Wilbur Ross said he was worth $3.7 billion. Forbes found out he's only worth $700 million.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was listed in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans a year ago with a net worth of $2.9 billion, but a Forbes investigation published Tuesday found that Ross has actually lied for over a decade about his net worth. In reality, Ross is worth the comparatively paltry sum of $700 million.

Ross first appeared on the Forbes 400 list in 2004 after his private equity firm, WL Ross & Co, struck a deal to sell International Steel Group for $4.5 billion. Although Forbes now estimates that Ross made only $260 million from the sale of ISG, the future commerce secretary was credited in the press with making over $2 billion, which in reality had mostly gone to the investors in his firm. Ross did not mention that vital caveat to a Forbes reporter who "confirmed" his net worth in 2004 — and so he was dubiously added to the Forbes 400 list, where he was listed for over a decade.

In the end, Ross' nomination to President Trump's Cabinet unraveled the lies about his wealth. His financial asset disclosures accounted for just $700 million in assets, Forbes noted, but Ross claimed he was worth $3.7 billion. Ross attributed the missing money to $2 billion he said had been put into family trusts between the election and his nomination to the Cabinet, which he therefore did not have to disclose.

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The Department of Commerce told Forbes that "there was no major asset transfer to a trust in the period between the election and Secretary Ross's confirmation." This is the second time this week that Ross has come under scrutiny for improper disclosures about his finances: On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Ross failed to mention investments in Kremlin-connected gas and energy companies during his confirmation process.