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Blackstone’s Gray withdraws from consideration for Treasury
He says he still has "work to do" at private equity giant
Blackstone Group’s Jonathan Gray will not be the next U.S. Treasury secretary.
“I had a terrific meeting and robust policy discussion with the president-elect,” he told CNBC Wednesday. “It was an honor to be considered for Treasury secretary but I still have much work to do at Blackstone.”
With Gray [TRDataCustom] out of the picture, Trump adviser Steven Mnuchin could emerge as the favorite for the post.
Gray met with Trump’s team on Saturday. He reportedly has a good relationship with Trump’s son-in-law and key adviser Jared Kushner. Earlier this year, Blackstone’s debt division funded Kushner’s acquisition of the Watchtower building in Dumbo with a $376 million loan package in partnership with SL Green Realty.
But Gray also donated the maximum allowed amount to Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and her campaign finance director Dennis Cheng called him an admirer of Clinton’s in a leaked email. [CNBC] — Konrad Putzier