Scott Bessent
Scott Bessent | |
|---|---|
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) |
| Succeeded by | Russell Vought (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent August 21, 1962 Conway, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse |
John Freeman (m. 2011) |
| Relations | John Jenrette (uncle) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Economic history |
| Institutions | Yale University (2006-2011) |
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. Bessent was a partner at Soros Fund Management (SFM) and founded Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm. 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, and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.
Bessent graduated from Yale University in 1984 with a B.A. in political science. After holding a series of financial positions, he was hired by Soros Fund Management (SFM) in 1991, eventually becoming the head of its London office. While serving in the role in September 1992, he was a leading member of the SFM group, which profited by $1 billion on Black Wednesday, the British pound sterling crisis. In 2013, he made SFM another $1.2 billion by 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. 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.