“Steve Mnuchin is the embodiment of kleptocracy, is the most obvious caricature of a crook, given the keys to the Treasury.”
— Andreas M. Antonopoulos

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is one of the most powerful financiers in the world. As Treasury Secretary of the US, he is the principal advisor to the President and the Cabinet on economic issues and is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policies.

So how did he get there?

Mnuchin followed in his father's footsteps by joining Goldman Sachs after graduating from Yale. He quickly ascended the ranks at the investment bank and following his departure in 2002 he built a reputation as someone who profited from the misery of others after his bank, OneWest, turned into a "foreclosure machine" in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.

Mnuchin's questionable career practices are not strictly limited to Wall Street. In 2004 he founded Dune Entertainment as a side business, which was the financier of numerous notable films, mostly for 20th Century Fox, including the X-Men film franchise and Avatar, as well as several flops.

Following his foray into Hollywood, and with Mnuchin's former business associate, Donald Trump's presidential campaign underway, Mnuchin turned his hand to politics.

In the build-up to the 2016 election, Trump approached Mnuchin and asked him to join the campaign as his National Finance Chairman.

Mnuchin had donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to both Democrats and Republicans over the previous two decades, and when Trump asked Mnuchin to come on board, he jumped at the chance.

In the final part of Robbing Hood, we look into Mnuchin's relationship with Trump and how a man dubbed the foreclosure king with a history of potential tax evasion became the Treasury Secretary of the United States.

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Show notes and transcription: https://www.defiance.news/podcast/robbing-hood-part-4-trumps-footstool

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Timestamps:
Coming soon…

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