Scott Bessent facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Scott Bessent
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Official portrait, 2025
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| 79th United States Secretary of the Treasury | |
| Assumed office January 28, 2025 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Michael Faulkender |
| Preceded by | Janet Yellen |
| Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | |
| In office February 3, 2025 – February 7, 2025 |
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| 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. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
John Freeman
(m. 2011) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Yale University (BA) |
Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent (/ˈbɛsənt/ BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American government official. Since 2025, he has been the 79th United States Secretary of the Treasury. Before this, he was a successful manager of special investment funds called hedge funds. He worked at Soros Fund Management and started his own company, Key Square Group.
Bessent finished college at Yale College in 1984. In 1991, he joined Soros Fund Management. He became the head of their London office. In September 1992, he was part of a team that made a lot of money during a British currency crisis. This event is known as Black Wednesday. He also made a large profit for the company in 2013 by investing against the Japanese yen. After leaving Soros Fund in 2015, he started his own investment firm, Key Square Group.
Bessent helped the Donald Trump 2024 presidential campaign as an economic advisor. He also helped raise money for the campaign. On November 22, 2024, President-elect Trump announced he would nominate Bessent for Treasury Secretary. The United States Senate approved his nomination on January 27, 2025. He became the 79th U.S. Treasury Secretary on January 28.
Bessent is the second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet of the United States. He is the highest-ranking openly gay person to serve in the U.S. federal government. This is because the Secretary of the Treasury is fifth in line to become president.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Scott Bessent was born on August 21, 1962, in Conway, South Carolina. He was the oldest of three children. His father was a real estate agent.
Bessent got his first summer job when he was nine years old. In 1980, he graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School. He thought about going to the United States Naval Academy. However, he decided not to because he did not want to hide his sexual orientation.
In 1984, Bessent earned a degree in political science from Yale University. While in college, he was an editor for the Yale Daily News. He also held leadership roles in student groups.
Investing Career
After college, Bessent worked at several financial firms. In 1991, he joined Soros Fund Management (SFM). He eventually became the head of their London office. In 1992, Bessent was a key part of the team that made over $1 billion. This happened when they bet against the British Pound sterling during Black Wednesday. Many people saw Bessent as a "protégé" of George Soros, who founded SFM.
Bessent left SFM in 2000 and started his own investment fund, Bessent Capital. It closed in 2005. He later returned to SFM as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015. In 2013, his investment against the Japanese yen made over $1.2 billion in just three months.
From 2006 to 2011, Bessent also taught economic history at Yale University.
Key Square Group
In 2015, Bessent left SFM again to start Key Square Group. This new investment firm was named after a chess term. George Soros invested $2 billion to help start it. Key Square Group uses world events and economics to make big investments. The company's main fund did well in 2016. It also made significant gains in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
In 2018, the firm returned Soros's investment. It then took on other investors, including Australia's national investment fund. Bessent announced that he would leave Key Square Group when he became Treasury Secretary.
Early Political Involvement
Bessent has supported different political parties over the years. In 2000, he hosted a fundraiser for Al Gore. He also donated to John McCain. In 2007, he donated to Barack Obama, and in 2013, to Hillary Clinton. At that time, he was known as a Democrat.
After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration committee. In 2023 and 2024, he donated more than $1 million to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
In February 2024, Bessent hosted a fundraiser in Greenville, South Carolina. It raised almost $7 million for Trump's campaign. In April 2024, he helped host another fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida, which raised $50 million. By July 2024, Bessent was a key economic advisor to Trump. He suggested an economic plan for Trump based on Japan's "Three Arrows" policy.
Secretary of the Treasury (2025–Present)
Nomination and Approval
On November 22, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his plan to nominate Bessent. He would serve as the United States Secretary of the Treasury in Trump's second term. On January 16, 2025, Bessent spoke before the United States Senate Committee on Finance. He supported plans for tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods. He also supported extending tax cuts. Bessent called for stronger economic policies against China and Russia.
On January 21, the Senate Committee on Finance approved Bessent's nomination. On January 27, the U.S. Senate voted 68–29 to approve him. That same day, a man was arrested at the United States Capitol with dangerous items. He intended to harm Bessent.
Time in Office
On January 28, 2025, Bessent officially became the 79th Secretary of the Treasury. U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh swore him in. Bessent became the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department. He was also the second openly gay U.S. Cabinet secretary approved by the Senate.
On January 31, Bessent gave Elon Musk and his team access to the Treasury Department's payment system. On February 3, Bessent was named the acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He immediately ordered the agency to stop all its work.
In February, Bessent and acting United States Secretary of Commerce Jeremy Pelter were asked to create a United States sovereign wealth fund. This is a special fund owned by the government for investments.
In April, Bessent reportedly had disagreements with Musk, who was a Senior Advisor to Trump. They disagreed about who should lead the Internal Revenue Service. Bessent successfully argued for his preferred candidate.
Tariffs
In April 2025, President Trump announced widespread "reciprocal tariffs". Bessent warned other countries not to respond with their own tariffs. He said the U.S. would increase them if they did. He also said he did not expect a recession, which is a big slowdown in the economy. On April 9, Trump paused many of the tariffs. Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were given credit for convincing Trump to do this. Bessent has suggested that the U.S. should push trading partners to reduce their economic ties with China. This would help isolate China and give the U.S. more power in trade talks.
Views
Domestic Policies
Bessent has described the U.S. economy as a "barbell economy." He means that while the country has strong financial and raw material industries, its middle class is weaker. He does not support raising the U.S. federal minimum wage. He believes it should be decided by states and regions. Bessent supports lowering interest rates. He thinks this would make housing, credit cards, and car loans cheaper for people with lower incomes.
Bessent supports cryptocurrencies. He wants federal rules for stablecoins, which are a type of cryptocurrency. He also likes gold, calling it a historical "store of value." He is against the idea of a U.S. central bank digital currency. After President Trump's plan to get rid of the penny, Bessent supported changing the materials used to make the nickel to cheaper ones.
Bessent supports a strong dollar policy. This means he wants the U.S. dollar to be strong compared to other currencies. This view is different from Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Bessent supports creating a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. He has also suggested including government-sponsored companies in this fund. Bessent wants to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act tax cuts permanent. He also favors ending federal income tax on tips, overtime, and Social Security.
Bessent supports nuclear power. He also believes the government should interfere less in the economy. He argues that private sector jobs lead to faster wage growth. He also wants to make bank rules easier.
Federal Reserve
In an interview in October 2024, Bessent suggested a plan for the Federal Reserve. He proposed that Trump could nominate a replacement for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell long before Powell's term ends in May 2026. This idea was called the "shadow Fed chair." The confirmed candidate could then give hints about future Fed decisions. This would weaken the current chair's power. Bessent later said he would not pursue this idea.
Experts said this idea could cause confusion in the financial markets. Investors might not know which Fed chair's decisions were more important.
Foreign Policies
In 2022, Bessent praised Trump and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. He said they helped control China. He called China "ever more antagonistic," meaning more hostile.
Bessent has praised Trump's plan to put broad tariffs on foreign countries. In November 2024, he wrote that the U.S. opened its markets to the world. But he said China's growth only strengthened its government. He argued that tariffs are a way to stand up for Americans. Bessent believed Trump's threats of 20% tariffs would likely be reduced after talks with other countries. In March 2025, Bessent defended Trump's threats to put tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He said that having cheap goods is not the most important part of the American Dream.
Personal Life
Bessent lives in Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Huguenot Church.
Bessent is openly gay. He married John Freeman in 2011. They have two children, who were born through surrogacy.
Bessent has been friends with King Charles III and Robert Trump. Robert's ex-wife, Blaine Trump, is the godmother of Bessent's daughter.
Board Memberships and Philanthropy
Before becoming Treasury Secretary, Bessent was on the university council at Yale University. He and his sister donated the Bessent Library to Yale. Bessent has also created three scholarships at Yale. These help students who are the first in their family to go to college, students from South Carolina, and students from the Bronx.
Bessent led the investment committee for Rockefeller University. He also served on the board of God's Love We Deliver. This group delivers meals to people who are homebound due to illness. He is a trustee for the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation. Bessent is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Bessent opened two foundations in 2022. He also created the McLeod Rehabilitation Center at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, South Carolina. He supports the King's Trust in London and the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City. He has also helped restore the Nathaniel Russell House in Charleston.
Wealth
Bessent has bought and sold at least 20 homes. Their total value is over $127 million. He renovated many of them. For example, in 2010, he bought a house in Miami Beach for $9.5 million. He sold it for $14.5 million in 2014 after renovating it. In 2016, Bessent bought the John Ravenel House for $6.5 million. His renovation of this house won an award in 2021. He sold the property in March 2025 for $18.25 million, plus $3 million for the furniture. This was the highest price ever for a house in Charleston.
As of December 28, 2024, Bessent's wealth was at least $521 million. This was based on his financial report to the government. However, his actual wealth is thought to be much higher. At that time, he owned large amounts of money in various investments. These included U.S. Treasury bills, Chinese yuan, and Japanese yen.
Images for kids
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Official portrait, 2025
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Bessent with Senator Tim Scott in 2024
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Bessent with Vice President JD Vance and EPA administrator Lee Zeldin, April 2, 2025
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Bessent in the Oval Office with President Trump, Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz
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John Ravenel House in Charleston
See also
In Spanish: Scott Bessent para niños
