Timothy L. O'Brien, Columnist

Mnuchin’s $2.5 Billion Fund Shows a Need for Tougher Ethics Rules

Did the former Treasury secretary lay the groundwork for his new venture while traveling to Saudi Arabia on government business? That’s a question we shouldn’t have to ask.

September 21, 2021 at 10:00 AM UTC

Corrected

September 21, 2021 at 5:04 PM UTC

By Timothy L. O'Brien

Timothy L. O'Brien is senior executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion. A former editor and reporter for the New York Times, he is author of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald.”

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in Riyadh.
Photographer: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

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Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s new investment fund is flush, courtesy of some of the same Middle Eastern countries he courted closely when he was one of the most powerful U.S. financial regulators.

People familiar with Mnuchin’s dealings had been telegraphing this for months. The Washington Post reported back in February that he was considering launching an investment vehicle backed by sovereign wealth funds in the Persian Gulf region. Bloomberg News put names and numbers on that yesterday, reporting that Mnuchin’s firm, Liberty Strategic Capital, had raised $2.5 billion, largely from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.