Billionaire, New York Jets Owner on Trump’s Team

It’s stacked with billionaires in various capacities, hawkish generals in charge of geopolitics and warmaking (the State Department largely sidelined), Goldman Sachs running economic and financial policies, along with neocons like UN envoy Nikki Haley – a menagerie of shame.

New York Jets owner Robert Wood (Woody or Woodith) Johnson IV is the latest billionaire to join Trump’s team. He’s the great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson, co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. Initially employed in menial work while in school, he rose to lead the company. Alex Gorsky now serves as chairman and CEO.

Trump nominated him to become US ambassador to Britain. He’s a Council on Foreign Relations member, the leading front organization for US establishment politics – meeting privately and publishing only what it wishes the public to know. Its members are exclusively Americans.

In 2000, Johnson bought the New York Jets for a reported $635 million, the highest ever price for a New York professional team, the third highest for a professional sports team. Forbes magazine now values the franchise at $1.8 billion.

Johnson currently heads the Johnson Company private investment firm, founded in 1978. In 2006, he testified before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – regarding a possible tax avoidance scheme.

Around $2 billion in capital asset losses he bought were used to offset gains from equity sales. Claiming the transaction “was consistent with the Tax Code,” he later agreed to pay 100% of $300 million in unpaid taxes owed plus interest.

He’s a longtime GOP donor, supporting candidates and national conventions. In 2008, he supported John McCain’s presidential candidacy, backed Mitt Romney in 2012.

Until he dropped out, he supported Jeb Bush’s 2016 candidacy, then switched allegiance Trump when he had a lock on the nomination.

The day before his inauguration as president, Trump announced he’d nominate Johnson as US ambassador to Britain – referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in late June, a hearing held on July 20.

Before recessing until September, the Senate confirmed his appointment along with former Texas Senator Kay Baily Hutchison as US ambassador to NATO.

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