Trump’s commerce secretary Wilbur Ross lied about being billionaire: Forbes

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have lied about his net worth to the tune of about US$2 billion, according to a new report.

Forbes magazine reported that financial disclosure forms filed after Ross’ nomination to President Donald Trump’s cabinet show Ross has less than $700 million in assets, a big drop from the $3.7 billion he had claimed to be worth, and below the $2.9 billion that Forbes had believed he was worth.

“After one month of digging, Forbes is confident it has found the answer,” the report said. “That money never existed. It seems clear that Ross lied to us, the latest in an apparent sequence of fibs, exaggerations, omissions, fabrications and whoppers that have been going on with Forbes since 2004.”

READ MORE: Trump commerce secretary Wilbur Ross had stake in Putin-linked firm

The business magazine claimed Ross has “lied” about the “more than $2 billion” for more than a decade in order to be placed on The Forbes 400 and help “bolster his standing in a way that translated into business opportunities.”

Meanwhile, Ross defended himself saying he has more than $2 billion in trusts for his family that were not disclosed in those forms prior to becoming Trump’s pick for commerce secretary.

“The Forbes article cites former employees, without full knowledge, and all but one anonymously – we will not respond further,” a Commerce Department spokesperson said in a statement to Global News. “Secretary Ross’s disclosure documents were compiled by legal counsel and accountants. The relevant rules were followed, and the documents were closely reviewed and approved by ethics officials at the Department of Commerce and the Office of Government Ethics. We regret any earlier miscommunication.”

READ MORE: What is the leak and how are wealthy Canadians involved?

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• ‘Paradise Papers’ reveals Liberal Party fundraiser’s alleged use of tax scheme

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Trump has himself indicated his preference for billionaires to be “in charge of the economy.”

“I love all people — rich or poor — but in those particular positions, I just don’t want a poor person,” Trump said at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in June. “Does that make sense? If you insist, I’ll do it — but I like it better this way.”

Trump’s commerce secretary made headlines Sunday after it was revealed he has investments in a shipping firm with significant business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

The revelations stem from the Paradise Papers, a collection of more than 13 million leaked documents from Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm founded in Bermuda, which has branches in tax havens around the world.

The documents detail offshore investments and the affairs of wealthy individuals and institutions ranging from Ross to the Queen to some well-known Canadians, including former prime ministers Jean Chretien, Paul Martin and Brian Mulroney as well as Stephen Bronfman, a financier for one of Canada’s wealthiest families and chief fundraiser for Justin Trudeau.

The documents were obtained by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and media outlets around the world.

“There was disclosure, there is no impropriety and if people draw a contrary conclusion that’s because the papers have twisted the story and made it into something that is not there,” Ross told the BBC.

Reports indicated that partnerships used by Ross have a 31 per cent stake in Navigator Holdings, which earns millions of dollars a year transporting gas for the Russian petrochemical firm Sibur, whose stakeholders include Gennady Timchenko, a Putin associate who is subject to U.S. sanctions, and Putin’s son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov.