Steve Bannon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Steve Bannon
Bannon in 2024
Senior Counselor to the President
In office January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017 Serving with Kellyanne Conway
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	John Podesta (as Counselor, 2015)
Succeeded by	Kellyanne Conway
White House Chief Strategist
In office January 20, 2017 – August 18, 2017
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	Stephen Kevin Bannon (1953-11-27) November 27, 1953 (age 71) Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouses	Cathleen Houff Jordan ​ (div. 1988)​ Mary Piccard ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 1997)​ Diane Clohesy ​ ​ (m. 2006; div. 2009)​
Children	3
Education	Virginia Tech (BA) Georgetown University (MA) Harvard University (MBA)
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1976–1983
Rank	Lieutenant

Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive and political strategist. He worked as a top advisor to U.S. president Donald Trump. This was during the first seven months of Trump's time in office. He was also a leader at Breitbart News, a news and opinion website. Bannon also served on the board of Cambridge Analytica, a company that used data for political campaigns.

Bannon has faced legal challenges related to his work and actions. He was found guilty of not following a request from a committee looking into the 2021 United States Capitol attack. He was sentenced to prison and a fine for this. He also faced charges related to fundraising for a border wall project.

Early Life and Education

Stephen Kevin Bannon was born on November 27, 1953. He grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. His father worked for a telephone company. His family was a working-class family. They supported the Democratic Party.

Bannon went to a private Catholic military high school. He graduated in 1971. After high school, he attended Virginia Tech. There, he was the president of the student government. He worked at a junkyard during his summer breaks.

In 1976, he earned a bachelor's degree in urban planning from Virginia Tech. Later, while serving in the Navy, he earned a master's degree. This was in national security studies from Georgetown University in 1983. In 1985, Bannon earned another master's degree. This time it was in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Service as a Naval Officer

Bannon served as an officer in the United States Navy. He was in the Navy for seven years. This was in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He worked on a destroyer ship called USS Paul F. Foster. He was a surface warfare officer in the Pacific Fleet.

After that, he worked as a special assistant. This was for the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon. His job included handling messages between senior officers. He also wrote reports about the Navy's fleet around the world. While at the Pentagon, he studied at Georgetown University at night.

In 1980, Bannon was sent to the Persian Gulf. He helped with a mission called Operation Eagle Claw. This was during the Iran hostage crisis. Bannon later said that the mission's failure changed his political views. He became more supportive of Ronald Reagan's ideas. The September 11 attacks further strengthened these views.

Business Career

What Did Steve Bannon Do in Investment Banking?

After his time in the military, Bannon worked at Goldman Sachs. This is a large investment bank. He worked in their Mergers and Acquisitions Department. In 1987, he moved to Los Angeles. He helped Goldman Sachs grow its business in the entertainment industry. He worked there for two years and became a vice president.

How Did Steve Bannon Get Into Media?

In 1990, Bannon and some colleagues from Goldman Sachs started their own company. It was called Bannon & Co. This company focused on media businesses. In one deal, Bannon & Co. helped sell Castle Rock Entertainment. This company made TV shows and movies. Bannon negotiated the sale to Turner Broadcasting System.

Instead of a full fee, Bannon & Co. took a share in five television shows. One of these shows was Seinfeld. It was in its third season at the time. Bannon still receives money each time Seinfeld is shown. In 1998, another company bought Bannon & Co.

What Was Steve Bannon's Role in Biosphere 2?

In 1993, Bannon became the acting director of Biosphere 2. This was an earth science research project. It was located in Oracle, Arizona. Under Bannon, the project changed its focus. It moved from studying space travel to studying Earth's environment. This included pollution and climate change. He left the project in 1995.

How Did Steve Bannon Get Involved in Entertainment?

In the 1990s, Bannon started working in Hollywood. He became an executive producer. He produced 18 films. These included The Indian Runner (1991) and Titus (1999). He also became a partner at a film and TV management company.

Bannon in 2010

In 2004, Bannon made a documentary about Ronald Reagan. It was called In the Face of Evil. This film helped him meet Peter Schweizer and Andrew Breitbart. Breitbart later called Bannon the "Leni Riefenstahl of the Tea Party movement". Bannon also helped fund and produce other films. These included Fire from the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman (2010) and The Undefeated (2011).

From 2007 to 2011, Bannon was the CEO of Affinity Media. This company was involved in online gaming.

What Was Steve Bannon's Role at Breitbart News?

Bannon was a founding member of the board of Breitbart News. This is a news, opinion, and commentary website. In March 2012, after its founder Andrew Breitbart passed away, Bannon became the executive chairman of Breitbart News. He stepped down from this role in January 2018. Bannon also hosted a radio show called Breitbart News Daily.

What is the Government Accountability Institute?

Bannon was a co-founder and executive chair of the Government Accountability Institute. This group investigates politicians. They use public records and documents to find information. They then share their findings with the media. The organization says it is nonpartisan. However, it mainly looks into claims of corruption within the Democratic Party. Bannon worked for this organization from 2012 until 2016.

What Was Cambridge Analytica?

Bannon served as vice president on the board of Cambridge Analytica. This company used data to target American voters in the 2016 election. A former employee said Bannon oversaw the collection of Facebook data. This data was used to help political campaigns. Bannon sold his share in the company when he joined the Trump administration in 2017.

What is The Movement?

In 2017, Bannon started The Movement. This group supports populist movements in Europe. These groups often oppose the European Union. The Movement also opposes George Soros's Open Society Foundations. Bannon has called Soros "evil but brilliant." The group has about 10 full-time staff members.

Brief Political Career

What Was Steve Bannon's Role in the Trump Administration?

Bannon during the April 2017 Syrian missile strike operation

Bannon and other advisors watching Trump sign an executive order

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon shakes hands with WH Chief of Staff Reince Priebus at 2017 CPAC

When Donald Trump became president, he appointed Bannon as his chief strategist. This was a new position. It made him a counselor to the president. This role was almost as powerful as the chief of staff. This position did not need approval from the Senate.

Bannon was involved in creating an executive order. This order limited travel and immigration from seven countries. It also paused the refugee program. Bannon believed that the media was against the Trump administration. He said they did not understand the country.

In February 2017, Bannon was on the cover of Time magazine. The cover called him "the Great Manipulator." The article asked if he was "the Second Most Powerful Man in the World?" This showed how much influence people thought he had.

Bannon left his job in the White House on August 18, 2017. The White House said that Bannon and the chief of staff agreed it would be his last day.

What Did Steve Bannon Do After the White House?

After leaving the White House, Bannon said he wanted to build a global network. This network would support populist movements around the world. He traveled to Europe. He spoke at events with various political parties. He aimed to connect right-wing nationalist parties.

Bannon's efforts to build this network had limited success. Some European parties he met with did not fully join his initiative. They had different national and political views.

Bannon also supported the Dignitatis Humanae Institute. This is a Catholic organization in Italy. Bannon helped create a course for them. It was meant to train conservative Catholic political activists. However, the Italian government later took back the group's right to use the monastery.

In 2018, Bannon met with Eduardo Bolsonaro. He is the son of Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right candidate in Brazil. Bannon became an informal advisor to Bolsonaro's presidential campaign. In 2019, Eduardo Bolsonaro joined Bannon's organization, The Movement.

Bannon also met with Guo Wengui, a Chinese businessman. They became friends. Guo reportedly loaned Bannon money and had a consulting contract with him. They also started a company called GTV Media Group. This company raised a lot of money. In 2020, Bannon and Guo announced a "New Federal State of China." They said it would overthrow the Chinese government.

Political Ideas

Bannon describes himself as a populist. He supports the ideas of Ronald Reagan.

What Are Steve Bannon's Views on Immigration?

Bannon supports reducing immigration to the U.S. This includes both legal and illegal immigration. He believes that immigration can threaten a country's independence. He has suggested that too many chief executives in Silicon Valley are from Asian backgrounds. He thinks this harms "civic society."

In 2015, Bannon said he was against settling any refugees of the Syrian Civil War in the U.S. In 2016, he said that illegal immigration was "horrific." He also said that legal immigration was "the beating heart of this problem." He felt that the levels of legal immigration were "scary." He believed that legal immigrants had "kinda overwhelmed the country."

Bannon is the chairman of We Build The Wall. This group is involved in building parts of the proposed expansion of Mexico–United States barrier.

Personal Life

Bannon in 2018

Bannon has been married and divorced three times. He has three adult daughters. His first marriage was to Cathleen Suzanne Houff. They had a daughter named Maureen. His second marriage was to Mary Louise Piccard. They had twin daughters. His third marriage was to Diane Clohesy.

His brother, Chris Bannon, is a TV producer.

Filmography

Bannon has worked on many films and documentaries. He has been a producer, writer, director, or actor.

Images for kids

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  Steve Bannon's signature

See also

In Spanish: Steve Bannon para niños