Scott Bessent – Treasury

Scott Bessent

Summary

Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent (born August 1962) is an American investor and hedge fund manager. He was a partner at Soros Fund Management and the founder of Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm.

Bessent was a major donor, fundraiser, and an economic advisor for the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign. In November 2024, Trump named Bessent as his nominee for United States secretary of the treasury. If confirmed by the Senate, Bessent would be the first openly gay secretary of the Treasury.

Source: Wikipedia

OnAir Post: Scott Bessent – Treasury

News

What to know about Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for treasury secretary
Associated Press, Fatima Hussein – November 22, 2024

Bessent is a past supporter of Democrats who has become an enthusiastic supporter of Trump. He’s an advocate of cutting spending while extending the tax cuts approved by Congress in Trump’s first term.

He worked for George Soros and donated to Democratic causes

He speaks regularly about deficit reduction, while supporting extending Trump’s tax cuts

He views tariffs as a sanctions tool

He would be the first openly gay treasury secretary

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About

Source: Project 2025 webpage

Scott Bessent 1Scott Bessent is a billionaire investor and Republican megadonor. Bessent is the founder, chief executive officer, and chief investment officer of Key Square Group, a Connecticut-based hedge fund. Bessent is also founder of All Seasons Press, a right-wing alternative to mainstream publishers. All Seasons has published books by former Trump administration officials including Mark Meadows and Peter Navarro as well as about controversial extremist MAGA operatives like Tucker Carlson.

All Seasons Press was started “to publish the best writers, politicians, and pundits in the conservative movement. The company is open to welcoming those authors who are being attacked, bullied, banned from social media, and, in some cases, outright rejected by politically correct publishers”—a move partially in response to corporate America’s reaction to January 6th. There was a gap in the market for publishers who were willing to take on authors that wanted to spread the big lie or support former President Trump.

At first, Bessent’s involvement with All Seasons Press was not clear, possibly due to his ties to George Soros. According to Tablet Magazine, “Bessent headed Soros’ London office for most of the 1990s and served as chief investment officer for Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015. He invested $2 billion of Soros’s money in 2015 to launch his own shop, Key Square Capital Management.” Bessent’s secretive involvement led to legal disputes with author Lee Smith, who accused All Seasons press of fraudulent practices to suppress his book critical of Soros.

Despite his association with Soros, Bessent has made significant donations to Republican causes. He has given over $1.5 million to the RNC, NRCC, and NRSC since Trump’s election in 2016, according to FEC filings. Additionally he has given to Trump directly; according to MarketWatch, “disclosures show a $500,000 contribution in February and three contributions of $250,000 each across December, January, and March. He was among the co-chairs of a Trump fundraising event in April that featured major Wall Street players.”

As founder of Key Square Capital, Bessent has led a variety of controversial investments, including a $35 million position in tobacco company Philip Morris, $6 million in ammunition manufacturer Olin Corp, a combined $74 million in Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com, and a combined $13 million in Peabody Energy and Arch Resources, the two largest coal producers in the United States.

Web Links

Career

Key Square Group

Source: Wikipedia

Bessent founded Key Square Group in 2015 with Michael Germino, who had been the global head of capital markets at SFM. Key Square uses geopolitics and economics to make macro investments.Key Square received a $2 billion anchor investment from George Soros. At the end of 2017, Key Square’s assets were $5.1 billion. Key Square’s main fund returns increased by 13% in 2016 but lost money 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 to $577 million in 2023 and the number of institutional investors declined from 180 to 20 over the same period.

As part of a pre-arranged deal, the firm returned in 2018 the Soros capital as it took in other assets. Its investors include Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund.

More Information

Wikipedia

Bessent in the Oval Office with President Trump, Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz
Bessent with Senator Tim Scott in 2024

Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent (/ˈbɛsənt/ BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American businessman and government official serving since 2025 as the 79th United States secretary of the treasury. He was formerly a partner at Soros Fund Management (SFM) and founded Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm.

Bessent graduated from Yale University in 1984 with a B.A. in political science. After a series of financial positions, he was hired by Soros Fund Management in 1991, eventually becoming the head of its London office. While serving in that role in September 1992, he was a leading member of the SFM group that profited by $1 billion on Black Wednesday, the British pound sterling crisis. In 2013, he made another $1.2 billion profit for SFM betting against the Japanese yen. After leaving the Soros Fund in 2015, Bessent established Key Square Group, a hedge fund.

Bessent served as an economic advisor, fundraiser, and major donor for the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign.[2] 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 the United 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.

Bessent has been described as the “first openly gay Treasury secretary and the first openly LGBTQ Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration”.[3] While analysis is complicated by which positions are considered Cabinet-level,[4][5] Bessent has been considered the third openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet of the United States (after Richard Grenell and Pete Buttigieg).[4][not verified in body] As the U.S. secretary of the treasury is fifth in the United States presidential line of succession,[citation needed] he is the highest-ranking openly LGBTQ person ever to serve in the federal government of the United States.[6][7][4][5]

Early life

Bessent was born Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent in Conway, South Carolina on August 21, 1962,[3][8][9] the son of Barbara (née McLeod) and Homer Gaston Bessent Jr.[10][11][12][13] (one of three children acknowledged at the time of his father Homer’s death).[13] The Bessent family is of French Huguenot and Scottish descent,[14] and had a Baptist affiliation at times in their history.[13] His father, a man of many pursuits, including being an avid hunter and fisherman, was the founder and owner of one of the Grand Strand‘s early real estate companies,[13] and his mother, herself a local businesswoman, assumed responsibility for that business when Homer was ill for a period in the 1960s, “a most unusual feat for [that] era”.[11][15] Scott Bessent’s mother was married five times, twice to Bessent’s father (her first and third) who at one point had gone bankrupt, and who was described as “the great love of her life”.[11][15] Scott Bessent has two sisters, Paige, and Wyn, the latter of whom died in 2022 after an illness.[10] The late John Jenrette, a disgraced member of the United States House of Representatives, was Bessent’s uncle.[16]

Bessent had a summer job as a busboy at age 9.[15] In 1980, he graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School in Little River, South Carolina.[17][better source needed] He considered attending the United States Naval Academy in Maryland but decided not to as he was unwilling to lie about his sexual orientation.[15]

Bessent attended Yale College, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science from the university in 1984.[12][18] He was on the board of the Yale Daily News, acted as president of Wolf’s Head Society, and was treasurer for the class of 1984.[19][20] While there, he was chairman of the 1984 Yale Alumni Fund and an assistant to the director of athletics.[12][21] And while an undergraduate, Bessent interned with Jim Rogers, a co-founder of the Quantum Fund, after meeting him at an event of the Yale career center.[22]

Investing career

Early and SFM work

After graduation, Bessent worked at Brown Brothers Harriman,[8][3][22] at the Saudi Arabia-based holding company, Olayan Group,[8][3] and then at the hedge fund, Kynikos Associates, under Jim Chanos.[8][3][22] Julia La Roche, writing for Business Insider, connects Bessent’s work with Chanos to his eventual opportunity at Soros Fund Management (SFM), noting that Soros was a major Chanos client.[8] Asher Boiskin, writing for the Yale Daily News, suggests the transition was a result of recruitment by George Soros himself.[22] In any case, Bessent joined SFM in 1991, eventually becoming head of the London office.[citation needed] In 1992, Bessent was a leading member of the SFM team whose bet on the Black Wednesday collapse of the British Pound sterling earned the firm over $1 billion.[8][23][24][25] Some sources, such as Forbes, describe Bessent as having been a “protégé” of George Soros, SFM’s founder.[26][27]

After resigning from SFM in 2000, Bessent founded a $1 billion hedge fund, Bessent Capital.[8][28] The fund closed in 2005. Bessent has said he learned that he should not change his style or the firm’s approach because of investor preferences.[29] He was also a senior investment adviser to fund-of-funds Protégé Partners.[30][23] Bessent returned to SFM as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015.[24] His bet against the Japanese yen in 2013 yielded more than $1.2 billion in profit in three months.[31]

From 2006 to 2011, Bessent was an adjunct professor of economic history at Yale, where he taught three courses.[29][23]

Key Square Group founding

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.[25][32][33][34][35] Key Square uses geopolitics 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]

Other business endeavors

Real estate

John Ravenel House in Charleston

Bessent has bought and sold at least 20 properties, a substantial part of the effort shared with his husband, John Freeman; the properties involved are reportedly valued in total at over $127 million as of December 2024, and for many they oversaw their renovations.[40] Examples referred to in The WSJ reporting by E.B. Solomont, and largely echoed in later reporting, include the following.[40][41] In 2007, Bessent bought a house in Bedford Hills, New York, for $11.3 million, selling it in 2011 for $7.1 million, at a loss.[40][41] In 2010, Bessent bought a 9,700-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $9.5 million, and sold it at a gain, for $14.5 million in 2014.[40] In 2010, he bought a 10,700-square-foot home in Southampton, New York, for $9.95 million; he sold it for $19 million in 2019, again at a gain.[40] He purchased his unit at 720 Park Avenue for $19.25 million in 2017, and sold it for $15 million in 2021.[40] To this list, Madeline Fitzgerald, writing for Quartz, adds the $12 million 2007 Bessent purchase of a unit at One Sutton Place South in Manhattan (formerly owned by John F. Kennedy‘s sister[who?]), which sold at a loss for $9.5 million in 2009.[41]

In these reports, the 9,400-square-foot John Ravenel House, purchased by Bessent for $6.5 million in 2016, had not yet sold.[40][42] That renovation received an award from the Preservation Society of Charleston in 2021.[43] In March 2025, that property sold for $18.25 million, plus an additional $3 million for the furnishings and fixtures, the highest price ever paid for a house in Charleston.[44][45]

Hence, while the The Wall Street Journal and related reports headline Bessent and Freeman losses,[40][41] the article notes that the primary motivation of the work may not be purely profit-driven, and the list of properties the article lists as having already sold reflects a net profit,[40] with the further sale of the John Ravenel House also representing a sale without loss.[45]

Mortgage controversy

Citing reporting from Bloomberg that was picked up by multiple other outlets, Bessent reportedly designated through an attorney, in September 2007, a Bedford Hills property and a property in Provincetown, Massachusetts as his principal residences simultaneously on mortgage documents submitted to the Bank of America, despite rider documents referencing the properties as secondary residences (his primary residence being in Manhattan at the time), a matter that received attention because of the Trump administration’s use of such disclosures as leverage against individuals in government that it wishes to replace[46][47][48][49]—reporting that was characterised by Bessent’s legal representative as “Nonsensical”.[50]

Early involvement in politics

In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser for Al Gore at his home in East Hampton, New York.[51] That year, he also donated $1,000 to John McCain.[15] In 2007, he donated $2,300 to Barack Obama and in 2013, he donated $25,000 to Hillary Clinton‘s campaign. At that time, he was described as a Democrat who supported liberal causes.[52]

After Trump was elected president in 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Trump’s 2017 presidential inaugural committee.[53] In 2023 and 2024, he donated more than $1 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.[54]

In February 2024, Bessent hosted a fundraiser in Greenville, South Carolina, that raised nearly $7 million for Trump’s 2024 campaign.[55] In April 2024, he was a host of a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that raised $50 million for Trump’s campaign.[56] In July 2024, Bessent was a key economic adviser to Trump.[57]

Secretary of the Treasury (2025–present)

Nomination and confirmation

On November 22, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bessent to serve as the United States secretary of the treasury in his second administration.[58][2][59] On January 16, 2025, Bessent appeared before the United States Senate Committee on Finance. At his confirmation hearing, Bessent advocated for tax cut extensions and tougher economic policies on China and Russia.[60]

President Trump signs executive order directing Bessent.
Bessent with Vice President JD Vance and EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, April 2, 2025

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance advanced Bessent’s nomination to the Senate floor by a 16–11 vote.[61] On January 27, the Senate voted 68–29 to confirm Bessent’s nomination.[62] The same day, a man with multiple Molotov cocktails and a knife who intended to murder Bessent was arrested at the United States Capitol.[63]

Tenure

On January 28, 2025, Bessent was sworn in as the 79th secretary of the treasury by U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh.[64] Bessent became the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.[citation needed][5][failed verification]

On January 31, 2025, Bessent granted the Department of Government Efficiency team access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.[65]

On February 3, 2025, Bessent was named the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; he immediately ordered the agency to halt all work.[66][67]

In February, Bessent and acting United States secretary of commerce Jeremy Pelter were tasked with implementing a United States sovereign wealth fund.[68]

In April 2025, Trump initially named Gary Shapley as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, but Shapley was soon replaced by Michael Faulkender, Bessent’s preferred pick, after Bessent lobbied Trump. This led to a dispute between Bessent and Elon Musk, reportedly causing a shouting match.[69]

Bessent and Ukrainian first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko signing the mineral resources agreement, April 30, 2025

On August 8, The New York Times reported that Trump was removing Billy Long as the commissioner of internal revenue in preparation for an ambassadorship nomination. Bessent was named as Long’s acting successor.[70]

In August 2025, the Office of Government Ethics notified Senate Committee on Finance chair Mike Crapo that Bessent “has failed to timely comply with certain terms of the ethics agreement he signed”.[71][72][73][74]

In September 2025, Bessent reportedly clashed with Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte and threatened to punch him.[75]

On September 24, Bessent announced a planned $20 billion economic lifeline to Argentina, to purchase government bonds and help stabilize the nation’s economy.[76] The purchase was finalized on October 9.[77] On October 15, Bessent said he was negotiating deals for the private sector to give Argentina another $20 billion, adding that several banks and sovereign wealth funds had expressed interest.[78]

Bessent with Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, July 18, 2025

Also on October 15, Bessent said the U.S. would work to create a strategic mineral reserve, potentially with JPMorgan Chase. He added that the U.S. would set price floors across multiple industries, and potentially take equity stakes in other rare-earth companies in order to reduce reliance on China, as the U.S. Department of War did in July 2025 with MP Materials.[79]

On October 22, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft and Lukoil over continued fighting in Ukraine. Bessent said 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.”[80]

On November 28, following the 2025 Washington, D.C., National Guard shooting, Bessent announced that the Department of the Treasury 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 will include the American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Earned income tax credit, among others.[81]

Political views

Domestic

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 weakened middle class.[82] He proposed a three-point economic plan for Trump modeled on Abenomics (lower deficit, monetary easing, and fiscal stimulus).[83]

Bessent opposes raising the federal minimum wage in the United States, arguing that it is “more of a statewide and regional issue”.[84] He supports lowering interest rates,[85] continuing Social Security,[86][87][88] reducing government intervention in the economy, easing Supplementary Leverage Ratio regulations on banks,[89] and expanding nuclear power.[90] He also supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,[91] praising the creation of Trump Accounts.[88]

Bessent supports a strong dollar policy,[92] differing from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have spoken in favor of a weak dollar policy.[93] He has been labeled a gold bug, calling gold a historical “store of value”.[94] Bessent is pro-crypto and supports federal regulations on stablecoins.[95]

Following the plan to phase out the penny due to its negative seigniorage, Bessent expressed support for changing the composition of the nickel to cheaper materials to get production costs below 5 cents.[96]

Bessent opposes the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency.[97] He supports the establishment of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, and has proposed including government-sponsored enterprises in the fund.[98] Bessent supports raising FDIC insurance limits on bank accounts; as of 2025 they are set at $250,000.[99]

Bessent supports abolition of the U.S. Senate filibuster.[100]

Bessent proposed seeking an early confirmation of a replacement for Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May 2026, as a way to reduce Powell’s influence,[101][102] prompting some criticism.[103] Bessent later “walked back” the idea.[104]

Foreign

Bessent with China’s vice premier He Lifeng, during US–China trade talks in Geneva, Switzerland, in May 2025

In 2022, Bessent praised Trump and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe for containing China. He called China “ever more antagonistic”.[105]

Bessent has supported tariffs in the second Trump administration.[106] In a November 2024 Fox 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”.[107] 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.”[108] In April 2025, after Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs, Bessent warned countries against retaliating, promising escalation.[109][110] On April 9, Trump paused many of the tariffs; Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were credited with convincing Trump to do so.[111] Bessent has advocated pressuring U.S. trading partners to restrict their economic relationships with China.[112][113]

In August 2025, Bessent accused India of profiting from reselling Russian oil during Russia’s war against Ukraine, saying: “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.”[114]

In September 2025, Bessent voiced support for more secondary sanctions on Russia 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.”[115]

After an October 2025 meeting between two leaders at the APEC Summit in South Korea, Bessent said that China’s decision to restrict rare earth exports may 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.[116]

Professional affiliations

Bessent is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[21][117]

Wealth

According to his financial assets disclosure by the U.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.[118] At that time, he owned more than $50 million in each of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, and the Invesco QQQ, as well as real estate in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million and a home in Cashiers, North Carolina, worth $5 million to $25 million.[119] He owns farmland worth up to $25 million in North Dakota that provides him a rental income of up to $1 million per year.[120][121]

Personal life

Bessent resides in Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.[122][123] He previously lived in Greenwich, Connecticut.[124] He is a member of the Huguenot Church,[125] a religious association whose expansion his ancestors supported in 1680.[14]

Bessent is gay and married John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor, in 2011. They have two children, born through surrogacy.[126]

Bessent has had close friendships with King Charles III and Robert Trump. Robert’s ex-wife, Blaine Trump, is the godmother of Bessent’s daughter.[127]

Philanthropy

Bessent and his sister Wynn made donations to establish the H. Gaston Bessent, Jr. Library at Yale University, in their father’s honor.[10] Bessent has also endowed three scholarships at Yale: one for students who are first-generation college matriculants, one for students from South Carolina, and one for students from the Bronx.[original research?][citation needed] Bessent opened two foundations in 2022.[clarification needed][citation needed][128]

With Wyn and the rest of their family created the Kenneth V. McLeod Rehabilitation Center at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, South Carolina, in memory of their maternal grandfather.[10] He has supported restoration of the Nathaniel Russell House, a National Historic Landmark in Charleston.[129]

Bessent also supports the King’s Trust in London and the Harlem Children’s Zone in New York City.[130]

Bessent has served on numerous charitable boards and organisational committees. Before becoming treasury secretary, Bessent sat on the university council at Yale University.[when?][21] Bessent chaired the investment committee,[when?] and is a former member of the executive committee on the board of trustees of Rockefeller University.[when?][117][131]

He formerly served on the board of God’s Love We Deliver, an organization founded to deliver meals for homebound people with AIDS.[when?][21] He is a trustee of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (renamed the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation),[citation needed][when?] and a former board member of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston.[when?][117][132]

Clubs

Bessent has participated in Dialog, a secretive, invitation-only social club founded by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman.[133] He is also a member of the Economic Club of New York.[134][135]

References

  1. ^ Williams, Claire (February 1, 2025). “Chopra out at the CFPB”. American Banker.
  2. ^ a b Restuccia, Andrew; Schwartz, Brian; Timiraos, Nick; Leary, Alex (November 22, 2024). “Trump Picks Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d e CNN ER Staff (September 12, 2025). Scott Bessent Fast Facts. CNN.com. Atlanta, GA: CNN Editorial Research (ER). Retrieved December 3, 2025. [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.
  4. ^ a b c Ring, Trudy (November 23, 2024). “Trump Nominates Investment Manager Scott Bessent, a Gay Man, as Treasury Secretary”. The Advocate. Retrieved December 3, 2025. Bessent, if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, would be the first out member of the LGBTQ+ community to be Treasury secretary and one of only a few to ever hold a Cabinet or Cabinet-level position. … / … Richard Grenell, a gay Republican… was acting director of national intelligence in Trump’s first administration… The director of national intelligence is not part of the Cabinet but is considered Cabinet-level, so Grenell was the first out gay person to achieve that. Because of the interim nature of his post, he did not need Senate confirmation. Pete Buttigieg, secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration, was the first out Senate-confirmed Cabinet official.
  5. ^ a b c Wiggins, Christopher (January 13, 2025). “Scott Bessent, Trump’s Gay Treasury Secretary Nominee, to Divest From Vast $700 Million Portfolio”. The Advocate. Retrieved December 3, 2025. 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…
  6. ^ Kane, Christopher (November 24, 2024). “Trump Nominates Gay Man for Treasury Secretary”. Washington Blade. Retrieved December 3, 2025. …if confirmed Bessent would be the first LGBTQ official to lead the Treasury Department and the second gay cabinet secretary after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. … / Equality Forum Executive Director Malcolm Lazin added, ‘If confirmed, Bessent will be the highest ranking openly gay U.S. government official in American history.’
  7. ^ Irwin, Neil; Brown, Courtenay (November 22, 2024). “What to Know About Scott Bessent, Trump’s Treasury Pick”. Axios. Retrieved December 3, 2025. If confirmed, Bessent would be the first openly gay Treasury secretary.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g La Roche, Julia (September 19, 2011). “Meet The Hedge Fund Superstar George Soros Just Hired To Take Over His $25 Billion Fund”. Business Insider. Retrieved December 3, 2025. 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.
  9. ^ “Scott H Bessent”. Ancestry.com.[better source needed]
  10. ^ a b c d P&C Staff (September 23, 2024) [August 29, 2022]. “Wyn Nicole Bessent / 1968 – 2022”. The Post & Courier. Charleston, SC: Evening Post Publishing Inc. Archived from the original (obituary) on September 23, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2025. 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.
  11. ^ a b c Pavia, Will (April 11, 2025). “Meet Scott Bessent, Money Man Who Talked Trump Back from Brink”. The Times. Retrieved December 3, 2025. 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’.
  12. ^ a b c Sun-News Staff (July 8, 1984). “Scott Bessent” (local college graduation news). The Sun News. Myrtle Beach, SC; Sacramento, CA: McClatchy Media. p. 56. Retrieved December 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Note, this college graduation news snippet only supports Bessent being “the son of Mr. and Mrs. Homer G. Bessent, Jr.”
  13. ^ a b c d Sun-News Staff (January 15, 2000). “Homer G. Bessent Jr” (obituary). The Sun News. Myrtle Beach, SC; Sacramento, CA: McClatchy Media. p. 2C. Retrieved December 3, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Note this source states that “Scott K.H. Bessent” was a surviving son, and that “Barbara McLeod Bessent” is his surviving wife, but does not establish that Barbara was Scott Besssent’s mother.
  14. ^ a b Reynolds, Nick (November 13, 2024). “Scott Bessent of Charleston is on Trump’s shortlist for US Treasury secretary. Who is he?”. Post and Courier.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Zuckerman, Gregory; Rudegeair, Peter (October 10, 2024). “The Ex-Soros Executive Who is Trump’s New Obsession”. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  16. ^ Picchi, Aimee (November 22, 2024). “Who is Scott Bessent? What you need to know about Trump’s Treasury secretary pick”. CBS News.
  17. ^ Metric Media Staff (January 16, 2025). “Lindsey Graham Introduces Treasury Secretary Nominee Scott Bessent at Senate Hearing”. Palmetto State News. Metric Media LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2025.[better source needed] For the affiliation of Palmetto News with Metric Media, see this link.
  18. ^ Burton, Katherine (September 19, 2011). “Ex-Soros Trader Bessent Returns to $25 Billion Firm as CIO”. Bloomberg News.
  19. ^ Klayman, Elyse & Bessent, Scott (September–October 2015). “Life and Money Management” (interview). Yale Alumni Magazine (yalealumnimagazine.org). Retrieved December 3, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ Boiskin, Asher (January 17, 2025). “Trump’s Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent ’84 testifies before Senate Finance Committee”. Yale Daily News. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  21. ^ a b c d “Two Yale alums tapped for Trump’s second administration”. December 2, 2024.
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Further reading


source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Bessent

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