Case Study: Politico x Gold Plated Cabinet

“In 2018, Visual Capitalist partnered with Politico on a project for the “Last Word”—the concluding spread of the magazine’s March/April Money Issue. The article explored President Trump’s desire to fill his Cabinet with “[…] people that made a fortune!”

My job was to visualize this. Our team looked at the total net worth of the 2017 Trump Cabinet in comparison with the 2009 Obama Cabinet and the 2001 Bush Cabinet. Estimates were determined by averaging the lowest and highest possible estimates of net assets based on each individual’s public disclosure forms, and excluding the Vice President.

People have always been my favorite subject for illustration, so any valid reason to pair them with data visualization is a treat. The final graphic was featured in print, online, and on Visual Capitalist.”

—Melissa Haavisto, Creative Director