Image by Morgan Housel.
The head of the Federal Reserve Board has been viewed as the second most powerful person in the government. In theory, this person heads the body that oversees the country’s monetary policy with the power to set interest rates, which shapes the economy by impacting the cost of borrowing money.
In an act of “extreme modestly,” for which he is well known, Donald Trump described himself as “a very stable genius” and “really smart.” He eloquently and lyrically elaborated in a way that would impress those who specialize in the proper use of the English language,
“Well, only because I went to the best colleges for college. I went to a — I had a situation where I was a very excellent student. Came out and made billions and billions of dollars. Became one of the top businesspeople. Went to television and, for ten years, was a tremendous success, as you probably have heard. Ran for President one time and won.”
When “stable genius” Trump nominated Jerome Powell to be head of the Federal Reserve Board, he indicated there’s a need for “strong, sound and steady leadership at the Federal Reserve,” and that Powell will “provide exactly that type of leadership.” Trump went on to call Powell “smart,” reassuring the public that does not want a dummy in this position.
Recently, showing off his ongoing consistency and stability, Trump said that Powell is “very dumb,” and that Powell, who he previously said had “the wisdom and leadership to guide our economy through any challenges,” will cause us to pay “for his incompetence for many years to come.”
How Our Wealthiest have done during Powell’s Tenure
One indication of the job the “very dumb” “smart” Powell has done is to examine what has happened to the wealth of the wealthiest, presumably Trump’s favorite people, during Powell’s time as head of the Fed. Powell’s personal impact should not be overstated given that under our capitalist system, what has happened would not have been much different under the leadership of anyone heading up the Fed. Nevertheless, examining the changes in the wealth of the wealthiest is a starting point for evaluating the job he has done.
According to the Federal Reserve Board itself, at the end of 2017, shortly after Powell was nominated to be its head, the richest one tenth of 1% of U.S. citizens were worth $12.29 trillion in nominal dollars, 12.6% of the nation’s total wealth. In less than eight years, as of the end of the first quarter in 2025, their nominal wealth had grown to $22.19 trillion, by 80%, at a rate far greater than increases in the cost of living. The wealthiest .1% holdings now came to 13.8% of the U.S. total wealth. Given the size of the country’s wealth of $160.26 trillion at that time, this 1.2% gain represents a movement of wealth of over $1.92 trillion from the 99.9% of the population into the pockets of the .1%.
Presumably, the rich folks at the top of the .1%, and for that matter, Trump, are pleased with this result.
What should be even more pleasing to the “really smart” Trump is what has happened to the wealth of some of our current wealthiest comrades—some of the guys worth over $100 billion. Using the Forbes 2018 figures and the July 3 Bloomberg Billionaires Index, one might conclude the ten listed below have made impressive enhancements to their wealth during Powell’s leadership at the Fed. The value of their holdings increased from $616.5 billion to $2,204 billion or by 328%, more than tripling, a rate much greater than the rest of the wealthiest .1%.
Net Worth in Billions
Shouldn’t Trump be happy given that during Powell’s leadership of the Fed, a more than three-fold increase in the wealth of these ten gentlemen has come about? Yet, in late April, Trump called Powell a “major loser” and stated that his “termination cannot come fast enough,” which appeared to suggest that Powell should be fired. Yet, the consistent “really smart” “stable genius” would soon thereafter indicate “I have no intention of firing him.”
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