Trump Index: 6 Companies Linked to Trump’s Cabinet Worth Watching

Key Points

• President Donald Trump’s cabinet is comprised of many former founders and CEOs of publicly listed companies.
• Tesla CEO and Co-Founder of PayPal, Elon Musk, will lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• Former Presidential candidate and DOGE co-head Vivek Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences to acquire undeveloped drug patents to bring to market.

President Donald Trump's cabinet is often referred to as "The Avengers," with each member being accomplished in their field of expertise. Trump’s cabinet has an overwhelming number of successful businessmen and businesswomen who were leaders in the business world prior to entering the government. Many of them are linked to publicly traded companies. If one were to put together a “Trump Index” of companies linked to his cabinet, these six would be constituents worth watching.

Donald Trump: President of the United States

Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States, formed the Trump Media & Technology Group NASDAQ: DJT from the SPAC reverse merger.

It operates the social media platform Truth Social with the intent of enabling free speech. It also has TV streaming platforms, TMTG+ and TMTG News, which have very little information.

The company reported Q3 losses of $19.2 million and $673 million in cash and investments with no debt. It earned $1 million in revenue and $4.7 million in interest income.

Elon Musk: Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

The world’s richest man is no stranger to the spotlight. Elon Musk is the CEO of Tesla Inc. NASDAQ: TSLA, the largest and most profitable electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in the United States.

He was also a co-founder of digital payments platform PayPal Inc. NASDAQ: PYPL. Musk also owns Twitter and founded SpaceX and Starlink, a satellite-based high-speed internet provider.

Musk also co-founded Solar City and Neuralink. Musk was appointed to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, where he plans to cut up to $2 trillion of government spending.

Vivek Ramaswamy: Former DOGE, Running for Ohio Governor

Former CEO and founder of Roivant Sciences Inc. NASDAQ: ROIV, Vivek Ramaswamy, gained mainstream exposure during his 2024 U.S. Presidential candidacy.

The "Roi" refers to the return on investment in the company's name. The medical sector biotech was funded partially by the QVT (his former hedge fund), DE Shaw, and many other hedge funds. Roivant acquired patents for undeveloped medicines from larger pharmaceutical companies to bring them to market.

Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO in January 2021 but still retained a 7.17% stake in the company. Ramaswamy also stepped down from DOGE to pursue a run for Ohio Governor in 2026.

Chris Wright: Department of Energy

As a nominee to head the Department of Energy, Chris Wright was the founder and CEO of Denver-based oil and gas company Liberty Energy Inc. NYSE: LBRT.

The company provides hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services to onshore oil and gas production companies.

Wright’s experience in fracking embodies President Trump’s “Drill baby, drill” initiatives.

LBRT stock is up 11.71% year-to-day (YTD) as of Jan. 24, 2025.

Jared Isaacman: Head of NASA

Shift4 Payments Inc. NYSE: FOUR is an integrated payments processing solutions company primarily operating in the hospitality industry with over a 30% market share of the nation’s restaurants and hotels using the platform. It was founded by Jared Isaacman, who is President Trump’s nominee to head NASA. Isaacman was a high school dropout who left to join an IT consulting job at a payment processing firm at just 16.

He left to start up a rival firm in his basement with a $10,000 check from his grandfather as seed money. The company would eventually grow to become Shift4. Isaacman took up piloting to avoid burnout and set the world record for the fastest time flying around the world in under 62 hours in a Cessna Citation CJ2 in 2009. Isaacman’s net worth rose to $1.8 billion at the time of his nomination.

Linda McMahon: U.S. Department of Education

As former co-founder and CEO of sports entertainment leader WWE owned by TKO Group Holdings Inc. NYSE: TKO, Linda McMahon was chosen by President Trump to run the Department of Education (DOE).

McMahon was instrumental in helping the WWE grow into a mainstream phenomenon. She was also the former head of the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Trump has previously pledged to abolish the DOE during his presidential campaign. McMahon would be instrumental in Trump’s goal of shifting educational oversight back to the states.