An investment banker who once moonlighted as an Uber driver to win a mandate from the ride share company will head the United States’ new sovereign wealth fund.
The Commerce Department would appoint former Morgan Stanley banker Michael Grimes to oversee the fund, according to media reports.
Grimes last month left the investment bank where he had worked for 30 years in roles such as head of global technology investment banking, leading deals such as the initial public offerings (IPOs) of technology giants Meta (META.O), Uber (UBER.N), and Airbnb (ABNB.O).
He once worked as an Uber driver to help convince the company to appoint his firm to advise it on its IPO in 2019.
Grimes also worked closely on deals with Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and now a key adviser to President Donald Trump on making the U.S. government more efficient.
Trump on 3 February ordered that a sovereign wealth fund be created within 90 days to “help maximise the stewardship” of the nation’s wealth.
Announcing the new fund in a statement, the White House said the U.S. Federal Government directly held US$5.7 trillion (A$9 trillion) of assets directly and a far larger sum indirectly, including natural resource reserves.
“The United States already holds a vast sum of highly valued assets that can be invested through a sovereign wealth fund for greater long-term wealth generation,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
Other countries have launched similar funds to invest government money, often relying on budget surpluses but the United States runs a deficit and the fund would require Congress approval.
The largest such funds in the world include Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global with US$1.744 trillion in assets, China Investment Corporation ($1.3 trillion) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ($700 billion and $800 billion).
