Who is the richest Federal Reserve president?
Powell is the richest Fed chair since the 1940s
When President Trump nominated Jerome Powell to lead the Federal Reserve more than two years ago, it generated several headlines noting the central banker would be one of the wealthiest individuals to ever hold that position.
Powell, a Republican is the first with no formal economics training, and the richest since the 1940s, worth somewhere between $19.7 million and $55 million, according to a financial disclosure.
He earned his vast fortune not from his work in the public sector, but from the several years he spent as an executive at the Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private-equity firms.
The wealthiest person to lead the U.S. central bank was Marriner Eccles, who held the position from 1934 to 1948, according to a Washington Post review of former Fed chair financial disclosures. Eccles was appointed to the position by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
HOW DID JEROME POWELL MAKE HIS FORTUNE?
He's credited with restoring the independence of the Fed system following World War II, according to The New York Times.
While he's best known for his work in Washington, Eccles helped run an industrial and financial empire that included mining, shipping, construction, sugar and lumber. Before he entered public service, Eccles gained national attention for successfully preventing the collapse of his bank in 1931, at the height of the Great Depression.
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He returned to his banking business in Utah after serving 12 years as the head of the central bank. He died in 1977.