Trump's Pick For Treasury Secretary Has History In Hollywood, SoCal Real Estate
BEL AIR (CBSLA.com) — Steven Mnuchin, president-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of the Treasury, has deep Southern California roots, with a mansion in Bel Air, history as a Hollywood film financier and the chairmanship of a controversial bank headquartered in Pasadena.
Now 53, Mnuchin began his career at Goldman Sachs, leaving after 17 years and founding Dune Capital Management in 2004. He also was part of a team that, in 2009, bought IndyMac from the federal government for $1.6 billion, later serving as chairman of the Pasadena-based bank, which was renamed OneWest Bank Group and later sold.
In 2011, protestors gathered in front of Mnuchin's home in Bel Air – reported to be worth $26.5 million – to protest OneWest's foreclosure on homeowners, many of whom were alleged to belong to minority communities.
Mnuchin is credited as a producer on 34 films. His company, Dune Entertainment, helped fund movies like the "X-Men" film franchise, "Suicide Squad," and "Mad Max: Fury Road." He was also among those who bankrolled the blockbuster "Avatar" and Warren Beatty's "Rules Don't Apply," in which he makes a cameo appearance.
Mnuchin was also an investor in Relativity Media, a Beverly Hills-based studio, serving as nonexecutive co-chairman of the board from Oct. 2014 to May 2015 and leaving just before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
A statement Wednesday morning from the presidential transition team announcing Trump's intent to nominate Mnuchin said he is a member of the board of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the UCLA Health System board, the Los Angeles Police Foundation, as well as a number of organizations in New York.
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