Janet Yellen
U.S. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has nominated former U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen to be Secretary of the Treasury. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to lead the 231-year-old U.S. Treasury Department.
Yellen was the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, which is America’s central banking system. She served as chair between 2014 and 2018, and was the body’s vice chair from 2010 to 2014, following an earlier term as a member of its board of governors and as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
In related news, Biden announced the appointment of economist Jared Bernstein as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Hayley Orlinsky
When Hayley Orlinsky of Chicago learned on the news in March that doctors and nurses were running low on masks amid the frantic early weeks of the COVID pandemic, she wanted to help. She ran to her room and made a friendship bracelet. She told her mom she wanted to sell the bracelets to make money for one of the hospitals.
With a video on Facebook, the idea took flight, and Hayley’s rubber band bracelets began to sell. She thought she might make around $200. As of Dec. 16, the New York Times reported that she had sold about 9,000 bracelets and had raised more than $22,000 for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Hayley said she would continue making bracelets until COVID was over.
Jeffrey Rosen
Jeffrey Adam Rosen is an American lawyer who has served as the United States Deputy Attorney General since 2019, and will become Acting United States Attorney General of the Trump administration upon the resignation of William Barr on December 23, 2020.
In an interview with the New York Times about his approach to the law, Mr. Rosen said, “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what politicians say. It matters what the facts and the economic analysis and the law are. That guides our decisions.”
Ron Klain
President-elect Joe Biden has named Ron Klain, a Jewish attorney and longtime Democratic operative, to be chief of staff in his new administration. Klain was chief of staff for Biden when he was vice president, and also managed the Obama White House’s response to the Ebola outbreak.
[Other Jewish contenders being discussed for roles in the Biden administration include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont; Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers; Antony Blinken, a longtime diplomat and Biden confidant, (recently named to be Secretary of State); Wendy Sherman, lead negotiator on the Iran Nuclear Deal; and Dan Shapiro, Obama’s Ambassador to Israel.]
Steve Cohen
On Nov. 6, after protracted negotiations, Steve Cohen became the new owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Cohen became a minority owner in 2012 with an 8% stake in the team. In August 2020, Cohen entered into exclusive negotiations with Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz to buy a controlling interest in the Mets. On Sept. 14, there was agreement to give Cohen majority control, pending approval from MLB owners, which okayed the deal on Oct. 30, making Cohen the new majority owner of the Mets and the richest owner in baseball.
Cohen is an American billionaire hedge fund manager, founder of Point72 Asset Management, based in Stamford, CT. He owns one of the world’s most valuable private art collections, worth more than $1 billion. He has an estimated net worth of $14.1 billion.
In 2013, Cohen founded S.A.C. Capital Advisors (now closed), pleaded guilty to insider trading and agreed to pay $900 million in forfeiture and $900 million in fines in one of the biggest criminal cases against a hedge fund.
Joe Biden’s Jewish family
President-elect Joe Biden’s children are married to Jewish spouses: Beau Biden’s wife is Hallie Olivere, the first Jewish daughter-in-law. Hunter Biden is married to Melissa Cohen, a Jewish South African filmmaker. Ashley Biden is married to Howard Krein, an ENT specialist at a Philadelphia hospital.
In addition, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is married to Doug Emhoff, a Jewish entertainment lawyer.
Deni Avdija
Deni Avdija became the highest drafted player from Israel in NBA history by going No. 9 overall to the Washington Wizards at the meeting on Nov. 18. At age 19, the 6’9” Avdija is considered a versatile, playmaking forward with a still-developing game. He helped Israel win the FIBA U-20 European Championships in 2018 and 2019, and is ranked as a good ballhandler and passer with a successful career ahead with Washington. [JNS News photo]