Wilbur Louis Ross Jr. (born November 28, 1937) is an American businessman who served as the 39th United States Secretary of Commerce from 2017 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Ross was previously chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WL Ross & Co from 2000 to 2017. Before founding WL Ross & Co, Ross ran the bankruptcy restructuring practice at N M Rothschild & Sons in New York beginning in the late 1970s. In April 2000, Ross left Rothschild to found WL Ross & Co. Ross was a banker known for acquiring and restructuring failed companies in industries such as steel, coal, telecommunications, and textiles, later selling them for a profit after operations improved, a record that had earned him the moniker "King of Bankruptcy". Ross has been chairman or lead director of more than 100 companies operating in more than 20 countries. Named by Bloomberg Markets as one of the 50 most influential people in global finance, Ross was previously an adviser to New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani on privatization, and was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the board of The U.S. Russia Investment Fund. On November 30, 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Ross to become the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. On February 27, 2017, the Senate confirmed him in a 72–27 vote. He was sworn into office on February 28, 2017; at age 79, he was the oldest first-time Cabinet appointee in U.S. history. Early life and education Ross was born on November 28, 1937, in Weehawken, New Jersey, and grew up in nearby North Bergen, New Jersey. His father, Wilbur Louis Ross, was a lawyer who later became a judge, and his mother, Agnes (née O'Neill), of Irish descent, was valedictorian at Sacred Heart Academy in Hoboken and taught third grade in North Bergen for 40 years. Ross attended Xavier High School, a Catholic school, and college-preparatory school in Manhattan. He ran track and was captain of the rifle team. He graduated in 1955. In 1959, he received a bachelor's degree from Yale College, his father's alma mater. At Yale, Ross edited one of the literary magazines and worked at the radio station. His dream was to be a writer. He enrolled in an English course that required writing a thousand words by 10 a.m. every day; after two weeks, he ran out of things to write about