How a Trump presidency will affect 15 industries
By Thomas Heath November 12 at 12:22 PM
The American Electric Power coal burning plant in Conesville, Ohio. (Michael S. Williamson/WASHINGTON POST)
Oil drillers. Gas pipelines. Coal. Banks. Pharmaceuticals. Construction and industrial equipment. The defense industry.
Those are among the likely winners of a Donald Trump administration that could take the lid off coal and fracking regulations, begin an extensive repair of the nation’s roads and bridges, rebuild defense, repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform act and kill the Affordable Care Act.
One big loser? Foreign trade could suffer if the president-elect follows through on his plan to renegotiate trade agreements.
Trump joins only a handful of presidents who have entered the Oval Office with a strong background as a business executive or entrepreneur. The correlation between competency in the business world and its transfer to the nation’s chief executive is unclear.
Harry S. Truman, regarded by many historians as a successful chief executive, partnered in an unsuccessful men’s clothing store in Kansas City, Mo., in the early 1920s, leaving him nearly bankrupt. Warren G. Harding made his name as an owner of an Ohio newspaper, then led one of the more scandal-scarred administrations in history. Herbert Hoover made millions in the mining industry, but his business expertise failed to keep America from sliding into the Great Depression on his watch.
Several presidents, from both Roosevelts to John F. Kennedy, were blessed with enough inherited wealth to pursue political careers without bothering to work. Both Bushes were born into comfortable wealth. Each sought to build on it through the Texas oil business, with mixed results. George W. Bush was more successful in the Lone Star State’s professional sports, earning millions by engineering the purchase and sale of the Texas Rangers.
Trump built his $3.7 billion fortune largely through the rough-and-tumble New York City real estate market. His proclamations from the campaign, covering everything from energy to trade to finance, have many Fortune 500 companies waiting for more details. But some generalities are likely to hold true.