The first billionaire U.S. president has appointed two billionaires and at least a dozen millionaires, with a combined net worth of about $6.4 billion, to run government departments. Two appointees to cabinet or cabinet-level positions are former generals. And only half have any prior government experience. Many of Trump's nominees have close ties to Wall Street and corporate America. Altogether, his cabinet is shaping up to look a lot different from his predecessors.
President Trump’s cabinet is shaping up to have a smaller percentage of women and nonwhites than the first cabinets of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George Bush
| Male | White | Government experience | Former generals | Billionaires | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | George W. Bush | First confirmed cabinet | 83% | 74% | 96% | 4% | 0% |
 | Barack Obama | First confirmed cabinet | 65% | 52% | 87% | 4% | 0% |
 | Donald Trump | Nominees as of Jan. 19, 2017 | 82% | 86% | 55% | 9% | 9% |
Trump’s three non-white picks for his Cabinet are Ben Carson, for the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Elaine Chao, for the Department of Transportation; and Nikki Haley, to be ambassador to the United Nations
Trump’s nominees are not just mostly white, but also predominantly male. Overall, 17 of his 20 Cabinet level picks are men, while 15 overall are white men. That means white men make up 75 percent of Trump’s Cabinet.
That’s more than twice as many white men as Obama nominated for his entire Cabinet. He only filled 30 percent of Cabinet posts with white men. It’s also a greater share of white men than Bush, who picked just 10 white men for 20 Cabinet-level posts, or 50 percent.
Of Trump’s secretary selections, seven have zero experience in government.
They are Rex Tillerson, the retiring CEO of ExxonMobil picked for secretary of State; Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Hollywood financier tapped for Treasury; Ben Carson, a retired brain surgeon and GOP presidential candidate nominated for HUD secretary; Andrew Puzder, a fast-food CEO picked to lead the Labor Department; Betsy DeVos, a businesswoman and philanthropist tapped for Education secretary; former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon, who was picked to lead the Small Business Administration; and Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor, picked for Commerce.
The number could even be considered as high as nine because retired Gen. James Mattis — picked to lead the Defense Department — and retired Gen. John Kelly — confirmed to lead the Department of Homeland Security — have no experience in civilian posts.
62 years: That’s the average age of Trump’s Cabinet-level picks, topping Obama’s Cabinet average of a little over 58.
If Mr. Trump’s nominees are confirmed, women and nonwhites will hold five of 22 cabinet or cabinet-level positions. He has not yet named the nominee for one additional position
Number of white men in the first cabinet of each president
Donald J. Trump
17
Barack Obama
8
George W. Bush
11
Bill Clinton
10
George Bush
12
Ronald Reagan
17
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