Bill Pulte
Bill Pulte | |
|---|---|
| Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency | |
Presumptive nominee | |
| Assuming office TBD | |
| President | Donald Trump (elect) |
| Succeeding | Sandra L. Thompson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1987 or 1988 (age 36–37) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Relatives | William J. Pulte (grandfather) |
| Profession | Businessman · philanthropist |
Bill Pulte (born 1987 or 1988)[1] is an American businessman and philanthropist. As of January 2025[update], he is the nominee to serve as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Early life
[edit]Pulte was born in 1987 or 1988, and grew up in Florida.[1][2] He is the grandson of housing businessman William J. Pulte, who founded the PulteGroup construction company.[2] Pulte attended Northwestern University, where he majored in broadcast journalism and graduated in 2010.[2][3] At Northwestern, he was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and served as its president.[2]
Career
[edit]After Pulte graduated from college, he spent some time working for the private equity fund Penske Capital Partners, run by Roger Penske.[2] He founded Pulte Capital Partners LLC in 2011, an equity firm that mainly worked on housing products.[4] As of 2014, the firm had "$30 million in revenues, and 200 employees."[5] Pulte was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the category of manufacturing and industry in 2014.[5] He said that his business made much of its money by "buying air-conditioning companies, growing them and then selling them," and as of 2021, he claimed a net worth of close to $100 million.[3] He also founded, with his grandfather, the Detroit Blight Authority, which worked on several projects to clean up the city of Detroit.[3]
Pulte is also a philanthropist, documenting his actions on Twitter and calling himself the "Inventor of Twitter Philanthropy."[2] By September 2019, he had given over $100,000 to various causes, which the Detroit Free Press noted included "stunts such as handing cash to strangers in parking lots, giving away free cars or announcing that he would give $30,000 to a military veteran if President Donald Trump gave him a retweet."[2][6] President Trump did give him a retweet, posting afterwards "THANK YOU BILL."[2] Later that year, he raised his giving to over $1 million.[2] He had amassed over 3.2 million followers on Twitter by 2021.[3]
Pulte gave significant donations to the Republican Party during the 2024 election year, including to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.[7] After Trump won the presidential election, he announced on January 16, 2025, that he was nominating Pulte to serve as the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Pulte is married.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Reindl, JC (December 14, 2022). "Pulte grandson sues PulteGroup exec, claiming Twitter trolling". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Reindl, JC (August 29, 2019). "Detroit millionaire Bill Pulte: I'm not giving away my inheritance on Twitter". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ a b c d Wall Howard, Phoebe (December 22, 2021). "Millionaire with Michigan roots uses Twitter influence to boost Oxford donations". Detroit Free Press.
- ^ O'Donnell, Katy (January 16, 2025). "Trump selects private equity CEO Pulte as top housing regulator". Politico.
- ^ a b "Bill Pulte". Forbes. 2014.
- ^ Carter, Shawn M. (September 30, 2019). "Meet the 31-year-old Twitter philanthropist giving away money to strangers online". Fox Business.
- ^ Mauger, Craig (January 16, 2025). "Trump picks social media philanthropist with Michigan ties to lead federal agency". The Detroit News.
- ^ Schroeder, Peter (January 16, 2025). "Trump says he'll nominate Bill Pulte to run Fannie, Freddie regulator". Reuters.