LA Billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong Meets With Trump
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong met with President-elect Donald Trump this weekend, according to information from Trump's transition team.
Soon-Shiong, a South African immigrant whose wealth is measured at $9 billion by Forbes, is a surgeon who made part of his fortune with the 2010 sale of a cancer drug he developed to biotech firm Celgene.
Soon-Shiong is also a vice chairman at the parent company of the Los Angeles Times and holds a stake in the Lakers. He has recently launched the Cancer MoonShot 2020 project, which seeks to ramp up clinical trials in the hopes of discovering a vaccine-based treatment to combat cancer by 2020.
The meeting came as Trump vetted candidates such as Mitt Romney for potential Cabinet positions at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Soon-Shiong joined Trump Saturday night for dinner, and they discussed "innovation in the area of medicine and national medical priorities that need to be addressed in our country," according to the Trump transition team. Other details of the meeting were not immediately available.
Soon-Shiong said on Twitter the meeting was an "incredible honor."
Soon-Shiong has previously tweeted about "healing the divided nation through healthcare transformation."
Soon-Shiong donated $50,000 to Hillary Clinton's campaign and joint fundraising committee, STAT reported.
