Trump recruited his economic advisers for their “unparalleled experience and success.” | Getty Trump’s economic advisers are also his biggest donors They’re also all men.

After spending months scolding his rivals for being beholden to their financial backers, Donald Trump unveiled an economic advisory council last week — and filled it with some of his biggest donors.

Of the 13 men — and they are all men — that Trump touted as economic advisers for their “unparalleled experience and success,” five are major donors whose families combined to give Trump’s campaign and his joint fundraising account with the Republican Party more than $2 million. Two more have been pursued for campaign contributions.


Among those Trump tapped for his economic advisory council is Steven Mnuchin, who, as Trump’s national finance director, is the point man for soliciting campaign cash across the nation. Mnuchin gave Trump $425,000 at the end of June. Others big donors on Trump’s economic advisory team include:

— Stephen Feinberg, co-founder and CEO of Cerberus Capital Management, who contributed $339,400 to Trump Victory, the Republican’s nominee joint fundraising account with the national and state Republican parties. Feinberg's wife gave another $339,400.

— Andy Beal, a billionaire investor and poker player who contributed $449,400, the largest legal sum that Trump Victory can receive from an individual. Beal also gave $100,000 last summer to a pro-Trump super PAC, the Make America Great Again PAC, which has since ceased its activities. Beal has also been publicly linked with another Trump super PAC, the Great America PAC, but federal records do not yet show that he has donated.

— Tom Barrack, a longtime Trump friend, who gave more than $399,000 to Trump Victory. Barrack, who spoke at the Republican National Convention last month, spent more than $15,000 on in-kind contributions when he hosted Trump’s first big fundraiser in Southern California — including $4,872 on beverages — in late May.

— Howard Lorber, president and CEO of Vector Group, who contributed $100,000 to Trump Victory in mid-June.

Trump praised his selections on Friday. “I am pleased that we have such a formidable group of experienced and talented individuals that will work with me to implement real solutions for the economic issues facing our country,” he said.

Others were less charitable, noting that Trump’s team lacks any women, for instance.

“He is following the path he has said was corrupt: raising large sums of money and then giving donors special access,” said Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Steve Deace, an influential conservative activist in Iowa and anti-Trump radio host, said he was not surprised that Trump was granting his biggest donors titles and insider access. But he was still angry.

“It is complete and total hypocrisy,” Deace said.

“He got a lot of mileage out of taking advantage of a lot of low-information voters who are rightfully frustrated that government left them behind,” Deace said of Trump’s claims during the primary that he was a self-funding billionaire who could not be bought. “They were an easy mark for a P.T. Barnum con man.”

Trump’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Two other new economic council members have not shown up as Trump donors yet in federal records but have been linked to Trump’s fundraising efforts:

— John Paulson, president and CEO of Paulson & Co., was spotted in mid-June entering a Trump fundraising dinner in Manhattan at which seats cost $50,000 per person.

— Harold Hamm, a billionaire energy magnate, has suggested he would write checks to the Republican National Committee in support of Trump, but he has also been wooed by the constellations of pro-Trump super PACs that can receive unlimited-sized donations. Hamm, who attended a super PAC event in Cleveland last month, has also been floated as a potential energy secretary in a Trump cabinet and is already an informal energy adviser.

Trump also named David Malpass, a former Reagan and Bush administration aide (who gave the legal maximum of $2,700 to Jeb Bush in the primaries); Peter Navarro, a professor of economics at the University of California at Irvine; Stephen Moore, founder of the Club for Growth and former Wall Street Journal editorial writer; Dan DiMicco, former CEO of steel manufacturer Nucor Corp; and Stephen M. Calk, chairman and CEO of The Federal Savings Bank.

One last economic adviser is Steve Roth, founder of Vornado Realty, who has not been tied to financing Trump’s candidacy but has been a GOP financier in the past, bundling more than $230,000 in contributions for John McCain’s presidential campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Trump named two staffers, Stephen Miller, the national director of policy for the campaign, and Dan Kowalski, the deputy director, to lead the council.

Trump’s new economic team leans heavily on Wall Street investors and hedge-fund managers, despite Trump's railing against them during the early parts of his presidential campaign.

“The hedge fund guys didn't build this country. These are guys that shift paper around. And they get lucky," Trump said last year on CBS’ "Face the Nation." "Look, they're energetic. They're very smart. But a lot of them, it's, like, they're paper pushers. They make a fortune. They pay no tax. It's ridiculous, OK?"

Paulson, a hedge fund manager, is famous for his 2007 bet against the mortgage market. Beal is an investor who bought distressed assets after the recent recession. Mnuchin runs a hedge fund.

Trump is scheduled to deliver a speech on his plans for the economy on Monday at the Detroit Economic Club.