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Pentagon Chief to Visit Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs on Wall Street Trip

Pentagon Chief to Visit Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs on Wall Street Trip

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper makes a rare trip to Wall Street to celebrate Veteran’s Day by ringing the closing bell at Nasdaq and taking part in a question and answer session at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. hosted by Chief Executive Officer David Solomon.

Esper, a 55-year-old Persian Gulf War Army veteran, was invited to ring the final bell in honor of veteran-owned businesses on the U.S. national holiday honoring the troops. According to the White House, vets own 2.5 million small businesses, employing five million people and generating over $1 trillion dollars in sales and receipts annually.

Pentagon Chief to Visit Nasdaq, Goldman Sachs on Wall Street Trip

Esper, the third of the last four defense secretaries with experience as a combat veteran, is scheduled to participate in a Goldman Sachs-sponsored “Fireside Chat” with Solomon before departing New York.

Prior to joining the Defense Department, Esper was a vice president of government relations at contractor Raytheon Co. His day-trip to New York comes ahead of an eight-day trip to South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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