He'll Take Treasury,Thank You Very Much

Steven Mnuchin’s pedigree—Yale, Goldman, Hollywood, hedge funds—makes him the kind of financier Donald Trump fans love to hate. Instead, as the candidate’s chief fundraiser, he’s cashing their checks.

- Max Abelson and Zachary Mider

Until one Tuesday in April, Steven Mnuchin’s life had been ordered meticulously. The son of a Goldman Sachs partner,he was publisher of the Yale Daily News, was tapped into Skull and Bones, made partner at Goldman, ran a hedge fund, and invested in Hollywood blockbusters. One thing followed another. Then, on April 19, the day of the New York primary, Mnuchin’s life veered.

He was supposed to be at a dinner downtown, but after receiving a last-minute invitation to Donald Trump’s victory speech, he stopped by Trump Tower. Mnuchin—53, stiff bearing, stylish black glasses—was milling around, swallowing some Trump-brand wine, when the candidate swanned into view. The two had worked together on building deals years earlier. The billionaire beckoned his friend to follow him onto an escalator, and suddenly they were both onstage, Trump jabbing at the roaring crowd and bragging that the group assembled behind him included some of the world’s great businessmen. Mnuchin beamed. From where he stood, Trump’s iridescent hairdo was almost close enough to pat. He spotted a monitor, glimpsed his own face, and realized he was on TV.

The next morning, Trump called and asked Mnuchin to be his national finance chairman. He accepted. This precise man was suddenly in charge of funding a reality TV star whose populist pandemonium was conquering the Republican Party. It didn’t make sense. Mnuchin had spent his career atop the elite institutions Trump voters despise, and he lacked any political experience. The closest he’d come was making campaign contributions, and those had been mostly to Democrats. The task seemed impossible. With only a few months left before the election, Mnuchin was going up against a Hillary Clinton money machine that was out-organizing and outraising him. Friends who’ve known him for years found it baffling.