 20, 2021)** in the first Trump administration, **former Goldman Sachs partner**, **founder of OneWest Bank** (the controversial post-IndyMac bank acquired by CIT Group in 2015), **former Chairman and CEO of Relativity Media**, and — since late 2021 — **founder and Managing Partner of Liberty Strategic Capital**, the private-equity firm that raised approximately $2.5 billion (with substantial Saudi Public Investment Fund participation) within its first year. A Yale graduate and 17-year Goldman Sachs veteran who rose through the firm's information-technology and mortgage-related operations, Mnuchin's pre-Treasury career combined Hollywood finance (through multiple film-production financing entities including RatPac-Dune Entertainment), distressed-bank acquisition (IndyMac's FDIC-receivership purchase that became OneWest), and hedge-fund management (Dune Capital Management). His Treasury tenure (2017-2021) made him one of the two Trump I Cabinet members (alongside Commerce Secretary [[Wilbur Ross]]) to serve the full four-year term in his original position. Mnuchin matters for the KB for three reasons. First, as **Treasury Secretary across the full Trump I administration**, he was the principal Cabinet-level economic-policy figure during the period that produced the December 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the 2018-2020 U.S.-China trade-war negotiations, the March 2020 CARES Act and COVID-era emergency economic response, and the principal Treasury-department institutional engagement across the Trump I period — making him one of the most institutionally consequential figures of Trump I. Second, his **trajectory from Goldman Sachs partner through IndyMac/OneWest distressed-bank acquisition through Hollywood finance to Treasury Secretary** illustrates the Wall-Street-to-Trump-I pattern alongside [[Gary Cohn]] (NEC Director), with Mnuchin as the principal Goldman alumnus at Cabinet level across all four years. Third, his **post-administration Liberty Strategic Capital fundraising and Saudi engagement** — the April 2022 reporting that Liberty Strategic had received $2 billion from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (the principal sovereign-wealth vehicle of the Saudi government), despite reportedly-negative investment-committee recommendations — produced substantial political controversy and became one of the most documented post-administration Saudi-money controversies of the Trump-alumni ecosystem. ## Background - Born December 21, 1962, in New York City - Jewish-American family; father Robert Mnuchin was a longtime Goldman Sachs partner and subsequently an art dealer - Brother Alan Mnuchin is an investment banker - Bachelor of Arts from Yale University (1985) — where he was publisher of the *Yale Daily News* and a member of Skull and Bones - Joined Goldman Sachs after graduation in 1985 - Married three times: Heather deForest Crosby (1999-2014, two sons), Louise Linton (2017-present) - Net worth: approximately $400-500 million as of the current period ## Goldman Sachs Career (1985-2002) Mnuchin's 17-year Goldman career followed a trajectory through mortgage-related operations: - **1985**: Joined Goldman after Yale graduation - **1994**: Partner - **Information technology and operations**: Principal focus on firm's information systems and mortgage-securities operations - **Chief Information Officer**: Served as Goldman's CIO - **Executive Vice President and Head of Mortgage Trading**: Senior role in mortgage operations - **2002**: Left Goldman to join his former classmate Edward Lampert's ESL Investments Mnuchin's Goldman career, while consistently senior, did not reach the C-suite operational leadership of subsequent Treasury colleague Cohn, who rose to Goldman's President and COO positions. ## SFM Capital and Dune Capital Management (2002-2009) Following his Goldman departure, Mnuchin pursued several investment ventures: - **2002-2003**: ESL Investments (Edward Lampert's hedge fund) - **2003**: Founded SFM Capital Management - **2004**: Founded Dune Capital Management, a hedge fund focused on real estate and corporate investments - **Dune financing**: Dune raised capital from institutional investors including [[George Soros]] Dune Capital Management's involvement in various financial and entertainment-industry transactions in the 2000s-2010s provided Mnuchin with the institutional positioning that enabled his subsequent IndyMac acquisition and Hollywood engagement. ## IndyMac / OneWest Bank (2009-2015) In March 2009, Mnuchin led a consortium that acquired **IndyMac Bancorp** — one of the largest bank failures of the 2008 financial crisis — from the FDIC receivership. The acquisition's terms: - **Consortium**: Mnuchin (lead), J.C. Flowers, John Paulson, George Soros, Michael Dell - **Purchase price**: ~$1.55 billion - **FDIC loss-sharing**: FDIC agreed to share losses on certain IndyMac assets - **Rename**: Bank renamed **OneWest Bank** OneWest Bank's subsequent history was marked by substantial controversy: ### Foreclosure Controversy - **High foreclosure volume**: OneWest became one of the most prominent high-foreclosure banks of the post-crisis period - **Robo-signing allegations**: California Attorney General's office and other regulators investigated foreclosure-documentation practices - **2013 national mortgage settlement**: OneWest was included - **Elder-homeowner concerns**: Specific allegations about foreclosure practices on elderly borrowers ### 2015 CIT Group Acquisition In August 2015, CIT Group acquired OneWest for approximately $3.4 billion, producing substantial returns for the Mnuchin-led consortium. ## Hollywood Finance Parallel to OneWest, Mnuchin was active in Hollywood finance: - **RatPac-Dune Entertainment**: Co-financing vehicle for major-studio film slates; co-produced films including *Mad Max: Fury Road*, *American Sniper*, *The Lego Movie* - **Relativity Media**: Chairman (briefly) of the film production and distribution company; departed before its 2015 bankruptcy - **Film production**: Named executive producer credits on multiple films The Hollywood engagement produced an unusual biographical element for a subsequent Treasury Secretary — substantial Hollywood business presence at the same time as Wall Street and banking activity. ## 2016 Trump Campaign Mnuchin joined the Trump 2016 campaign as **National Finance Chairman** in May 2016. His role: - **Fundraising**: Led the campaign's fundraising operations - **Wall Street liaison**: Principal Trump-to-Wall-Street relationship-building - **Debate preparation**: Engaged in campaign policy and debate preparation - **Transition role**: Senior economic-transition figure after November 2016 The Finance Chair role positioned Mnuchin as one of Trump's principal economic advisers during the transition period. ## Treasury Secretary (February 2017 – January 2021) Mnuchin was nominated as Treasury Secretary on November 30, 2016, and confirmed 53-47 on February 13, 2017. His four-year tenure: ### Tax Reform Mnuchin was the Cabinet-level lead on the **Tax Cuts and Jobs Act** (TCJA), working alongside Cohn (NEC Director) and congressional Republican leadership: - **Development**: Led the Treasury tax-policy development - **Congressional engagement**: Principal administration engagement with Senate Finance and House Ways and Means - **December 2017 passage**: Signed into law December 22, 2017 - **Post-enactment implementation**: Led Treasury implementation of TCJA regulations ### China Trade Negotiations Mnuchin led U.S. negotiating engagement with China during the 2018-2020 trade-war period: - **Liu He counterpart**: Worked opposite Chinese Vice Premier Liu He - **January 2020 Phase One agreement**: Led U.S. side of the Phase One trade agreement signed January 15, 2020 - **Ongoing disputes**: Engaged with multiple tariff-policy and technology-policy disputes ### COVID-Era Response (March 2020-) Mnuchin played a principal role in the March 2020 CARES Act and subsequent COVID economic response: - **CARES Act negotiations**: Principal administration negotiator with Speaker Pelosi and Senate leadership - **$2 trillion package**: Passed March 27, 2020 - **Paycheck Protection Program**: Oversaw implementation - **Federal Reserve emergency facilities**: Treasury provided backstop capital for Fed facilities under the [[Exchange Stabilization Fund]] ### Post-Election Period (November 2020 – January 2021) Mnuchin's post-2020-election tenure was one of the less-contested Trump I Cabinet exits: - **Transition cooperation**: Unlike some Trump I Cabinet members, Mnuchin cooperated with the Biden transition - **Continuity positioning**: Focused on ensuring Treasury operations continuity through the transition - **January 6 response**: Participated in Cabinet discussions following January 6 but did not resign ## Post-Administration: Liberty Strategic Capital In December 2021, Mnuchin announced **Liberty Strategic Capital**, a private-equity firm focused on financial technology, fintech, and related investments. The firm's trajectory: ### Fundraising and Saudi Controversy - **April 2022 reporting**: The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) committed $2 billion to Liberty Strategic Capital - **Advisory-committee recommendations**: Reporting indicated the PIF's investment-committee recommendations had been negative, with the investment approved by Crown Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]] - **Political controversy**: The Saudi investment, particularly in light of Mnuchin's Trump-administration role, produced substantial political criticism - **Approximately $2.5 billion total fund size**: Across all limited partners ### Investment Activity - **Silicon Valley Bank**: Liberty Strategic reportedly explored involvement in SVB resolution post-March 2023 failure - **TikTok ownership interest (2024)**: Mnuchin publicly expressed interest in acquiring TikTok's U.S. operations during 2024 regulatory debates - **Multiple fintech investments**: Portfolio across financial-technology categories ## Connection to the KB Ecosystem - **[[Donald Trump]]**: Treasury Secretary across full Trump I term. - **[[Gary Cohn]]**: Fellow Goldman alumnus; NEC Director parallel role. - **[[First Trump Administration]]**: Senior Cabinet member across all four years. - **Tax Cuts and Jobs Act**: Cabinet-level lead. - **Goldman Sachs pipeline**: Principal individual figure in the Goldman-to-Trump I pattern. - **Saudi Public Investment Fund engagement**: Post-administration controversy. - **Liberty Strategic Capital**: Principal post-administration institutional vehicle. ## See Also - [[Gary Cohn]] - [[Donald Trump]] - [[First Trump Administration]] ## Merged from “Steve Mnuchin” (dedup pass 2026-06-11) > [!note] This section was merged from a duplicate page and awaits editorial integration. Goldman Sachs alumnus, Hollywood financier, and **Treasury Secretary for the entire first Trump administration** (2017–2021). Pre-Trump notoriety: bought failed lender IndyMac (rebranded OneWest) and ran it through the foreclosure-crisis era, earning the "foreclosure king" label. Post-Treasury, founded **Liberty Strategic Capital** (~$3B private equity fund raised substantially from Gulf sovereign wealth including [[Saudi Arabia]]'s PIF — the standard Trump-alumni Gulf-money pattern; compare [[Jared Kushner]]). Publicly pursued a bid to buy **TikTok** in 2024 amid the divest-or-ban law. Attended the April 2024 [[Musk-Sacks Anti-Biden Dinner]] as one of the "government types" in the room where 2024 anti-Democrat fundraising strategy was discussed. ## See Also - [[Musk-Sacks Anti-Biden Dinner]] — 2024-cycle donor positioning - [[Donald Trump]] — Treasury (2017–2021) (stub — to be expanded)