Wilbur L. Ross, Jr., YC '59
Chairman & CEO
WL Ross & Company, LLC

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Wilbur Ross may be the best known turn-around financier in the United States, having been involved in the restructuring of more than $200 billion of defaulted companies’ assets around the world. In 1998, Fortune magazine called him "the King of Bankruptcy."

Mr. Ross organized International Steel Group in April 2002, and is its board chairman. By acquiring Bethlehem, LTV, Weirton, Acme, Georgetown, and U.S. Steel’s plate operation, ISG has become the largest integrated steel company in North America. It is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In March 2004, the firm organized International Textile Group by buying and consolidating two bankrupt companies, Burlington Industries and Cone Mills.

Early in 2004, the firm acquired control of Anker Coal and CoalQuest, and on June 11, 2004, was designated as the preferred bidder for Horizon Natural Resources, another bankrupt coal company.

The firm also controls a number of businesses, and manages real estate, corporate governance, and private equity partnerships investing in Japan.

In 1999, President Kim Dae Jung awarded Mr. Ross a medal for his help during Korea's 1998 financial crisis. He is a former chairman of the Smithsonian National Board, of the Parrish Art Museum, and of other cultural institutions. Earlier, President Clinton had appointed him to the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund, and he served as privatization advisor to Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He is a member of the Business Roundtable and was the keynote speaker at the recent World Bank Conference on Global Insolvency Regimes.

Mr. Ross holds an BA from Yale University and an MBA with distinction from Harvard University.