Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is trying to uncover details about the finances of Kevin Warsh, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee the Federal Reserve and manage U.S. monetary policy.
Warsh could become the richest Fed chair in history if confirmed, thanks in part to his wife’s family fortune and, crucially, some finances that are shrouded in secrecy — not exactly an ideal scenario for someone whose job would include supervising financial institutions.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday on a letter Warren sent to a firm that Warsh has used for investments. Warsh has said a pre-existing confidentiality agreement forbids him from revealing particular assets. Warsh has worked for the firm, Duquesne Family Office, which is run by billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who has been a mentor to Warsh.
CNBC recently reported on a loophole that has allowed Warsh to cash in:
Kevin Warsh can credit more than $100 million of his vast fortune to a lucrative regulatory carveout that favors family office executives and investment professionals, family office attorneys told Inside Wealth.
While single-family offices are widely understood to only manage family members’ assets, a little-known exception allows certain employees to invest with the ultra-wealthy families they work for.
Warsh’s recent financial disclosures are putting the carveout on display.
The Federal Reserve chair nominee has two stakes worth at least $50 million each in a vehicle called the Juggernaut Fund, according to the filings.
According to Bloomberg, Warren’s letter seeks to free Warsh from his confidentiality agreements with Druckenmiller’s firm so he can be more transparent about his investments.
Elizabeth Warren pressed Stanley Druckenmiller’s investment firm to free Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh from confidentiality agreements, seeking greater transparency into his investments before a Senate confirmation vote.
The move by Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, comes as Warsh remains on track to be confirmed by the Senate in the coming weeks. Financial disclosures submitted by Warsh last month disclosed assets with his wife Jane Lauder that total at least $192 million, though the actual figure for their holdings is certainly much higher.
During Warsh’s Senate hearing last month, Warren raised concerns about his multimillion-dollar investments in the Juggernaut Fund at his mentor’s firm. Specifically, she asked about whether those investments involve companies “affiliated with President Trump or his family, companies that have facilitated money laundering, Chinese-controlled companies or financing vehicles established by Jeffrey Epstein.”
Warsh did not say whether any of his investments were tied to Epstein, the late sex offender — a question that came after emails in the Epstein files suggested that Warsh and his wife had been invited to ritzy events with Epstein. He said he would sell off any investments in the firm if he is confirmed, which Warren deemed an unsatisfactory answer.
In a written response to Warren after his testimony, Warsh said of Epstein: “I don’t know these people, I did not attend any of their events, nor am I aware of having ever attended an event at which these people were present.”
Warren’s letter suggests she wants to find out more for herself.
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