Scott Bessent | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| 79th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| Assumed office January 28, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Michael Faulkender Derek Theurer (acting) |
| Preceded by | Janet Yellen |
| Commissioner of Internal Revenue | |
| Assumed office August 8, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Billy Long |
| Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | |
| Acting February 3, 2025 – February 7, 2025 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Zixta Martinez |
| Preceded by | Zixta Martinez (acting)[1] |
| Succeeded by | Russell Vought (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent (1962-08-21)August 21, 1962 (age 63) Conway, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Relations | John Jenrette (uncle) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
Bessent's opening statement during his Senate confirmation hearing Recorded January 16, 2025 | |
Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent (/ˈbɛsənt/BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American businessman and government official serving since 2025 as the 79thUnited States secretary of the treasury.[2] Bessent was a partner atSoros Fund Management (SFM) and founded Key Square Group, aglobal macro investment firm.[3] He is the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department, the first openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration,[4] and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.[5]
Bessent graduated fromYale University in 1984 with aB.A. in political science. After holding a series of financial positions, he was hired by Soros Fund Management in 1991, eventually becoming the head of itsLondon office. While serving in the role in September 1992, he was a leading member of the SFM group, which profited by $1 billion onBlack Wednesday, the Britishpound sterling crisis.[6] In 2013, he made SFM another $1.2 billion by betting against the Japaneseyen. After leaving the Soros Fund in 2015, Bessent established Key Square Group, a hedge fund.[7]
Bessent served as an economic advisor, fundraiser, and major donor for theDonald Trump 2024 presidential campaign.[8] On November 22, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his nomination of Bessent for U.S. Treasury Secretary in the second Trump administration. Bessent was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on January 27, 2025, by a 68–29 vote, and sworn in as the 79th U.S. Treasury Secretary on January 28, 2025.
Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent was born on August 21, 1962, inConway, South Carolina,[4][9] to Barbara (née McLeod) and Homer Gaston Bessent Jr.[10][11][12][13] (one of three children acknowledged at the time of Homer's death).[13] The Bessent family is ofFrench Huguenot andScottish descent,[14] and had aBaptist affiliation at times in its history.[13] Scott's father, a man of many pursuits, including hunting and fishing, founded and owned one of theGrand Strand's early real estate companies.[13] His mother, a local businesswoman, assumed responsibility for that business when Homer was ill for a period in the 1960s, "a most unusual feat for [the] era".[11][15] Scott's mother married five times, twice to Bessent’s father (her first and third marriages), who at one point went bankrupt and has been called "the great love of her life".[11][15]John Jenrette, a disgraced member of theUnited States House of Representatives, was Scott Bessent's uncle.[16]
Bessent had a summer job as a busboy at age 9.[15] In 1980, he graduated fromNorth Myrtle Beach High School inLittle River, South Carolina.[17][18] He considered attending theUnited States Naval Academy but decided not to as he was unwilling to lie about his sexual orientation.[15]
Bessent graduated fromYale College in 1984 with aBachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science.[12][19] He was on the board of theYale Daily News, acted as president of theWolf's Head Society, and was the class treasurer.[20][21] He also chaired the 1984 Yale Alumni Fund and was an assistant to the director of athletics.[12][22] As an undergraduate, Bessent interned withJim Rogers, a co-founder of theQuantum Fund, after meeting him at a Yale career center event.[21]
After college, Bessent worked atBrown Brothers Harriman,[9][4][23] at theRiyadh-based companyOlayan Group,[9][4] and then at thehedge fund Kynikos Associates, underJim Chanos.[9][4][23] InBusiness Insider, Julia La Roche connected Bessent's work with Chanos to his eventual opportunity atSoros Fund Management (SFM), noting thatGeorge Soros was a major Chanos client.[9] In theYale Daily News, Asher Boiskin suggested Soros himself recruited Bessent.[23] In 1992, Bessent was a leading member of the SFM team whose bet on theBlack Wednesday collapse of the BritishPound sterling earned the firm over $1 billion.[9][24][25][26] Some sources, such asForbes, call Bessent a "protégé" of Soros.[27][16]
After resigning from SFM in 2000, Bessent founded a $1 billion hedge fund, Bessent Capital.[9][28] The fund closed in 2005. He has said he learned that he should not change his style or the firm's approach because of investor preferences.[20] He was also a senior investment adviser to fund-of-fundsProtégé Partners.[29][24] Bessent returned to SFM as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015.[25] His bet against the Japanese yen in 2013 yielded more than $1.2 billion in profit in three months.[30]
From 2006 to 2011, Bessent was an adjunct professor ofeconomic history at Yale, teaching three courses.[31][24]
Bessent left SFM in 2015 to launch Key Square Group, a hedge fund named after a spot on the chessboard, with Michael Germino, who had been the global head of capital markets at SFM. It received a $2 billion anchor investment from George Soros.[26][32][33][34][35] Key Square usesgeopolitics and economics to make macro investments.[15][36] Its main fund returned 13% in 2016 but declined or broke even every year from 2017 to 2021 before making major gains in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The inconsistent track record scared away clients.Assets under management shrank from $5.1 billion in 2017[36][37] to $577 million in 2023 and the number of institutional investors declined from 180 to 20 over the same period. It earned a "double digits" percentage profit in 2024 betting that U.S. stocks would rise after Trump won the election.[38]
In 2018, as part of a prearranged deal, the firm returned Soros's investment as it took in other assets.[36] Its investors include Australia's sovereign wealth fund,Future Fund.[37] Bessent announced that he would sever ties with the group after assuming the role of treasury secretary.[39]
In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser forAl Gore at his home inEast Hampton, New York.[40] Also in 2000, he donated $1,000 toJohn McCain's presidential campaign.[15] In 2007, he donated $2,300 toBarack Obama's campaign, and in 2013, he donated $25,000 toHillary Clinton's campaign. At the time, he was said to be aDemocrat who supported liberal causes.[41]
After Trump was elected president in 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Trump's 2017presidential inaugural committee.[42] In 2023 and 2024, he donated more than $1 million to Trump's2024 presidential campaign.[43] In February 2024, Bessent hosted a fundraiser inGreenville, South Carolina, that raised nearly $7 million for Trump's campaign.[44] In April, he hosted aPalm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that raised $50 million for the campaign.[45] In July, Bessent was a key economic adviser to Trump.[46]
On November 22, 2024,President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bessent to serve as theUnited States secretary of the treasury in hissecond administration.[47][8][48] On January 16, 2025, Bessent appeared before theUnited States Senate Committee on Finance. At his confirmation hearing, Bessent advocated for tax cut extensions and tougher economic policies onChina andRussia.[49]
On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance advanced Bessent's nomination to the Senatefloor by a 16–11 vote.[50] On January 27, 2025, the U.S. Senate voted 68–29 to confirm Bessent's nomination.[51] The same day, a man with multipleMolotov cocktails and a knife who intended to murder Bessent was arrested at theUnited States Capitol.[52]
On January 28, 2025, Bessent was sworn in as the 79th secretary of the treasury by U.S. Supreme Court justiceBrett Kavanaugh.[2] Bessent became the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department, the first openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration,[4] and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.[53][54]
On January 31, 2025, Bessent granted theDepartment of Government Efficiency team access to the Treasury Department's payment system.[55] On February 3, 2025, he was named the actingdirector of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; he immediately ordered the agency to halt all work.[56][57]
In February 2025, Bessent and actingUnited States secretary of commerceJeremy Pelter were tasked with implementing a United Statessovereign wealth fund.[58] In April, Trump initially namedGary Shapley asCommissioner of Internal Revenue, but Shapley was soon replaced byMichael Faulkender, Bessent's preferred pick, after Bessent lobbied Trump. This led to a dispute between Bessent andElon Musk, reportedly causing a shouting match.[59]
On August 8,The New York Times reported that Trump was removingBilly Long as commissioner of internal revenue in preparation for an ambassadorship nomination. Bessent was named as Long's acting successor.[60] Also in August, theOffice of Government Ethics notifiedSenate Committee on Finance chairMike Crapo that Bessent "has failed to timely comply with certain terms of the ethics agreement he signed".[61][62][63][64]
In September 2025, Bessent reportedly clashed withFederal Housing Finance Agency directorBill Pulte and threatened to punch him.[65]
On October 15, 2025, Bessent said the U.S. would work to create astrategic mineral reserve, potentially withJPMorgan Chase. He added that the U.S. would setprice floors across multiple industries, and potentially take equity stakes in otherrare-earth companies to reduce reliance on China, as theU.S. Department of War did in July 2025 withMP Materials.[66]
On November 28, after the2025 Washington, D.C., National Guard shooting, Bessent announced that the Treasury Department would move to reclassify certain tax credits as federal public benefits so as to "cut off federal benefits to illegal aliens and preserve them for U.S. citizens". Affected tax credits include theAmerican Opportunity Tax Credit and theearned income tax credit, among others.[67]
In January 2026, Bessent engaged in a public spat with California GovernorGavin Newsom after Newsom criticized Trump at the56th World Economic Forum. At Davos, Newsom brandished a pair ofkneepads with Trump's signature on them to criticize world leaders' perceived weakness in responding to Trump. In response, Bessent said that Newsom has "a brain the size of a walnut" and that "if you brought the kneepads, maybe that was for his meeting withAlex Soros."[68] Newsom later attacked Bessent in response, while Bessent also called Newsom "Patrick Bateman meetsSparkle Beach Ken".[69]
On January 26, 2026, Bessent announced that the Treasury would terminate 31 government contracts withBooz Allen Hamilton, due in part to the actions ofCharles E. Littlejohn.[70]
On September 24, 2025, Bessent announced a planned $20 billion economic lifeline toArgentina to purchase government bonds and helpstabilize the nation's economy.[71] The purchase was finalized on October 9.[72] On October 15, Bessent said he was negotiating deals for the private sector to give Argentina another $20 billion, adding that several banks andsovereign wealth funds had expressed interest.[73] On January 9, 2026, Bessent said that Argentina had fully repaid its currency draw, estimated by local newspapers at $2.5 billion of the potential $20 billion. He added that since the swap, theExchange Stabilization Fund now holds noArgentine pesos.
On October 22, 2025, the U.S. imposedsanctions on Russian energy companiesRosneft andLukoil over continued fighting inUkraine. Bessent wrote in a statement: "Given President Putin's refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia's two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin's war machine. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions."[74]
In November 2025, Bessent voiced his support for the sale ofF-35 Lightning II fighter jets toSaudi Arabia.[75] In January 2026, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iranian officials responding toIran's crackdown on protestors. Bessent sent a warning message that: "U.S. Treasury knows, that like rats on a sinking ship, you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you."[76]
Bessent has characterized the present U.S. economy as a "barbell economy", explaining that while it has powerful financial and raw material sectors, it also possesses a weakenedworking class.[77] He proposed a three-point economic plan for Trump modeled onAbenomics (lower deficit, monetary easing, and fiscal stimulus).[78] Bessent opposes raising the federalminimum wage in the United States, calling it "more of a statewide and regional issue".[79] He supports loweringinterest rates,[80] continuingSocial Security,[81][82][83] reducing government intervention in the economy, easingSupplementary Leverage Ratio regulations on banks,[84] and expandingnuclear power.[85] He also supported theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act,[86] praising the creation ofTrump Accounts.[83]
Bessent supports astrong dollar policy,[87] differing from Trump and Vice PresidentJD Vance, who have spoken in favor of a weak dollar policy.[88] He has been labeled agold bug, calling gold a historical "store of value".[89] Bessent is pro-crypto and supports federal regulations onstablecoins,[90] as well as theU.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.[91] After thepenny was phased out due to its negativeseigniorage, he expressed support for changing the composition of thenickel to cheaper materials to get production costs below 5 cents.[92]
Bessent opposes the creation of a U.S.central bank digital currency.[93] He supports establishing a U.S.sovereign wealth fund, and has proposed includinggovernment-sponsored enterprises in the fund.[94] He supports raisingFDIC insurance limits on bank accounts; as of 2025 they are set at $250,000.[95] He supports abolition of theU.S. Senate filibuster.[96]
Bessent proposed seeking an early confirmation of a replacement forChair of the Federal ReserveJerome Powell, whose term expires in May 2026, as a way to reduce Powell's influence,[97][98] prompting some criticism.[99] Bessent later "walked back" the idea.[100]
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In 2022, Bessent praised Trump and former Japanese prime ministerShinzo Abe for containingChina. He called China "ever more antagonistic".[101] Bessent has supportedtariffs in the second Trump administration.[102] In a November 2024Fox News op-ed, he wrote that the "U.S. opened its markets to the world, but China's resulting economic growth has only cemented the hold of a despotic regime" and argued tariffs "are a means to finally stand up for Americans".[103] In March 2025, amid Trump's threats to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Bessent defended the tariffs, saying, "access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream."[104] In April 2025, after Trump announcedLiberation Day tariffs, Bessent warned countries against retaliating, promising escalation.[105][106] On April 9, Trump paused many of the tariffs; Bessent and Commerce SecretaryHoward Lutnick were credited with convincing Trump to do so.[107] Bessent has advocated pressuring U.S. trading partners to restrict their economic relationships with China.[108][109]
In August 2025, Bessent accusedIndia ofprofiting from reselling Russian oil during Russia'swar against Ukraine and said, "This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage—buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product. They've made $16 billion in excess profits—some of the richest families in India."[110]
In September 2025, Bessent voiced support for moresecondary sanctions onRussia to "collapse" the Russian economy, saying the Trump administration is "prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us".[111] After an October meeting between two leaders at theAPEC Summit in South Korea, Bessent said that China's decision torestrict rare earth exports might have been a strategic miscalculation, as it encouraged other countries to reduce reliance on Chinese supplies and develop alternative sources. He suggested that the policy could lessen China's leverage within two years as global supply chains diversify.[112]
In January 2026, amid strainedCanadian-U.S. relations, Bessent spoke in support ofAlberta separatism, backing a potential2026 independence referendum.[113] He warned Canadian prime ministerMark Carney that his public criticisms of Trump's trade policies could backfire leading to a formal review of theU.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.[114]
Reacting to the2025–2026 Iranian protests, Bessent admitted that Iran's economic collapse was partly due toU.S. sanctions, declaring that "the Iranian economy is on the ropes."[115] He also asserted that the U.S. had triggered a dollar shortage in Iran causing theIranian rial to collapse.[116]
According to his financial assets disclosure by theU.S. Office of Government Ethics, Bessent's net worth was at least $521 million as of December 28, 2024; his actual net worth is speculated to be around $600 million.[117] At that time, he owned more than $50 million in each of theSPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the InvescoS&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, and theInvesco QQQ, as well as real estate in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million and a home inCashiers, North Carolina, worth $5 million to $25 million.[118] In 2025, he owned farmland worth up to $25 million in North Dakota that provides him a rental income of up to $1 million per year.[119][120] Bessent said he divested his North Dakota farmland in December 2025 as part of his ethics agreement as secretary of the treasury.[121]
Bessent lives inCharleston, South Carolina, andWashington, D.C.[122][123] He previously lived inGreenwich, Connecticut.[124] He is a member of theHuguenot Church,[125] a religious association whose expansion his ancestors supported in 1680.[14] He married John Freeman, a formerNew York City prosecutor, in 2011. They have two children, born throughsurrogacy.[15]
Bessent reportedly has a close friendship with KingCharles III. He was also friends with Donald Trump's brotherRobert, whose ex-wife,Blaine Trump, is the godmother of Bessent's daughter.[126]
Bessent and his sister Wyn made donations to establish the H. Gaston Bessent, Jr. Library at Yale University, in their father's honor.[10] Bessent, Wyn, and the rest of their family created the Kenneth V. McLeod Rehabilitation Center at theShriners Hospital for Children inGreenville, South Carolina, in memory of their maternal grandfather.[10] He has supported restoration of theNathaniel Russell House, aNational Historic Landmark in Charleston.[127] Bessent also supports theKing's Trust in London and the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City.[123]
Bessent has participated inDialog, a secretive, invitation-only social club founded byPeter Thiel andAuren Hoffman.[128] He is a member of theEconomic Club of New York.[122][129]
[Bessant i]s the first openly gay Treasury secretary and the first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration. / After graduating from Yale, Bessent held positions at Brown Brothers Harriman, Olayan Group and Kynikos Associates.
After graduation, he went to work for Brown Brothers Harriman. He later did a stint with the Olayan Group—Saudi Arabian-based holding company./ Eventually he moved to Jim Chanos's hedge fund Kynikos Associates. Since Soros was a major client for Chanos, Bessent decided to make the move in 1991 to Soros Fund Management.
She and her brother donated the H. Gaston Bessent, Jr. Library at Yale University in their father's honor. Wyn and her family also gave and dedicated the Kenneth V. McLeod Rehabilitation Facility at The Shriner's Children's Hospital in Greenville, SC, in memory of her maternal grandfather...Note, this source allows inference that McLeod was mother Barbara's maiden name.
His mother, Barbara, was married five times. Bessent's father, Homer, was her first and third husband, and described as the great love of her life. He was an estate agent; when he fell ill in the 1960s Bessent's mother took over the business, in what an obituary later called 'a most unusual feat for the era'.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)If confirmed, Bessent would make history as the first out gay person to lead the Treasury Department and the second out gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary, following Pete Buttigieg...
Bessent said it was clear that "what had been an affluent society that still maintained a high standard of living is really crumbling, and a lot of that is through the sanctions."
Media related toScott Bessent at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | United States Secretary of the Treasury 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Director of theConsumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting 2025 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commissioner of Internal Revenue Acting 2025–present | Incumbent |
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded byas Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | Order of precedence of the United States as Secretary of the Treasury | Succeeded byasSecretary of Defense |
| U.S. presidential line of succession | ||
| Preceded byasSecretary of State | Fifth in line as Secretary of the Treasury | Succeeded byasSecretary of Defense |
Members of theCabinet of the United States | ||
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| Cabinet members |  | |
| Cabinet-level members | ||
Finance ministers of theG20 | |
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