Jon Gray will not be the US’s next Treasury Secretary.
Blackstone’s global head of real estate has bowed out of consideration for the post, he said in a statement Wednesday. Gray met with President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday for a half hour.
“I had a terrific meeting and robust policy discussion with the president-elect. It was an honor to be considered for Treasury Secretary but I still have much work to do at Blackstone,” Gray said in a statement.
His Sunday meeting with the incoming president included dialogue about “the economy, global capital markets and the world financial situation,” Trump’s transition team said in a separate statement on the meeting with Gray. “Future legislation regarding the tax code and long-term debt were also discussed.”
Gray supported Trump’s opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, in the presidential race. He has been an active political donor to recent Democratic congressional and presidential campaigns, contributing the maximum amount, $2,700, to Clinton, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Though the Blackstone executive does not share a political party with Trump, they have a common alma mater: Gray graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School in 1992, while Trump graduated from the school in 1968.
One private equity real estate executive, Tom Barrack, who did support Trump on the campaign trail, is now heading the incoming president’s inaugural committee. Barrack, the founder of Los Angeles-based Colony Capital, is also an economic and national security advisor to Trump and spoke on the last day of the Republican National Convention this summer.
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