Paul Henry O'Neill (December 4, 1935 April 18, 2020) was an American businessman and government official who served as the 72nd
United States secretary of the treasury for part of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's first term, from January 2001 to December 2002. He was fired in December 2002 for his public disagreement with the administration.
[Bush Sought ‘Way’ To Invade Iraq?](_blank)
Rebecca Leung, ''60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique sty ...
'', January 11, 2004 Prior to his term as secretary of the treasury, O'Neill was chairman and CEO of industrial giant
Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
and chairman of the
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
.
Early life and education
O'Neill was born in
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, the son of Gaynald Elsie (née Irvin) and John Paul O'Neill, an army sergeant. His father claimed that he was from
Scotland and that he did not know where his family was anymore. A long time after his death, however, Paul discovered that he was actually from
Netherlands and was originally named Piet Kalfsterman, though it is not known why he lied to his family about his background.
[
Due to his father's transfers, the family had to change residences often. They lived in Illinois, Hawaii, New Mexico and ]Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. As a teenager, Paul worked part-time jobs including as a paperboy and as a clerk at a convenience store.[ He graduated from Anchorage High School in ]Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring M ...
in 1954. He lived on the military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
there with his parents. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from California State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...
, studied economics at Claremont Graduate University
The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate (Pomona College, Claremont McKenna Col ...
in 1961, and received a Master of Public Administration from Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
.
Career
O'Neill began his public service as a computer systems analyst with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
, where he served from 1961 to 1966. He joined the United States Office of Management and Budget in 1967 and served as its deputy director from 1974 to 1977.
O'Neill along with Kenneth W. Dam
Kenneth Willard Dam (August 10, 1932 – May 31, 2022) was an American politician and academic who served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (the second highest official in the United States Department of the Treasury) from 2001 to 2004, where ...
and William A. Morrill resisted President Richard Nixon in 1973 when he tried cutting off federal funding to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in retaliation for it allowing anti-war protests over the Vietnam War. The three threatened to resign and reminded Nixon that the executive office could not rescind the federal grants, forcing him to back down. According to Frank Zarb, he, O'Neill, Roy Ash and Fred Malek mostly ran the government in 1974 as Nixon's authority was eroded with the Watergate scandal.
Private sector
After President Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, O'Neill took an executive job at International Paper in New York City. He was vice president of the company from 1977 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1987.[
O'Neill was chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh industrial giant ]Alcoa
Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...
from 1987 to 1999 and retired as chairman at the end of 2000. At the beginning of his tenure O'Neill encountered significant resistance from the Board of Directors due to his stance on prioritizing worker safety
Occupational safety and health (OSH), also commonly referred to as occupational health and safety (OHS), occupational health, or occupational safety, is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at wor ...
. One argued reason that he could remain in office was his level of CEO power. The company's market value increased from $3 billion in 1986 to $27.53 billion in 2000, while net income increased from $200 million to $1.484 billion.
In 1988, O'Neill joined the RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
as a member of its board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...
and in 1997 was elected as its chairperson. He resigned after being appointed as the treasury secretary, but was appointed to RAND's board of trustees again in 2003 after losing his job. He also served on RAND Health's advisory board.
After being dismissed as Treasury Secretary, he became a special advisor for The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
. In addition he also acted as an angel investor
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital for a business or businesses start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or owner ...
with his son Paul Jr. for Qcept Technologies Inc. in 2004, and joined it as a board director. In 2005, he established a consulting firm
A consulting firm or simply consultancy is a professional service firm that provides expertise and specialised labour for a fee, through the use of consultants. Consulting firms may have one employee or thousands; they may consult in a broad range ...
named Value Capture that advises health care institutions on reducing expenses as well as increasing safety of patients.[
]
Community service
In 1989, he was approached by George H. W. Bush to serve as secretary of defense. O'Neill declined but recommended Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former ...
for the position. Bush then pursued and convinced O'Neill to chair an advisory group on education that included Lamar Alexander, Bill Brock, and Richard Riley
Richard Wilson Riley (born January 2, 1933) is an American politician, the United States Secretary of Education under President Bill Clinton and the 111th governor of South Carolina. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Riley is the only D ...
.
In December 1997, O'Neill together with Karen Wolk Feinstein, President of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, founded the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative (PRHI). They assembled a wide-ranging coalition of healthcare interests to begin addressing the problems of healthcare as a region. PRHI adapted the principles of the Toyota Production System
The Toyota Production System (TPS) is an integrated socio-technical system, developed by Toyota, that comprises its management philosophy and practices. The TPS is a management system that organizes manufacturing and logistics for the automobile m ...
into the "Perfecting Patient Care" system. O'Neill became a leader locally and nationally in addressing issues of patient safety and quality in healthcare.
O'Neill was a co-founder of Pittsburgh's Riverlife Task Force, established in 1999. He served on its very first task force with Jim Rohr
James E. Rohr (born October 18, 1948) is former Chairman of PNC Financial Services Group (commonly known as PNC Bank) and former CEO. Rohr served as CEO from May 2000 to April 2013 and as Chairman from May 2001 to April 2014, both times taking ove ...
, Teresa Heinz, the CEO of Richard King Mellon Foundation Mike Watson, the President of the Heinz Endowments The Heinz Endowments is one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the United States, and was formed with the combined support from two smaller, private foundations: the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment. It awards more t ...
Mark King and the editor of the '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' John G. Craig Jr. among others.
O'Neill was also a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technolog ...
's Heinz College. In addition, he served on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) is a non-profit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that addresses federal budget and fiscal issues. It was founded in 1981 by former United States Representatives Robert G ...
.
In 2006, he published the results of a study conducted from 2003 to 2005 at Allegheny General Hospital Allegheny General Hospital is a large urban hospital located at 320 East North Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the larger Allegheny Health Network.
History
Allegheny General Hospital, also known locally by the acr ...
along with a team of doctors led by Richard Shannon, in the '' Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety''. It showed reduction in infections through a team coordinating to prevent infections in the bloodstream. He also rejoined PRHI as its CEO in October 2003. O'Neill became a trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and do ...
in February 2003, but left in September 2004 due to it not joining a programme to make hospitals eliminate medical errors. During his tenure he often disagreed with UPMC's CEO Jeffrey Romoff and also opposed its plans to shut Highmark
Highmark is an American non-profit healthcare company and Integrated Delivery Network based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a large individual not-for-profit health insurer in the United States, which operates several for-pr ...
-insured patients out of receiving treatment at affiliated hospitals in 2019.[
In June 2019, he was awarded the Gerald R. Ford Medal for Distinguished Public Service by the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation.
]
Bush administration
O'Neill was appointed as the secretary of the treasury
The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
by the newly elected president George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
in January 2001. He believed in fiscal prudence, increasing productivity and also encouraging workers with safeguards for their jobs. As the secretary he strongly disagreed with the strong dollar policy, ceremonial speeches and large bailouts, while favoring personally touring American factories and reducing the length of written statements by the finance ministers belonging to the Group of Seven. O'Neill saw the United States through the 2001 recession and 9/11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
. He initially helped pass the first tax cuts under the Bush administration but stringently opposed the second. He also clashed with Bush on his steel tariffs
On March 5, 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush placed tariffs on imported steel. The tariffs took effect March 20 and were lifted by Bush on December 4, 2003. Research shows that the tariffs were a net positive, reviving many previously shuttered ...
as well as actions against Cuba.
O'Neill also helped Turkey, Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and Brazil in receiving loans from the International Monetary Fund but opposed more financial assistance. His cavalcade was once attacked with eggs during a visit to Argentina because of him stating the country had “no industry to speak of.” He however also encouraged governments to increase grants by the World Bank and cracking down on monetary support of terrorism. In this regard, he encouraged governments to further regulate non-traditional lending systems such as hawala, and was a strong proponent of integrating largely non-participatory governments, organizations, and individuals into more formal financial institutions. In May 2002, he visited Africa with Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
to draw attention to the continent's poor. During his tenure, he was known for his outspokenness which would eventually cost him his job in December 2002.
Ron Suskind
Ronald Steven "Ron" Suskind (born November 20, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and filmmaker. He was the senior national affairs writer for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 1993 to 2000, where he won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Feature ...
interviewed O'Neill extensively about his tenure in the Bush Administration. He was also given access to a large amount of documentation. In 2004 he produced the book '' The Price of Loyalty'', detailing O'Neill's tenure in the Bush Administration. The book describes many of the conflicts that O'Neill had with the Bush administration. The book also details O'Neill's criticisms of some of Bush's economic policies. O'Neill claims that Bush appeared somewhat unquestioning and incurious, and that the Iraq War was planned from the first National Security Council meeting, soon after the administration took office. At the first cabinet meeting of the new Bush administration, O'Neill observed that the debate was not "should we attack Iraq?" but rather "how do we go about attacking Iraq?"
Personal life
O'Neill's siblings included two brothers and a sister. He married Nancy Jo Wolfe, whom he had met while studying at Anchorage High School. He fathered four children including three daughters named Patricia, Margaret, Julie and a son named Paul Jr.
Death
O'Neill died at his home in Pittsburgh on April 18, 2020, aged 84, from lung cancer. He is survived by a sister, a brother, his four children, twelve grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.
Comments and views
In an October 16, 2007, opinion piece published in '' The New York Times'', he wrote of the reluctance among politicians to address comprehensive reform in the U.S. health care system. In the opinion, he suggested that doctors and hospitals should be required to report medical errors within 24 hours, as well as moving malpractice suits out of the civil courts and into a new, independent body. He also felt that health care reform had to acknowledge all aspects of the problem, such as insurance coverage, medical costs, quality of care, and information technology.
In April 2016, he was one of eight former Treasury secretaries who called on the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union ahead of the June 2016 Referendum.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Paul
1935 births
2020 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
21st-century American politicians
American chief executives of materials companies
American people of Dutch descent
California State University, Fresno alumni
Deaths from lung cancer in Pennsylvania
George W. Bush administration cabinet members
Indiana University alumni
International Paper
Missouri Republicans
Pennsylvania Republicans
Politicians from Pittsburgh
Politicians from St. Louis
RAND Corporation people
United States Secretaries of the Treasury