Who is Jack Lew? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Jacob Joseph Lew

Age: 68 Years, 68 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Ruth Schwartz

father: Irving Lew

mother: Ruth Lew

children: Danny Lew, Shoshi Lew

Born Country: United States

Lawyers Political Leaders

Notable Alumni: Carleton College

U.S. State: New Yorkers

More Facts

education: Harvard University, Georgetown University, Carleton College

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Childhood & Early Life

Lew was born on August 29, 1955, in New York City, to Ruth (nee, Turoff) and Irving Lew, a Jewish couple.

Lew attended public schools in New York City and graduated from ‘Forest Hills High School,’ Forest Hills, Queens. He secured his A.B. from ‘Harvard’ in 1978.

Even before completing his undergraduate studies, he worked as legislative assistant to Representative Joe Moakley, from 1974 to 1975. In 1983, he earned his J.D. and in 2014, he received ‘Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters’ from the ‘Georgetown University Law Center.’

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Career

Before working with President Clinton administration, Lew worked with O’Neill for eight years and also worked as an attorney for five years as a partner with ‘Van Ness Feldman and Curtis.’ While working with O’Neill, he handled a wide variety of economic and domestic issues, such as social security, medicare, budget, tax, trade, appropriations, and energy. His private practice included dealing with electric power generation.

As a member of the ‘Democratic Party,’ he worked as the ‘Issues Director’ of Democratic National Committee’s ‘Campaign 88.’

In February 1993, after Clinton became President, Lew was inducted into his team and served as his special assistant until October 1994. In this period, he was instrumental in developing ‘AmeriCorps’ and ‘healthcare reform legislation.’

He joined the ‘Office of Management and Budget’ as ‘Executive Associate Director and later as ‘Associate Director for Legislative Affairs.’ Finally, he became its ‘Deputy Director,’ a post that he held until July 1998.

He became Director of the OMB in 1998 and held the position until January 2001. As the director, he was responsible for the budget, management, and appropriation issues. He was an adviser on international, domestic, and economic policies to Clinton, and was also a part of the ‘National Security Council.’

After leaving public office, Lew worked with ‘New York University’ until 2006 as its ‘Executive Vice President of Operations’ and ‘Clinical Professor of Public Administration’ at its ‘Wagner School of Public Service.’

In 2006, Lew became the ‘Chief Operating Officer’ of ‘Citigroup’s Alternative Investments unit.’ During his days with ‘Citigroup,’ Lew made huge investments in funds in ‘Ugland House,’ which incurred considerable losses in the wake of ‘Subprime Crisis.’

When Obama became the President, Lew joined the administration in January 2009 as ‘Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources.’ In November 2010, he was appointed as the ‘Deputy Director of Office of Management and Budget’ without any opposition by the Senate.

After Obama was re-elected for a second term, Lew was appointed as the ‘White House Chief of Staff.’ This appointment received severe criticism after reports claimed that he had received $900,000 USD in bonuses while working with the ‘Citigroup,’ which had been rescued by a massive bailout package of 45 Billion USD under ‘Troubled Asset Relief Program.’

During his service as ‘White House Chief of Staff,’ Lew strongly endorsed and negotiated hard for an agreement between Obama and ‘House Speaker’ John Boehner, to prevent ‘Fiscal Cliff’ sequester cuts and tax increases.

Despite Lew’s acknowledgment of his poor understanding of finance, Obama nominated him to the role of ‘Secretary of Treasury’ on January 10, 2013, and the Senate confirmed the same on February 27, 2013.His term ended on January 20, 2017, and he began working with the New York-based private equity firm ‘Lindsay Goldberg.’ He is also a visiting professor at the ‘School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.’

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Family & Personal Life

Lew’s father was also a lawyer and a rare book dealer.

Lew married his high school sweetheart Ruth Schwartz. They have two children, Isaac and Shoshana.

Lew follows Jewish customs and traditions and observes the ‘Sabbath.’

Trivia

As Lew was nominated for the post of ‘Treasury Secretary,’ his strange signature led people to imagine how it would appear on the currency and became an amusing topic of discussion. Hence, he volunteered to alter the sign.

Lew’s fictionalized version appeared in the season 2 premiere of the series ‘Mr. Robot.’

Jack Lew Biography