Energy secretary Jennifer Granholm has finally sold hundreds of thousands of shares in a green energy company that has received the backing of the Biden administration.
On Wednesday, Granholm confirmed she earned a $1.6 million profit on her shares of Proterra amid a firestorm over her financial ties to an electric vehicle company repeatedly promoted by the Biden administration. In selling off her shares, Granholm was able to defer paying capital gains taxes on the $1.6 million sale because cabinet officials are not penalized with the tax on assets they are required to sell as a condition of joining the administration. The Biden administration is seeking to raise the capital gains tax on America’s wealthiest families.
On May 11, Granholm filed an Office of Government Ethics divestiture certificate. She confirmed the sale Wednesday. The former Michigan governor reported selling more than 240,000 shares in the electric bus manufacturer to an unnamed buyer. She valued the stake at up to $5 million in a January financial disclosure.
The Department of Energy did not return to requests for comment.
While Proterra is slated to go public within the next few weeks, Granholm’s sale of the shares of the yet-to-be publicly traded company likely occurred in an off-market private sale. The Washington Free Beacon reported that major Democratic donors are invested in the company taking Proterra public, including at least one member of the megadonor Pritzker family who stands to own up to 7 percent of the company when it finally becomes public. – READ MORE
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