Arab American Entrepreneur Tom Barrack to Chair Trump's Inaugural Committee
Tom Barrack is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants. Image Credit: Follow NewsBY: Nisreen Eadeh/Staff Writer
President-elect Donald Trump announced his Presidential Inaugural Committee members on Tuesday. Trump chose billionaire Arab American entrepreneur, Tom Barrack, to chair the committee.
The purpose of the committee is to coordinate the events surrounding the inauguration, which will take place on January 20, 2017. Barrack, founder of Colony Capital, has been a business associate and friend to Donald Trump for 35 years. The private equity executive donated generously to the Trump campaign and spoke on his behalf at the Republican National Convention in July.
Trump named many of his other donors to the Inaugural Committee as finance vice-chairs, as well. According to CNN, Trump’s other mega-donors include Israeli casino tycoons Sheldon and Miriam Adelson, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, Wisconsin billionaire Diane Hendricks, and California venture capitalist Elliott Broidy.
This will not be Barrack’s first time assisting the president-elect in his transition process. Barrack has been an economic and national security advisor to Trump throughout the campaign, and also serves as Deputy Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior during the Reagan Administration.