Trump nominates Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary
Baku, November 23, AZERTAC
President-elect Donald Trump nominated Scott Bessent, a Wall Street veteran and campaign ally, for Treasury secretary, one of the biggest Cabinet prizes, according to Business Insider.
Trump made the announcement Friday evening in a Truth Social post after multiple news organizations reported the plans. Trump's spokesperson did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment.
"Scott is widely respected as one of the World's foremost International Investors and Geopolitical and Economic Strategists," Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, "we will ensure that no Americans will be left behind in the next and Greatest Economic Boom, and Scott will lead that effort for me, and the Great People of the United States of America."
Bessent, 62, founded and runs the macro hedge fund Key Square Group and emerged as a key economic advisor to Trump on the campaign trail.
Bessent was a top choice for Trump early in the cabinet selection process. He widened his search, however, adding Kevin Warsh and billionaire investor Marc Rowan to the mix after growing frustrated by the "knife fight" jockeying between Bessent and Howard Lutnick over the position, The New York Times reported.
Elon Musk chimed in during that time, throwing his support behind Lutnick for Treasury secretary.
"My view fwiw is that Bessent is a business-as-usual choice, whereas @howardlutnick will actually enact change," Musk wrote.
But Trump nominated Lutnick for commerce secretary on Tuesday. Axios reported Monday that Warsh was eyeing Fed chair in the future.
Bessent's journey to the top tier of the GOP financial world hasn't been entirely linear, though — it includes years working for the liberal philanthropist George Soros and hosting a fundraiser for Al Gore, a former Democratic vice president.
The billionaire investor spent his childhood in South Carolina. His father went bankrupt investing in real estate, which Bessent later said led him to get his first summer job when he was 9 years old, The Wall Street Journal reported. Bessent attended Yale and broke onto the investing scene after working for Soros' first partner, James Rogers. He joined Soros Fund Management in 1991.
By 2011, Bessent was Soros' chief investment officer, and he was instrumental in the fund's hugely successful bets against the British pound and Japanese yen. In 2015, Bessent broke off to start Key Square. He hasn't talked to Soros in years, The Wall Street Journal said.
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