By Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby
WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) – Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor chosen by President Donald Trump to lead the central bank, has submitted financial disclosures indicating he holds assets worth well over $100 million, putting him on track to be the wealthiest central bank leader ever if confirmed.
It is difficult to estimate net worth from U.S. government ethics forms because assets are valued in broad and sometimes open-ended categories. Warsh’s filing, made public early Tuesday, also includes a notable number of gaps and pledges to divest assets if confirmed.
That said, the form gives an extensive accounting of the prospective Fed leader’s personal wealth. The 69-page disclosure includes two investments worth more than $50 million each in the Juggernaut Fund LP and $10.2 million in consulting fees from the investment office of Wall Street giant Stanley Druckenmiller.
The Juggernaut Fund investments, for example, come with the caveat that the underlying assets “are not disclosed due to pre-existing confidentiality agreements,” with a promise from Warsh that “I will divest this asset if confirmed.”
Warsh’s financial disclosures will almost certainly be a focus of his upcoming confirmation hearing next week, ahead of the end of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s leadership term next month.
Federal Reserve ethics rules formalized in 2022 sharply limit what Fed officials and their immediate families can hold and how they can manage their investments. Those rules prevent ownership of bank stocks and crypto-related investments among other restrictions, and limit how Fed officials can buy and sell holdings, for example.
The central bank ethics rules, which are set by the Federal Open Market Committee, are more stringent than those of the rest of the government.
Warsh’s large-scale investments are among a series of holdings, including around two dozen in THSDFS LLC, some individually worth as much as $5 million, where details were withheld and which Warsh also pledged to divest if confirmed.
OGE analyst Heather Jones, who signed off on Warsh’s document, noted those commitments in her review and said that “once the filer divests these assets, he will be in compliance” with the Ethics in Government Act.
The document lists dozens of other assets without stating the value, mostly focused, judging by the names, in artificial intelligence and crypto, among other sectors. Those holdings include Cafe X, described as a robotic coffee bar platform; a “bionic movement-enhancing wearable clothing” firm called Cionic; Blast, notated as “yield-generating Ethereum layer two,”; and Contraline, a “reversible male contraceptive solution.”
The holdings of Warsh’s spouse, Jane Lauder, whose family interests include the Estee Lauder cosmetics company and who Forbes estimates has a net worth of around $1.9 billion, were also included. Some of Lauder’s municipal bond holdings were valued simply at “over $1 million.”
Warsh’s liabilities appear comparatively limited, including a 2015 mortgage of up to $5 million from JP Morgan Chase at 2.75%, a revolving line of credit of up to $5 million from PNC Bank listed at a rate of around 6%, and capital commitments of $1,950,000 to THSDFS LLC, one of the interests he has promised to divest.
MOVING FORWARD
The filing of Warsh’s paperwork with the ethics office is a key step in his expected confirmation to succeed Powell.
The potential Fed leader’s wealth, which appears to significantly exceed that of Powell, points to a potentially challenging vetting process for legislators. Warsh’s financial position also stands in sharp relief to that of most Americans and more closely aligns with the substantial wealth held by top Trump officials like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
“Warsh is wealthy and well connected” and “the disclosure is a snapshot into how wealth and connections build greater wealth and connections,” said Kathryn Judge, a professor at Columbia Law School.
She added, “perhaps most striking were the many arrangements that were not fully disclosed because of pre-existing confidentiality agreements,” adding “when those disclosures leave questions unanswered, the Senate can and should use the hearings to get the information it needs to make that determination.”
Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital, said Warsh “has distinguished himself in financial services” and the disclosures offer “a comprehensive look at someone who’s been…highly successful in merchandising his intellectual properties.” He added “he’s clearly leaned into crypto a bit”, which is emblematic of shifts in the financial system under the Trump administration.
Committee rules require five business days’ notice to schedule a hearing once the needed paperwork is in hand. On Tuesday, Punchbowl reported Warsh’s confirmation hearing will be held on April 21. Even once the hearing is scheduled, it is unclear how quickly Warsh could be confirmed by the full Senate.
What’s more, a key Republican lawmaker has vowed to block confirmation until the conclusion of a Department of Justice investigation into Powell for his oversight of renovations to the Fed’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. There is little indication of progress on that matter.
Though a federal judge quashed the DOJ’s subpoenas, finding the probe to be a thinly disguised effort to pressure Powell to lower interest rates or resign, the department has said it will appeal, likely delaying any chance Warsh has to be confirmed before Powell’s chair term ends on May 15.
Powell has said he will stay on on a “pro tem” basis if Warsh is not confirmed and in place by that time. Powell also holds a governor slot he can stay in until 2028 if he chooses.
(Reporting by Howard Schneider and Michael S. Derby; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Hugh Lawson)
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