President-elect Donald Trump has added another billionaire to his team. Trump announced Monday that he would nominate Vincent Viola, the billionaire owner of the Florida Panthers hockey team, to serve as secretary of the Army. "Viola's business experience makes him well positioned to help guide a Fortune 10-sized company, the U.S. Army," Trump's transition team said in a statement.
Viola, who made his fortune trading and investing in stocks, is the founder and current executive chairman of the high-speed electronic trading firm Virtu Financial. Previously, he was the chairman of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Viola graduated from West Point in 1977, and he was a big donor to the academy's Combating Terrorism Center, established after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He was also involved in producing a textbook about battle strategy.
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Viola joins a long list of billionaires and millionaires chosen for the new administration, including Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick for education secretary; Wilbur Ross, the nominee for commerce secretary; Linda McMahon, chosen to lead the Small Business Administration; Todd Ricketts, the deputy commerce secretary-designee; Stephen Mnuchin, the treasury secretary nominee; and Elaine Chao, Trump's choice for transportation secretary.
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