Low-Key ‘Wallpaper’ Jewish Exec Catapults to Top of Trump Organization

Image by TrumpTowerNY.com

By Josh Nathan-Kazis January 11, 2017

The Trump Organization’s low-profile CFO just got a big-time promotion.

Allen Weisselberg, who has played a key role in Donald Trump’s ventures for decades, will lead The Trump Organization alongside Trump’s two sons throughout the president-elect’s White House tenure.

“Together, Don, Eric and Allen will have the authority to manage The Trump Organization and will make decisions for the duration of the presidency without any involvement whatsoever by President-elect Trump,” said Sherri Dillon, an attorney representing The Trump Organization, at a Wednesday press conference.

In addition to his role at The Trump Organization, Weisselberg has held positions at a number of Trump-related entities, according to a November Wall Street Journal profile. He is treasurer of The Donald J. Trump Foundation, the New York-based nonprofit now the subject of an inquiry by the New York State Attorney General. He was also on the board of the Miss Universe Organization.

Unlike other Trump confidants, such as real estate attorney Jason Greenblatt and special counsel Michael Cohen, Weisselberg has had almost no public profile. He is also a quiet figure within The Trump Organization itself, according to the Wall Street Journal piece. “He fits in with the wallpaper,” one former employee told the paper. “That’s how he’s survived.”

Now, Weisselberg, 69, is set to be the most powerful person at the company, alongside Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, men both about half his age.

Weisselberg was born in Brooklyn and attended Pace University before going to work for Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump. As of 2005, he lived in Nassau County on Long Island.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at nathankazis@forward.com or follow him on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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