[12], The Shanghai Jiao Tong University named the building housing its School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering in honor of the philanthropy of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao and her husband, James Si-Cheng Chao, an alumnus of the university. McConnell didn't mysteriously increase his net worth by $2.4 million every year over the course of a decade while serving in the Senate. Elaine Chao comes from a wealthy family, as her father, James S.C. Chao, is a businessman who founded a shipping company in New York City called Foremost Group. [4], Amidst political and economic turmoil of the Chinese Civil War, her family migrated from Anhui Province to Nanjing by 1940. Baker Library Historical Collections. She was able to reduce the workplace fatality rate, decrease the workplace injury and illness rate, and she also showed extreme competence in managing the department’s budget. She Made $1.2 Million From Wells Fargo. Chao is a veteran of the George W. Bush administration, having served as secretary of Labor for the 43rd president. [2][3], Chu Mulan (or Mulan Chu) was born on March 19, 1930 in Anhui, China, daughter of the Honorable Vei Ching Chu (朱維謙; Zhū Wéiqiān) and Hui Ying Tien Chu (朱田慧英; Zhū Tián Huìyīng). She served as a director on boards for many different organizations, including Dole Food Company, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Well Fargo, and Protective Life Corporation. Her family eventually migrated to Shanghai, where she first attended attended Ming Teh Girls High School and later Number One High School in Jiading. (Getty). [1] Four of Chao's six daughters attended the business school, including the former United States Secretary of Labor and current U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao. A few years after that, she became a deputy administrator with the Maritime Administration, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Transportation. A popular tweet used a shaky comparison to differentiate the U.S. presidential candidates in 2020. Jake is passionate about everything tech, film, and gaming related. Elaine Chao was born in Taipei, Taiwan in March 1953. (Since these shares are in her name, McConnell only needs to report they have a minimum value of $1 million.). (Getty). Believe it or not, Chao didn’t jump right into politics once she was done with school. [1], After her six daughters were grown, when she was 51 years old, she entered St. John's University in New York City and graduated at the age of 53 with a master's degree in Asian literature and history. At both Mount Holyoke and Harvard, Chao wasn’t content to just do her classwork and go home. That number fell in 2017 when she became Secretary of Transportation. In April 2008, Chao's father gave Chao and McConnell between $5 million and $25 million, which "boosted McConnell's personal worth from a minimum of $3 million in 2007 to more than $7 million" and "helped the McConnells after their stock portfolio dipped in the wake of the financial crisis that year ". Four of Chao's six daughters attended the business school, including the former United States Secretary of Labor and current U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chao. Once that gig was over, she became the director of the Peace Corps, helping them expand their influence into Eastern Europe and Central Asia. [8][10], James Si-Cheng Chao and Ruth Mulan Chu Chao established the Foremost Foundation "to help young people access higher education... while also supporting health care initiatives and U.S.-Asia cultural exchanges. Chao has been in politics for a long time, but has she been able to make any money in this line of work? She graduated with a bachelor of arts in the subject in 1975. This money also went toward the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, a building that would be named after Elaine’s mother. He is also a partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm, and he has investments in dozens of major companies including Facebook. After debt and an investments from China's Export-Import Bank and Taiwan's First Commercial Bank, the Chao family's stake in Foremost is worth an estimated $600 million. According to the non-profit government transparency organization Center for Responsive Politics, McConnell’s net worth jumped from an estimated $7.8 million in 2007 to $17 million in 2008, owing entirely to a tax-exempt, money market fund in an account he held jointly with his wife: As the Washington Post reported in 2014, McConnell’s increase in wealth reflected inheritance mone Chao received when her mother passed away in 2007: That’s almost a sevenfold increase in 10 years. She was actually the chairwoman of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1988 to 1989, and President George H. W. Bush nominated her to be the Deputy Secretary of Transportation during this time. According to The Washington Post, McConnell’s net worth is $22.8 million. This makes her the seventh wealthiest person in the Donald Trump cabinet. © 2020 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved, © 2015 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved, Mitch McConnell's Wife Elaine Chao Comes From An Extremely Rich Family. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao (Chinese: 趙朱木蘭; pinyin: Zhào Zhū Mùlán; March 19, 1930 – August 2, 2007) was the matriarch of a Chinese-American philanthropic family. She also helped to put into place new laws that would help to prevent embezzlement and mismanagement in labor unions. Elaine Chao Net Worth. Her father is the founder of the New York-based international shipping and trading company Foremost Group, an organization her sister, Angela, chairs. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. Donald Trump Is Putting Together The Wealthiest Administration In History. As a child only eight years old, she journeyed alone back to Anhui to reclaim the family's gold that had been hidden away on their land. Baker Library | Bloomberg Center Harvard Business School Soldiers Field Boston, MA 02163 Phone: 617.495.6411 Email: histcollref@hbs.edu Following his election, Donald Trump nominated Chao to serve as his Secretary of Transportation, probably because of her extensive experience in public office during the two other administrations that I mentioned. Elaine has one younger sibling, a sister named Angela, who serves as CEO. Elaine Chao is no stranger to the world of politics. She served as the Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission from April 1988 to April 1989. So what happened in 2008? Elaine Chao is the daughter of James S.C. Chao and Ruth Mulan Chu Chao. (AngelaChao.org). Elaine Chao, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for transportation secretary, will have her Senate confirmation hearing next week. McConnell has quadrupled his net worth since 2007, when it was $7.8 million. Chao left Washington in 2009, finishing off an eight-year stint as United States Secretary of Labor. Newmyer, Tory. This money also went toward the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, a building that would be named after Elaine’s mother. For a period of time after that, she worked as the president and CEO of United Way of America, the non-profit organization. While with Wells Fargo, Chao was responsible for monitoring the bank’s management and making staff changes. ), Indeed, a McConnell spokesman confirms that this was an inheritance for McConnell’s wife, former Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, after her mother died in 2007. "[11] The Foundation has provided scholarships to more than 5,000 students. [4] She was named for the Chinese folklore heroine, Hua Mulan, the legendary warrior representing qualities of character, courage, and resolve. Baker Library Historical Collections. They obviously met through politics, and they’re known to be very supportive of each other’s careers. [9] They reared six daughters; four of them attended the Harvard Business School. [13], In 2012, the Chao family donated US$40 million to Harvard Business School,[14] supporting the US$35 million construction of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center and US$5 million to endow a scholarship fund, the Ruth Mulan Chu and James Si-Cheng Chao Family Fellowship Fund, for students of Chinese heritage.