Linda McMahon, the nominee for U.S. education secretary, holds dozens of municipal bonds that are funding construction and other projects at school districts and public colleges and universities across the country, her ethics disclosure forms show.
Based on her holdings, it’s likely McMahon earns at least $900,000 a year in interest payments from investing in those public education-related bonds in two dozen states, a Chalkbeat analysis found. That’s based on the minimum value of the bonds and assumes a conservative 2.5% yield on the investments.
McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive, ran the Small Business Administration during President Donald Trump’s first term, but has little education experience…
It’s also likely McMahon did not pick these specific school districts to invest in, and she may not have known she held these particular bonds before filing her disclosure, said Ruth Winecoff, an assistant professor at Rutgers University–New Brunswick who studies public finance. It’s possible her financial adviser invested in the bonds through a mutual or money market fund…
Municipal bonds are also considered a safe investment — it’s unlikely local governments would fail to pay investors back — and they can help balance out the risks in an overall portfolio, Winecoff said.