Ike Perlmutter with Donald Trump
Newscom/REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstThe ascendency of Donald Trump has Marvel chairman Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter coming out of his shell with a public appearance, of all places, at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., headquarters of the U.S. Central Command. On Monday, Perlmutter appeared there alongside Trump, White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford and top aides including Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.
Until recently, Perlmutter’s only known photo was one from decades ago. In fact, he’s gone to lengths to hide his face. Famously, he once appeared at the premiere of Iron Man in disguise. On Dec. 28, 2016, however, a photograph of the exec was taken at a Trump event.
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Now, there’s video of Perlmutter.
CNBC spotlighted the apparition of “one of the most rarely photographed CEOs of America,” even though the financial news network was wrong in one respect: He’s no longer CEO of the company he sold to Disney for $4 billion. In early January, in a lawsuit over whether another billionaire stole his DNA and violated his privacy, Perlmutter stated under oath in a court declaration that he was merely chairman at Marvel.
Nevertheless, after giving at least $100,000 in support of Trump fundraising during the presidential campaign and being touted by Trump as “one of the great men of business,” he’s suddenly gone public and may be primed for a bigger role.
Trump, who often hobnobs with Perlmutter at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., has hinted that his friend may play a role advising on veteran affairs, although the Israeli native who reportedly participated as an Army cadet in the 1967 Six-Day War could serve Trump in other ways.
At MacDill Air Force Base, President Trump spoke about defeating “radical Islamic terrorists.”
As for why Perlmutter was there, CNBC appears to have gotten no comment as of yet from Marvel Entertainment or the White House.
