Scott Bessent
Updated: Wikipedia source
Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent ( 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 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. 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 is the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department, and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.