Meet Jeffrey Sprecher, Kelly Loeffler’s billionaire husband: Trump’s head of small business administration met the Porsche-loving stock exchange mogul when she worked at his company ICE
With a net worth of US$1.3 billion, Sprecher has been able to support his Trump-loving wife’s political career; she’s now America’s head of small business administration
All eyes are on Kelly Loeffler, America’s head of small business administration (SBA), after US president Donald Trump confirmed at the end of March that her department would take over federal student loans from the Department of Education.
Per Politico, Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, raising questions about the future of student loans.
Loeffler, who was described by The New York Times as going from “Atlanta elite to Trump loyalist” faces further pressure after it confirmed her department would cut internal staff jobs by 43 per cent. “By eliminating non-mission-critical positions and consolidating functions, we will revert to the staffing levels of the last Trump Administration,” Loeffler said in a statement.
The Atlanta socialite turned-Maga-elite is married to financial power player Jeffrey Sprecher. Loeffler met him when she worked at his company and they married in 2004, per The New York Times.
Here’s what you need to know about Sprecher, the stock exchange king who supports his wife’s political dreams.
The billionaire club
Forbes estimates Sprecher’s current net worth at around US$1.3 billion. Sprecher is the founder and CEO of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), a global stock exchange operator. Forbes notes that his career breakthrough came when he bought a struggling Georgia company called Continental Power Exchange and then had the idea to create a platform allowing traders to buy and sell commodities online. In 2000 he folded Continental into ICE.
In 2013, Sprecher cemented himself as one of the most powerful men in finance when ICE bought the New York Stock Exchange for US$10.9 billion.
Political ties
As his wife focused on her political career, Sprecher offered his financial support. Per Politico, he donated US$1 million to a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2020 US elections. The donation came despite the couple facing criticism over “suspicious” stock trading during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the same publication, Loeffler offloaded stocks just after a confidential Covid-19 briefing.