During college and graduate school, Clayton was a member of the Ocean City Beach Patrol and Penn Law rugby team, an intern with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia and U.S. representative Curt Weldon, and an employee of United Engineers and Constructors.[6][7]
Clayton earned $7.6 million in 2016 from his firm and has a family wealth of at least $50 million. A substantial portion of his holdings were in mutual funds of the Vanguard Group. His investments also included private funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, J.C. Flowers & Co., and Richard C. Perry but he divested these investments upon confirmation.[14] Clayton is compensated by Apollo Global Management $500,000 annually, "through equity and fees" according to a regulatory filing.[15]
SEC chair
Nomination and confirmation
On January 4, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Clayton to be SEC Chairman,[16] and he was nominated on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017.[17] Clayton's nomination was endorsed by Manhattan district attorneyCyrus Vance Jr.[14] U.S. senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat representing Nevada, expressed concern that Clayton represented Swedish firm TeliaSonera in a proposed venture that would combine Russian telecommunications companies MegaFon and Altimo.[14] Clayton was not thought to have any ties to the Russian companies.[14] On April 4, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee voted 15–8 to send Clayton's nomination to the full Senate, with three Democrats voting in favor of Clayton.[18]
On May 2, 2017, the U.S. Senate voted 61–37 to confirm Clayton as Chairman of the SEC. Votes cast in favor of Clayton's confirmation included nine Democrats and one Independent alongside 51 Republican votes.[19] On May 4, 2017, Clayton was sworn in, marking the official beginning of his role as Chairman.[20]
Tenure
In connection with the nomination of Clayton in January, President Trump said in a statement that "we need to undo many regulations which have stifled investment in American businesses, and restore oversight of the financial industry in a way that does not harm American workers."[21] Upon Clayton's swearing-in, the SEC consisted of Clayton; Michael Piwowar, who was serving as acting Chairman; and Kara Stein. Subsequently, Hester Peirce and Robert J. Jackson Jr. joined the commission. In 2018, Piwowar and Stein stepped down, and Elad Roisman and Allison Lee joined the Commission in 2018 and 2019 respectively.[22]
Several high-profile prosecutions occurred during Clayton's tenure, including against then-representative Chris Collins in 2018, and senator Richard Burr and the Eastman Kodak Company in 2020. By 2019, the number of insider trading cases had increased, with enforcement decreasing to its lowest level since 1985,[24] though the commission ordered record financial penalties that year and the following year.[25][26]
In November 2020, Clayton stated his intention to resign at the end of the year, although his term would expire at the end of June 2021,[27] Clayton resigned on December 23, 2020.[28] One of his final actions at the SEC before resigning was to sue Ripple Labs challenging the legality of trading cryptocurrency XRP as an unregistered security, which the company called "a parting shot".[29]
Clayton was criticized for his role in the removal of Geoffrey Berman at a U.S. House hearing. Clayton said it was entirely his idea to become the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He said he wanted the position because he had a "strong desire to continue in public service", and return to his New York-based family.[35]
After SEC
In February 2021, Apollo Global Management appointed Clayton to the newly created role of lead independent director on its board.[36] Clayton rejoined Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, where he was a partner before entering government, to become senior policy adviser and counsel. [37] In March 2024, Clayton joined CFGI as an independent member of its board of directors.[38]
Clayton was selected (on November 14 2024) by President elect Trump to be United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. [39]
Professional memberships and activities
Clayton is a member of the American Bar Association, served as an adjunct professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School beginning in 2009, and was Chairman of the New York City Bar Committee on International Business Transactions beginning in 2010.[11] Prior to his confirmation, Clayton was on the Executive Committee of the Metropolitan Golf Association.[40]
Clayton's wife Gretchen, whom he started dating while they attended the same Pennsylvania high school, worked at Goldman Sachs. Clayton's wife resigned from her job prior to his confirmation.[14]
