State Democratic Committee, and held fundraisers for Democratic candidates at his apartment in New York City. He served under President Bill Clinton on the board of the U.S. Russia Investment Fund. In January 1998, he funded $2.25 million in seed money into the campaign of his then-wife, Betsy McCaughey, who was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York. Since at least 2011, Ross has donated to Republican candidates and organizations. Ross became a registered Republican in November 2016. Privatization In the 1990s, New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani appointed Ross as his privatization advisor. He helped push to privatize the city's public broadcasting stations and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and worked to sell off empty land lots to businesses. Trade policy Ross has described himself as "pro-sensible trade" and said that the U.S. government "should provide access to our markets to those countries who play fair, play by the rules and give everybody a fair chance to compete. Those who do not should not get away with it – they should be punished." Initially in favor of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Ross has said that after examining the agreement, he found it was "not consistent with what was advertised". In 2004, The Economist described Ross as a supporter of protectionism. At the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, Ross responded to concerns of a trade war by noting that "There have always been trade wars. The difference now is U.S. troops are now coming to the ramparts." Personal life Ross married Judith Nodine in 1961. They divorced in 1995. After the divorce, Nodine sued Ross for failing to transfer stock by the agreed-upon deadline and Ross counter-sued. They had two children, Jessica Colby Ross (b. 1962) and Amanda Colby Ross (b. 1965). Amanda attended the French Culinary Institute and founded a baking company, while Jessica worked for Sotheby's. In 1995, Ross married his second wife, Lieutenant Governor of New York Betsy McCaughey. They divorced in 2000. On October 9, 2004, Ross married his third wife, Hilary Geary Ross, a society writer for Quest magazine. In December 2016, while his Manhattan penthouse apartment at The Briarcliffe was on the market for $21 million, Ross purchased a 10,000 square foot house in the Massachusetts Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C., from Adrienne Arsht for $10,750,000. In 2018, he purchased a $3.2 million house in The Berkshires. He