Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, and his spouse have a combined net worth of at least $327 million, which would make him the wealthiest SEC chair in recent decades if confirmed.
His stake in Patomak Global Partners, the consulting firm he founded, is worth at least $25 million, based on paperwork filed with the Office of Government Ethics.
The documents, including more than 70 pages detailing extensive investments, compensation and other assets, were made public Tuesday, two days before his nomination hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the panel, asked Atkins this week to commit to a four-year cooling-off period from lobbying the commission or consulting or joining any SEC-regulated companies after leaving the agency to mitigate potential conflicts.
Atkins’ total net worth includes assets held by his wife, an heir of a national roofing-products firm and its parent company, Tamko Holdings Inc., where he serves as a director, according to the filings.
Nominees disclose the value of their holdings in broad ranges, so the filings don’t reflect an individual’s exact net worth. The top tier for a nominee’s asset is over $50 million, with Atkins’ Tamko Holdings shares in that range.
For an investment wholly owned for a nominee’s spouse or dependent child, that tier is more than $1 million, and Atkins listed dozens of assets above that mark.
Atkins served as a Republican SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, and went on to become a key Washington financial regulatory insider through Patomak.
He was formally nominated to lead the country’s top markets regulator on Jan. 20, the day of Trump’s inauguration.
Atkins' Potential Conflicts
Atkins said he will resign as Patomak’s chief executive officer within 90 days of confirmation. The firm has worked with a who’s who of Wall Street and digital-asset firms, among others. That clientele has raised questions about how Atkins will navigate any potential conflicts of interest.
His financial filings detail compensation from Patomak clients including Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., global investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. and trading firm Virtu Financial Inc., among others.
He also listed an investment of $1 million to $5 million in a fund managed by digital-asset investment firm Off the Chain Capital LLC, which aims to outperform Bitcoin, according to its website.
The SEC has already begun work to craft a favorable regulatory framework for the digital-asset industry. Under Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, it’s also started exploring ways to blur the traditionally bright lines between retail and institutional trading and investment.
Atkins’ holdings and affiliations relate directly to those two policy issues. He resigned in December from his role as co-chair of the Token Alliance, a crypto-advocacy organization affiliated with the Digital Chamber. He also has numerous private-fund investments, which he said he would divest from if confirmed.
In his filing, Atkins said would avoid participating in matters involving Patomak or its clients for one year after last services to a customer, unless he’s first authorized to participate.
Atkins said he has left his position as an advisory board member at Securitize Inc., a blockchain-based financial-services company that tokenizes private funds. He said he would divest his vested stock options in the firm within 90 days of confirmation.
He made the same pledge for his position at Pontoro Inc., a fintech firm specializing in private credit, where he has an equity interest. He also said he had resigned from his position at Tamcap Insurance Co. and had an equity interest in the firm.
Atkins said he will resign from his position at Tamko Holdings but will continue to own stock in the firm. His wife, Sarah, is the granddaughter of Jay Humphreys, Tamko’s founder.
She is an employee of Tamko Building Products and participates in its profit-sharing plan. Atkins said he wouldn’t participate in a matter that has a direct and predictable effect on the company unless first obtaining a waiver.
Atkins will retain his position as a trustee of multiple family trusts, including that of his wife’s family.
Gary Gensler, who served as SEC chair under former President Joe Biden, had a net worth of as much as $119 million when he took the role.
Gensler made broad commitments to avoid participating in matters in which he had a financial interest unless he also obtained a written waiver, according to the ethics agreement filed as part of his confirmation process.
(Credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)
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