Rich Cordray

Richard Cordray served for six years as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  He was appointed by President Barack Obama and confirmed by a bipartisan vote of the Senate.  During his tenure, the Consumer Bureau brought enforcement actions that returned over $12 billion to 30 million Americans.  They created a consumer response system that gave people a voice; more than 1.3 million people had issues resolved by this means.  And they adopted new rules to safeguard the multi-trillion-dollar mortgage market and prevent the kind of problems that led to the financial crisis of 2008 and the deep recession that followed.

Before joining the Consumer Bureau, Rich served as Ohio’s Attorney General, where he and his team recovered over $2 billion for Ohio’s retirees, investors, and business owners and took major steps to protect consumers from fraudulent foreclosures and financial predators.  He also served as Ohio Treasurer, where he led the State’s banking, investment, debt, and financing activities.  He previously taught at Ohio State’s law school and served as a State Representative and as Ohio’s first Solicitor General.  Rich has argued seven cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including by special appointment of both the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments.

Rich is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College, Oxford University in England, and the University of Chicago Law School.  He clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.  He lives in Grove City, Ohio with his wife Peggy, a law professor at Capital University Law School, and twin children Danny and Holly.

Professional affiliations

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau