Mnuchin’s interest in TikTok and distressed NY bank echoes his pre-Trump investment playbook

NEW YORK (AP) — It seems like a bizarre mishmash: A former Trump cabinet official is saying he wants to buy TikTok just days after leading a group that pumped $1 billion into a beaten-down bank. But it all actually fits in with the complicated career of Steven Mnuchin.

The man who served as former President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary is well connected in the world of finance, after all. From 1985 to 2002, he worked at Goldman Sachs, one of the most storied — and criticized — investment banks on Wall Street.

Mnuchin also has a history in media and entertainment. Among his Hollywood credits are “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Lego Movie,” where he was one of the executive producers. Think of them as much bigger-budget versions of TikTok videos.

And Mnuchin certainly has experience taking risks with troubled institutions. He famously swooped in to turn around the struggling IndyMac bank after its failure in the financial crisis of 2008.

But for critics, Mnuchin’s dealmaking also raises concerns about ethics. Robert Weissman, president of the watchdog group Public Citizen, points to TikTok in particular, where the U.S. government may force its Chinese owners to sell. Imagine something similar happening in another country, where its former finance minister ended up as the buyer, he said.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says he’s putting together investor group to buy TikTok </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Embattled