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Private equity billionaire Marc Rowan has emerged as a top contender to be Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary and will meet the president-elect on Wednesday to make his pitch for the job, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The Apollo Global Management chief had prepared extensively for the interview, said two people familiar with the matter. He has flown back from Hong Kong to meet Trump in Florida.
Rowan has the support of several Trump confidants and Wall Street donors, who cited his deep experience in financial markets. “Marc is brilliant, though, very independent,” said one of his Wall Street backers.
The 62-year-old private capital boss faces stiff competition for the role, however, with hedge fund investor Scott Bessent still a leading contender. Kevin Warsh, a former Federal Reserve governor advising the transition team on policy, has also been floated for a position and remains a candidate to be the next Treasury secretary.
Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty is also in the mix and on Tuesday travelled with Trump to a SpaceX rocket launch in Texas hosted by Elon Musk.
The prediction site Polymarket had Warsh as outright favourite on Tuesday, with Bessent second favourite followed by Rowan and Hagerty.
Rowan’s candidacy was boosted after Trump tapped billionaire investor Howard Lutnick to lead the commerce department earlier on Tuesday, which would put the boss of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald in charge of imposing far-reaching tariffs on imports.
The co-chair of Trump’s transition team lost traction in the race for the Treasury post after he and his allies became enmeshed in a bitter battle with Bessent’s camp over the job.
Bessent is also in contention to become chair of the new administration’s National Economic Council if his bid to be Treasury secretary falls through.
Rowan’s emergence as a main contender for the top economic post in the new administration comes after days of speculation about Trump’s plans. Treasury secretary is the last big cabinet position left to fill, after the president-elect raced through a number of nominations after winning the election earlier this month.
During Trump’s first administration, Rowan played a role in recommending to the president’s administration some emergency measures to tame financial markets in the early stages of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Rowan’s Apollo holds more than $700bn of assets under management. Any move into government would be complex for the Wall Street executive and the firm, although Apollo insiders say it has a deep bench of leadership to draw from. Apollo declined to comment.
Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary will need to be confirmed by the US Senate next year.