Wire report
The billionaire hidden behind the curtain inside Trump’s Pentagon
Media-shy financier Stephen Feinberg has quietly amassed extraordinary influence over US military spending The only available video over the last 15 months of the official who really wields power in Donald Trump ’s Pentagon is a cartoon animation. Released in May on X by the US government, it shows a silver haired figure in a grey suit lighting up a cigar and sitting at a massive wooden desk with a nameplate: DEPSECWAR FEINBERG. Stephen Feinberg, the 66-year-old billionaire founder of the private equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, has served as the deputy secretary of defense since March 2025. His boss, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , makes frequent appearances working out with troops or insulting reporters at press conferences, and posts often on social media. But Feinberg does not show his face. He has been obsessively media shy for decades, and is so reclusive that since
coverage / Wire report
Get updates, read source context, send useful records, share the story, or support the reporting work from the reading page.
Media-shy financier Stephen Feinberg has quietly amassed extraordinary influence over US military spending The only available video over the last 15 months of the official who really wields power in Donald Trump ’s Pentagon is a cartoon animation. Released in May on X by the US government, it shows a silver haired figure in a grey suit lighting up a cigar and sitting at a massive wooden desk with a nameplate: DEPSECWAR FEINBERG. Stephen Feinberg, the 66-year-old billionaire founder of the private equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, has served as the deputy secretary of defense since March 2025. His boss, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , makes frequent appearances working out with troops or insulting reporters at press conferences, and posts often on social media. But Feinberg does not show his face. He has been obsessively media shy for decades, and is so reclusive that since
Check the original link, updates, and responses when a detail is contested.
Open topic or search related wording such as records, sources, agencies, dates, and locations.
What happened
According to The Guardian’s linked item, The billionaire hidden behind the curtain inside Trump’s Pentagon, Media-shy financier Stephen Feinberg has quietly amassed extraordinary influence over US military spending The only available video over the last 15 months of the official who really wields power in Donald Trump ’s Pentagon is a cartoon animation. Released in May on X by the US government, it shows a silver haired figure in a grey suit lighting up a cigar and sitting at a massive wooden desk with a nameplate: DEPSECWAR FEINBERG. Stephen Feinberg, the 66-year-old billionaire founder of the private equity giant Cerberus Capital Management, has served as the deputy secretary of defense since March 2025. His boss, the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth , makes frequent appearances working out with troops or insulting reporters at press conferences, and posts often on social media. But Feinberg does not show his face. He has been obsessively media shy for decades, and is so reclusive that since
Context
The development sits in VINI’s Technology coverage for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked item is dated 2026-06-18T18:01:38+00:00.
What to watch
Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.
Source
Primary source: The billionaire hidden behind the curtain inside Trump’s Pentagon via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.
Keep following
This file can keep developing
vininews.com uses reader tips, public records, right-of-reply requests, corrections, and follow-up reporting to keep important stories current.
Support and subscriptions never buy coverage, placement, suppression, or corrections.
This VINI report keeps the original publisher link available and does not republish third-party article bodies without rights clearance. 1 reference listed.
Source links
- The billionaire hidden behind the curtain inside Trump’s PentagonThe Guardian - 2026-06-18T18:01:38+00:00
Reader comments
Moderated discussion
Comments are open to authenticated approved accounts, screened for spam and abuse, and published only after newsroom moderation unless editors change the story control.
No approved comments yet.
Substantive, civil comments can be submitted by approved account holders.