Billionaire investor turns down Trump’s Treasury offer
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn said Friday he is not interested in serving as Treasury secretary for GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“I am flattered but do not get up early enough in the morning to accept this opportunity,” Icahn said, according to “CNN Money.”
“I was extremely surprised to learn that Donald was running for president and even more surprised that he stated he would make me Secretary of Treasury,” the wealthy hedge fund manager added.
{mosads}Trump initially pitched the position for Icahn during a Thursday interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
He also floated private equity mogul Henry Kravis and General Electric CEO Jack Welch as potential picks.
Icahn admitted Friday he agrees with Trump that there is a “big fat bubble coming up” in the market.
Years of near-zero interest rates from the Federal Reserve, he argued, have inflated asset prices.
“I personally believe we are sailing in dangerous, uncharted waters,” Icahn said. “I can only hope we get to shore safely.”
Icahn is not the only suggestion Trump has made recently about filling key slots in his potential White House administration.
Reports emerged Tuesday that he desires TV host Oprah Winfrey as his running mate in the next election cycle.
“I think Oprah would be great,” Trump told ABC News’s George Stephanopoulos in an excerpt from an interview airing on “This Week” Sunday.
“I’d love to have Oprah,” he added. “I think we’d win easily, actually.”
Trump formally launched his presidential campaign Tuesday from New York City’s Trump Tower.
He suggested he would rely on his vast personal wealth during his run.
“I’m using my own money,” Trump said. “I’m really rich.”
Aides provided figures Tuesday estimating Trump’s wealth at more than $8.7 billion.
He previously teased an Oval Office bid in 2012 before ruling it out later that year.
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