U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced Federal Reserve board member Jerome Powell as his nominee for the next chair of the Federal Reserve.
Powell replaces Janet Yellen, whose term ends in early 2018. Powell has been Federal Reserve Governor since 2012.
Here a few lesser known facts about Powell:
- Born in 1953 in Washington, Jerome Powell graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School before receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Princeton University in 1975.
- Between 1990 and 1993, Powell worked at the U.S. Department of Treasury and became the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance after being nominated by then President George HW Bush.
- Between 1993 and 2005, Powell worked for various banks and financial institutions, before becoming the managing partner at a private equity and venture capital firm.
- In late 2011, Powell was nominated by President Barack Obama to the Federal Reserve Board.
- Powell would be the first Fed chief in four decades without an economics degree.
- His most recent financial disclosure in June showed a net worth of as much as US$55 million (S$74.8 million). In contrast, Yellen had assets worth up to US$16.6 million a year earlier.
- Most Fed watchers say Powell is likely to keep U.S. interest rates low, going by his voting record in the Fed and public comments so far.
