Cisneros, Gil, 1971-

Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (born February 12, 1971) is an American philanthropist and former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness since August 2021. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for California's 39th congressional district from 2019 to 2021.

Born in Los Angeles, he earned a B.A. from George Washington University before joining the United States Navy, earning an MBA from Regis University while enlisted. Cisneros worked as a shipping and manufacturing manager for Frito-Lay until he was laid off in 2010. Weeks after he was laid off, he won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million. Thereafter, he and his wife became philanthropists, establishing endowments for scholarships to be given to Latino students at GWU and the University of Southern California. Cisneros earned a Master of Arts from Brown University in Urban Education Policy in 2015.

In 2017, Cisneros declared his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent California's 39th congressional district. After placing second in the June primary election, he narrowly defeated Republican Young Kim in the November general election. In the 116th Congress, Cisneros was a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. He belonged to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and the New Democrat Coalition. In a 2020 rematch with Kim, Cisneros was narrowly defeated.

On April 12, 2021, it was announced that Cisneros would be nominated to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration; his nomination was received on April 27. On July 27, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted to advance Cisneros' nomination to the full chamber for a future vote. In one of the Senate's last actions before its 2021 August recess, Cisneros was confirmed to the post of Under Secretary of Defense in the early hours of August 11, 2021, by a voice vote. He assumed office on August 24.