Brad Trent

Secretary of the Treasury
Location Washington, DC
Age 60
HBS MBA 1970

For wall street power brokers, Paulson’s jump from his $39 million-a-year gig as head of Goldman Sachs to number five in the order of presidential succession may seem like a step down. Perhaps that’s why President Bush (2) promised that Paulson will be the go-to guy on economic strategy, even if direct control over monetary policy lies down the street at the Fed. Paulson, who led Goldman to record profits of $5.63 billion in 2005, brings to the job a reputation for no-nonsense brilliance that his predecessors lacked. The onetime Dartmouth offensive lineman’s communication skills may be just what the less-than-articulate administration needs to communicate its economic policies to a dubious public, and Paulson’s China expertise will help him in trade and currency debates with the next superpower. Financial types love his penchant for high-stakes gambles—Business Week calls him “Mr. Risk”—and Beltway pundits wonder whether the moderate environmentalist, who stepped down as chairman of the Nature Conservancy when he took the Treasury post, will help the GOP win back independents.

Google hits 125,000 for “Hank Paulson”; 2.73 million for “Secretary of the Treasury,” first for Paulson’s predecessor, John W. Snow