By Douglas Gillison, Chris Prentice
(Reuters) -Paul Atkins, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has disclosed personal assets held jointly with his wife valued at more than $328 million, according to a Reuters analysis of ethics documents released on Tuesday.
Atkins is due to face Senate confirmation hearings on Thursday, nearly four months after Trump tapped him to oversee the $120 trillion U.S. capital markets amid a sweeping White House attack on the federal workforce in which thousands have been dismissed.
The SEC is poised to hemorrhage workers under voluntary buyouts offered by the White House, which come as officials say the agency was already stretched thin.
Atkins, who served as an SEC commissioner from 2002 to 2008, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He has pledged to divest from his risk consultancy Patomak Global Partners, which he valued at between $25 million and $50 million, which counts an array of giant corporations as clients.
Financial disclosures reveal asset valuations in ranges, rather than precise amounts. The possible upper bound for the husband-and-wife total assets could exceed $588.8 million, the documents show.
Atkins’ lengthy career defending industry and extensive financial portfolio have sparked concern over potential conflicts, with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday writing to the former commissioner for more details on his involvement with failed crypto exchange FTX among others. Atkins’ long-time firm, Patomak, is among FTX’s creditors, according to bankruptcy filings.
Atkins’ financial disclosures also show he has been an expert witness for clients that have been the target of SEC enforcement, such as Virtu Financial and JPMorgan. Virtu representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for JPMorgan declined to comment.
The lion’s share of the diverse Atkins family fortune derives from Atkins’ marriage to Sarah Humphreys Atkins, whose family helped found the roofing materials supplier Tamko.
Atkins also disclosed 32 positions in organizations outside the government, including eight family trusts, seven LLCs and six nonprofits.
(Reporting by Douglas Gillison and Hannah Lang in Washington and Chris Prentice in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis )
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