President-elect Donald Trump has picked yet another person with billionaire ties to join his administration.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that he has selected former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon to head his Small Business Administration. McMahon is the wife of billionaire WWE promoter, Vincent McMahon, whose net worth FORBES estimates at $1.16 billion.
The couple cofounded WWE, which now has a market capitalization of $1.5 billion, more than three decades ago. According to WWE's most recent annual report, Linda McMahon personally owns $84 million in WWE stock. She served as CEO from 1997 until 2009, when she stepped down to pursue public office. Her unsuccessful U.S. Senate runs as a Republican in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012 cost the couple an estimated $100 million.
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"Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognized as one of the country's top female executives advising businesses around the globe," Trump said in a statement on his Facebook page. "Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America's entrepreneurial spirit all across the country."
Linda McMahon donated $6 million to Trump's campaign in August and September, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, despite calling Trump's comments about women "deplorable" during the GOP primary. After the news was announced, Linda McMahon tweeted:
Honored to be appointed by President-Elect @realDonaldTrump to serve as head of @SBAgov advocating for our small businesses & entrepreneurs!
— Linda McMahon (@Linda_McMahon) December 7, 2016
The connections between Trump and Linda and Vince McMahon run deep. In 1988 and 1989, WWE's WrestleMania IV and WrestleMania V tournaments were held at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At WrestleMania 23 in 2007, Trump and McMahon faced off in a "Battle of Billionaires." After McMahon's representative lost the fight, Trump shaved McMahon's hair in the ring (there's a video of the event here). Trump is now a member of the WWE Hall of Fame.
Between 2007 and 2009, Vince and Linda McMahon donated $5 million to the Donald J. Trump Foundation, making the couple the biggest outside donors to his foundation, according to Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold.
In an interview with the AP in September, Linda McMahon said of Trump: "Once you're his friend, he is loyal to the end. He's an incredibly loyal, loyal friend." That loyalty has paid off for McMahon, who joins a growing list of Trump administration picks with billionaire connections.
A week ago, Trump announced that Todd Ricketts, a member of the billionaire Ricketts family, was his pick for deputy commerce secretary. While the Ricketts family initially donated money to an anti-Trump super PAC, they later endorsed Trump and donated $1 million to his campaign.
That same day, Trump announced his choice of billionaire Wilbur Ross, whose fortune FORBES estimates at $2.5 billion, for commerce secretary. Ross lives near Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and gave $200,000 to the Trump Victory Fund in July, after initially supporting Marco Rubio.
On November 23, Trump tapped Betsy DeVos, daughter-in-law of billionaire Amway cofounder Richard DeVos, for education secretary.
