If confirmed by the full U.S. Senate, Kevin Warsh will be the richest Chair of the Federal Reserve in American history.
And if he gets the job as head of the world’s largest central bank, he says he’ll dispose of millions of dollars of his vast wealth and resign from lucrative consulting and board roles.
His 69-page government financial disclosure shows Warsh, a 56-year-old lawyer, has assets of at least over $100 million and potentially far more.
He is married to Jane Lauder, an heir to the Estee Lauder fortune whose own personal worth is estimated to be $1.9 billion, according to Forbes.
Warsh is President Donald Trump’s nominee to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Holdings in Warsh’s name, separate from his spouse, total approximately $131 million and $209 million,The New York Times reported April 14.
With the filing completed, Warsh’s long-delayed nomination hearing has been scheduled for 10 a.m. April 21 before the powerful Senate Banking Committee.
Warsh’s financial disclosures are just one procedural hurdle in what has been a complicated confirmation process amid mounting concerns about the Fed’s ability to operate independently, as mandated by Congress.
Trump aggressively pushes Fed to lower interest rates
Trump wants substantially lower interest rates and has waged an aggressive pressure campaign against the Fed to that end.
More Federal Reserve:
- J.P. Morgan pushes back on Fed’s 2026 rate-cut forecast
It has included an attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa D. Cook over unsubstantiated allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook is now awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court over her potential ouster.
Trump has also directly targeted Jerome Powell, who will serve as Fed chair until May 15.
While the president initially limited his attacks to personal insults such as calling Powell “a moron” among multiple slurs, the Department of Justice began an unprecedented criminal investigation into Powell’s handling of $2.5 billion renovations at the central bank’s headquarters in Washington.
That escalation drew strong rebukes from Powell, who called the criminal probe a pretext to lower interest rates, as well as lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle.
Trump has blasted Powell for not slashing interest rates to 1% or lower over the last 14 months.
The Federal Funds Rate is currently 3.50% to 3.75% after the Federal Open Market Committee held the rate steady after the last two meetings. As I reported, It cut the funds rate by three 25 basis points in its last meetings of 2025.
Tillis vows to block Warsh nomination process
The unprecedented criminal probe of a sitting Federal Reserve chair has prompted one Republican member of the Senate Banking Committee, outgoing North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, to vow to delay Warsh’s nomination process until the Powell investigation is shut down permanently.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., told Fox Business April 14 that he expected the Tillis situation to be resolved in the near future thus clearing the way for Warsh’s nomination to reach the full Senate for approval. Scott did not divulge additional details.
Warsh, a former Fed governor once known for his hawkish views on monetary policy, can expect a slew of questions (and some pretty harsh ones from both parties) in his attempt to succeed Powell when his term as leader concludes in May.
Warsh will face harsh questions from both sides of the aisle
Questions will arise about the Federal Reserve’s role, how it functions, and its impact on the economy, prices, the size of its $6.63 trillion balance sheet and the nation’s workforce.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the banking committee’s ranking member, has been a vocal critic of Warsh since his nomination was announced early this year.
Related: Fed Chair nominee Warsh faces 8 make-or-break questions
Warren has primarily argued that Warsh’s record as a Fed governor during the 2008 financial crisis disqualifies him from the role as chair.
Warren has also called Warsh a political “sock puppet” for the White House.
Warsh “understands the Federal Reserve very well” as a former central banker, and “he has a keen understanding of what our mission is, and the importance of what we do,” New York Fed President John Williams said earlier this month, according to Reuters.
“I haven’t spoken to him lately, but I do expect that when he does get confirmed by the Senate, that he will share his views and perspectives as he thinks about…what he wants to accomplish as chair,” said Williams, a close ally of Powell.
Warsh says he’ll divest vast assets if nominated
Warsh said that if he is confirmed, he will resign from a number of posts listed in the filings including as an adviser to investor Stanley Drukenmiller, for which he reported $10 million in consulting fees.
Warsh also said he would give up his board seats at Coupang, a South Korean e-commerce company, and UPS.
His ethics form further stipulated that Warsh would divest a substantial number of assets including two roughly $50 million stakes in Juggernaut Fund, which is also managed by Druckenmiller’s firm.
Warsh also said he could not disclose many of the investments that he planned to sell, citing “preexisting confidentiality agreements.”
Related: Sen. Warren demands answers from Fed nominee Warsh on Epstein links
