Donald Trump is considering two billionaires with strong Philly-area ties for his Treasury secretary. Who are they?

As Donald Trump prepares for another presidency with plans for sweeping tariffs and tax cuts, economists have major questions about the future of the United States economy in his second term.

But with weeks until the president-elect takes office and many of his cabinet picks selected, another conversation is unfolding: Who will Trump choose to oversee the U.S. Department of the Treasury?

Two men with strong Philly-area ties are reportedly in the running.

Billionaire financial executives Howard Lutnick and Marc Rowan are among a handful of candidates in consideration for the role, according to an array of media reports this week.

Lutnick is the CEO and chairman of the sprawling Manhattan financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald — and the largest donor to the Main Line’s Haverford College in the history of the liberal arts institution.

Rowan, meanwhile, cofounded the behemothian asset management firm Apollo Global Management after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he currently serves as chair of the Board of Advisors.

Both men are members of a growing list of rumored candidates that includes hedge fund executive Scott Bessent, former Trump trade policy adviser Robert Lighthizer, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R., Tenn.), and former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, and there’s no guarantee who Trump will select.

What powers does the position wield? The Treasury secretary oversees national banks, money printing, and tax collection, among other functions of the government’s network of financial agencies.

The Treasury secretary also makes major recommendations on trade and tax policy with globe-spanning effects, and acts as the president’s chief adviser on the economy.

Given that Trump views financial markets as indicators of his presidential success — and has promised to slap tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods and tax other foreign imports — whomever he chooses to lead the treasury will almost certainly play a central role in his second administration.

Here’s what to know about Lutnick and Rowan.

Lutnick, 63, is a Wall Street veteran who joined Cantor Fitzgerald after graduating from Haverford College in 1983.

He took charge of the financial service firm in the early 1990s, and received widespread media attention after leading Cantor Fitzgerald through the Sept. 11 attack that claimed the lives of more than two-thirds of its staff.

Lutnick, speaking with The Inquirer in October, credited much of his success to Haverford College.

The CEO has donated $65 million to the institution over his lifetime, resulting in the Lutnick Library, the Gary Lutnick Tennis & Track Center, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, and other facilities.

» READ MORE: Howard Lutnick, Haverford College’s largest donor, could shape a second Trump administration

Lutnick also served on Haverford’s board of managers for more than two decades, including stints as chair and vice chair, and the 191-year-old school has credited his donations for modernizing its campus.

Lutnick holds a key in advantage in the Treasury secretary hunt — alongside former WWE executive Linda McMahon, Lutnick is cochair of Trump’s transition team, in charge of sourcing potential appointees for the thousands of federal roles that make up an administration.

Trump announced Lutnick would cochair the transition team in August after attending a fundraiser at Lutnick’s Hamptons home. Lutnick was a major donor to the Republican’s campaign, giving more than $10 million to Trump’s campaign and raising millions more.

Lutnick’s ties to Trump go back decades, including an appearance on The Apprentice and, more recently, at Trump’s late-October Madison Square Garden campaign rally.

The Cantor Fitzgerald CEO has praised Trump’s promises to reinvigorate American manufacturing and lauded billionaire Elon Musk’s push for a Department of Government Efficiency that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO says will slash trillions from the federal budget.

Musk himself, now a cochair of DOGE, threw his support behind Lutnick for Treasury secretary over the weekend.

Musk posted on X, a platform which he owns, that Lutnick would “enact change” in the role, while Scott Bessent — considered another top contender — was the “business as usual” candidate.

Lutnick is also a major proponent of cryptocurrency, an industry whose members Trump courted on the campaign trail and one his administration will likely be friendly to on economic policy.

Rowan, 63, has emerged as a dark horse candidate for Treasury secretary in recent days.

A recent Wall Street Journal report said Rowan has yet to speak personally with the president-elect and was not actively campaigning for the role, but new reporting Monday said Rowan would interview with Trump at Mar-a-Lago sometime this week.

Rowan is a Wall Street stalwart who, alongside his wife, donated $1 million to Trump’s campaign.

Rowan’s Apollo Global Management oversees a portfolio of around $733 billion in assets. He founded the firm in 1990 alongside Josh Harris, another Wharton alumnus and current managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Like Lutnick, Rowan is a major donor to his alma matter. Rowan, an ‘85 graduate, gave Penn $50 million in 2018 — then the school’s largest donation.

As chair of Wharton’s Board of Advisors, Rowan put his influence on campus to the test last year following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Rowan initially emerged as a critic of the school’s decision to host a Palestinian literary festival and later criticized the school’s response to allegations of antisemitism on campus as students protested Israel’s war in Gaza.

» READ MORE: Who is Marc Rowan, the billionaire Wharton grad who led the campaign to topple Penn’s leaders?

Rowan also led a publicized campaign calling on donors to withhold contributions to Penn, and was a major critic of former university president Liz Magill, who resigned after congressional hearings over antisemitism allegations at several elite colleges.

Not much is publicly known about how Rowan would approach the Treasury secretary role, but the New York Times reported that Trump is impressed by Rowan’s record.