In November 2024, Donald Trump nominated Scott Besant As his choice for Secretary of the Treasury. In his announcement, Trump praised Besant — an experienced financial advisor and major donor to his 2024 campaign — as “widely respected as one of the world’s leading international investors, geopolitical and economic strategists.”
Trump described Besant’s rise as the “American dream” and stressed his strong support for the America First agenda. On the eve of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, Trump said that Besant will help usher in a new era, strengthen the country’s global economic standing and maintain the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.
Concluding his remarks, Trump declared that together he and Bescent “will make America rich again, prosperous again, affordable again, and most importantly, great again.”
Besent was confirmed by the Senate on January 27, 2025, by a vote of 68 to 29, and was sworn in shortly after as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury.
Find out more about Bessent’s financial and professional situation below.
What is Scott Besant’s net worth?
As of 2026, estimates of Besant’s net worth vary widely. according to Celebrity net worthHis fortune is approximately $700 million. Forbes The number was estimated at approximately $600 million. Meanwhile, a financial disclosure filed with the US Office of Government Ethics on December 28, 2024 listed his minimum net worth at $521 million.
How did Scott Besant earn his wealth?
Besant is the founder of macro investment firm Key Square Group.
A native of South Carolina, Besant earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Yale University in 1984 before beginning his career in finance. In 1991, he joined Soros Fund Management (SFM), where he became a partner throughout the 1990s and later served as head of the London office. Besant gained widespread notoriety for betting against the British pound, a move that earned SFM $1 billion. (He repeated this success in 2013 by betting against the Japanese yen, making additional profits.)
After resigning from SFM in 2000, Besant founded a $1 billion hedge fund, which closed in 2005. He subsequently worked as a senior investment advisor at Protégé Partners, a fund specialist. Besant returned to SFM in 2011 as chief investment officer, a position he held until 2015. He then left in 2015 to found his own company, Key Square Group. Besant announced that he would sever ties with the group as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Is Scott Besant married?
Bessent is married to the former New York City district attorney John FreemanThey have two children together.
He is the first openly gay Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the second openly gay Cabinet Minister, subsequently Pete Buttigieg.
