US President Joe Biden talks about the status of vaccinations during a coronavirus disease response event (COVID-19) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 18, 2021.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s closest advisers have ties to large companies and Wall Street, with some earning millions of dollars in their careers before joining the White House, show new financial disclosures.
Biden’s advisers listed in the disclosures include team leader Ron Klain, deputy team leader Jen O’Malley Dillon, senior adviser Mike Donilon, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeffrey Zients and Director of the Economic Council National Brian Deese.
These disclosures show that many of the president’s closest advisers have deep ties to the business world and have made more money in their previous corporate careers than previously known.
These disclosures were provided by the White House to CNBC on Saturday morning, after requesting the documents the day before. None of these positions has been confirmed by the Senate. Many of these advisers have previous ties to the Biden campaign or to the administration of former President Barack Obama.
A White House spokesman did not return a follow-up request for comment.
Deese was previously the Global Head of Sustainable Investments at BlackRock before becoming the head of the National Economic Council. While at the investment firm, Deese’s disclosure shows that he earned more than $ 2.3 million in wages and bonuses. Its disclosure also suggests that, through BlackRock’s restricted stock plan, Deese could have earned an additional $ 2.4 million.
Klain, who was an executive at the venture capital firm Revolution before joining the White House, was listed with a salary of $ 1.8 million. He started at the company in 2005.
O’Malley Dillon, who directed Biden’s campaign before following him to the White House, was a co-founder of the consulting firm Precision Strategies. The company’s founders are credited with helping to re-elect Obama in 2012.
O’Malley Dillon’s new financial disclosure gives a glimpse of the corporate advisory work she did for the company before coming to the White House. The lawsuit lists 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 White House deputy chief of staff also advised the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic arm of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.
Other companies that have seen your guidance include General Electric and Lyft. Precision’s O’Malley Dillon compensation and deferred damages are listed as over $ 420,000.
Donilon was a managing member of MCD Strategies, a media consulting firm, prior to his role at the White House. His lawsuit shows that he earned more than $ 4 million while leading his consulting firm. Donilon lists Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee as two of his clients.
Zients was the CEO of the Wall Street Cranemere investment firm before becoming a leading adviser to the Biden White House on the coronavirus pandemic. His financial disclosure shows that he had a combined salary and bonuses of $ 1.6 million. As a member of Facebook’s board, the new report shows that he earned more than $ 330,000.