Scott Bessent
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Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent, born August 21, 1962, is an American government official, soybean farmer, and former hedge fund manager. Since 2025, he has served as the 79th United States Secretary of the Treasury. Previously, he was a partner at Soros Fund Management, or SFM, and founded Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm.
Bessent graduated from Yale College in 1984. In 1991, he joined Soros Fund Management, eventually heading their London office. In September 1992, he was a key figure in the team that profited a billion dollars on Black Wednesday, the British Pound sterling crisis. In 2013, he made another 1.2 billion dollar profit for SFM by betting against the Japanese yen. After leaving Soros Fund in 2015, he 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 second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet of the United States, following Pete Buttigieg. As the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury is fifth in the United States presidential line of succession, he is the highest-ranking openly LGBT person ever to serve in the federal government of the United States.
Born on August 21, 1962, in Conway, South Carolina, Bessent was the eldest of three children. His father was a real estate agent, and his mother remarried five times. His father later went bankrupt due to poor real estate investments. Bessent is of French Huguenot and Scottish descent. He has one living younger sister, Paige; his other younger sister, Wyn, passed away in 2022 after an illness. John Jenrette, a former U.S. Representative convicted in the Abscam sting operation, was Bessent's uncle.
Bessent began his first summer job at age nine. In 1980, he graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School. He considered attending the United States Naval Academy but declined, unwilling to lie about his sexual orientation.
In 1984, Bessent earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science from Yale University. During his undergraduate studies, he was an editor of the Yale Daily News, president of Wolf's Head Society, and treasurer for the class of 1984. He also chaired the 1984 Yale Alumni Fund and assisted the director of athletics.
Bessent secured an internship with Jim Rogers after meeting him at a Yale Career Center event. After graduation, he worked at Brown Brothers Harriman and then for Jim Chanos at Kynikos Associates. He joined Soros Fund Management in 1991, eventually becoming head of its London office. In 1992, Bessent was a leading member of the team whose bet on the Black Wednesday collapse of the British Pound sterling earned the firm over $1 billion. Some sources, like Forbes, describe Bessent as a protégé of George Soros, SFM's founder.
After resigning from SFM in 2000, Bessent founded a $1 billion hedge fund, Bessent Capital, which closed in 2005. He learned the importance of not altering his firm's approach based on investor preferences. He also served as a senior investment advisor to fund-of-funds Protégé Partners. Bessent returned to SFM as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015. His 2013 bet against the Japanese yen yielded over $1.2 billion in profit within three months.
From 2006 to 2011, Bessent was an adjunct professor of economic history at Yale, teaching three courses.
In 2015, Bessent left SFM to launch Key Square Group, a hedge fund named after a chessboard square, with Michael Germino, who had been SFM's global head of capital markets. George Soros provided a $2 billion anchor investment. Key Square utilizes geopolitics and economics for macro investments. While its main fund returned 13% in 2016, it saw declines or break-even results from 2017 to 2021 before significant gains in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The inconsistent performance deterred clients. Assets under management dropped from $5.1 billion in 2017 to $577 million in 2023, with institutional investors decreasing from 180 to 20 in the same period. In 2024, it achieved double-digit percentage returns. As part of a prearranged agreement, the firm returned Soros's investment in 2018 while taking in other assets. Investors included Australia's sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund. Bessent announced he would sever ties with the group upon becoming Treasury Secretary.
In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser for Al Gore and also donated to John McCain. He later donated to Barack Obama in 2007 and Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2013, at which time he was described as a Democrat supporting liberal causes. After Trump's election in 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Trump's 2017 presidential inaugural committee and over $1 million to his 2024 campaign. In February 2024, he hosted a fundraiser in South Carolina that raised nearly $7 million for Trump's campaign. In April 2024, he co-hosted a Florida fundraiser that raised $50 million. In July 2024, Bessent served as a key economic advisor to Trump.
On November 22, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bessent as the United States Secretary of the Treasury in his second administration. On January 16, 2025, Bessent testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, defending proposed tariffs, supporting tax cut extensions, and advocating for tougher economic policies on China and Russia. On January 21, the committee advanced his nomination to the Senate floor by a 16–11 vote. On January 27, the Senate approved his nomination 68–29. That same day, a man with Molotov cocktails and a knife, intending to murder Bessent, was arrested at the U.S. Capitol.
On January 28, 2025, Bessent was sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He became the first openly gay person to lead the Treasury Department and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary. On January 31, 2025, he granted the Department of Government Efficiency access to the Treasury Department's payment system. On February 3, 2025, Bessent was named acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and immediately ordered the agency to halt all work. In February, Bessent and acting Secretary of Commerce Jeremy Pelter were tasked with implementing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. In April 2025, Trump initially named Gary Shapley as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, but Bessent's preferred pick, Michael Faulkender, replaced Shapley after Bessent lobbied Trump, reportedly leading to a dispute with Elon Musk. On August 8, The New York Times reported Trump was removing Billy Long as commissioner of internal revenue, with Bessent named as Long's acting successor. In September 2025, Bessent reportedly clashed with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, threatening physical altercation. On September 24, 2025, Bessent announced a planned $20 billion economic lifeline to Argentina, to purchase government bonds and stabilize its economy. The purchase was finalized on October 9. On October 15, Bessent stated he was negotiating deals for the private sector to provide Argentina another $20 billion, with several banks and sovereign wealth funds expressing interest. Also on October 15, Bessent announced the U.S. would work to create a strategic mineral reserve, potentially with JPMorgan Chase, and set price floors across multiple industries, possibly taking equity stakes in rare-earth companies to reduce reliance on China. On October 22, 2025, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft and Lukoil over the conflict in Ukraine. Bessent stated, "Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions."
Bessent characterizes the current U.S. economy as a "barbell economy," with strong financial and raw material sectors but a weakened middle class. He proposed a three-point economic plan for Trump, modeled on Abenomics. Bessent opposes raising the federal minimum wage, viewing it as a state and regional issue. He supports lowering interest rates, continuing Social Security, reducing government intervention, easing bank leverage regulations, and expanding nuclear power. He also backed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, praising the creation of Trump Accounts. Bessent advocates for a strong dollar policy, differing from Trump and Vice President Vance. He is labeled a gold bug and views gold as a historical store of value. He is pro-crypto and supports federal regulation of stablecoins. Following the plan to phase out the penny, Bessent supported changing the nickel's composition to cheaper materials to reduce production costs. He opposes a U.S. central bank digital currency but supports establishing a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, potentially including government-sponsored enterprises. Bessent advocates for raising FDIC insurance limits on bank accounts, currently set at $250,000. He proposed seeking early confirmation of a replacement for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to reduce Powell's influence, a suggestion he later walked back.
In 2022, Bessent praised Trump and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for containing China, calling China "ever more antagonistic." Bessent supports tariffs in the second Trump administration, writing in a November 2024 op-ed that tariffs are a means to "stand up for Americans." In March 2025, he defended proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, stating that "access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream." After Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs in April 2025, Bessent warned countries against retaliation. On April 9, Trump paused many tariffs, with Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick credited with convincing him. Bessent has advocated pressuring U.S. trading partners to restrict their economic relationships with China. In August 2025, Bessent accused India of profiting from reselling Russian oil, estimating $16 billion in excess profits. In September 2025, he voiced support for more secondary sanctions on Russia to "collapse" its economy, stating the administration is "prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us."
Bessent resides in Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C. He belongs to the Huguenot Church. Bessent is openly gay and married John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor, in 2011. They have two children born through surrogacy. Bessent has had close friendships with King Charles III and Robert Trump. Robert's ex-wife, Blaine Trump, is the godmother of Bessent's daughter.
Before becoming Treasury Secretary, Bessent served on the university council at Yale University. He and his sister donated the Bessent Library to Yale. Bessent has endowed three scholarships at Yale: for first-generation college students, students from South Carolina, and students from the Bronx. He chaired the investment committee and is a former member of the executive committee of Rockefeller University's board of trustees. He formerly served on the board of God's Love We Deliver and is a trustee of the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Bessent has participated in Dialog, a secretive, invitation-only social club. He is also a member of the Economic Club of New York.
In 2022, Bessent opened two foundations and created the McLeod Rehabilitation Center at Shriners Hospital for Children. He supports the King's Trust in London and the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City. He has also supported the restoration of the Nathaniel Russell House.
Bessent has bought and sold at least 20 homes, valued at over $127 million, many of which he renovated. He experienced losses on at least eight properties. In 2007, he bought a house in Bedford Hills, New York, for $11.3 million, selling it in 2011 for $7.1 million, a loss of at least $4.2 million. In 2007, he purchased a unit at One Sutton Place South in Manhattan for $12 million, selling it for $9.5 million in 2009. In September 2007, he reportedly designated the Bedford Hills property and a property in Provincetown, Massachusetts, as his principal residences simultaneously on mortgage documents, despite primary residence being in Manhattan. In 2010, he bought a Miami Beach house for $9.5 million, selling it for $14.5 million in 2014 after renovation. In 2010, he bought a Southampton, New York, home for $9.95 million, selling it for $19 million in 2019 after renovation. He took a loss on his unit at 720 Park Avenue, buying it for $19.25 million in 2017 and selling it for $15 million in 2021. In 2016, Bessent bought the John Ravenel House for $6.5 million. His renovation received an award in 2021. He sold the property in March 2025 for $18.25 million plus $3 million for furnishings and fixtures, setting a record price for a house in Charleston.
As of December 28, 2024, Bessent's net worth was at least $521 million according to his financial disclosure. His actual net worth is speculated to be around $600 million. At that time, he owned over $50 million in SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, and Invesco QQQ, as well as real estate in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million and a home in Cashiers, North Carolina, worth $5 million to $25 million. He owns farmland in North Dakota worth up to $25 million, providing him with a rental income of up to $1 million per year.
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Scott Kenneth Homer Bessent ( BESS-ənt; born August 21, 1962) is an American government official, soybean farmer and former hedge fund manager serving since 2025 as the 79th United States secretary of the treasury. He was formerly a partner at Soros Fund Management (SFM) and founded Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm.
Bessent graduated from Yale College in 1984. In 1991, he was hired by Soros Fund Management, eventually becoming the head of its London office. In this role, in September 1992, he was a leading member of the group that profited by $1 billion on Black Wednesday, the British Pound sterling crisis. He made another $1.2 billion profit for SFM in 2013 betting against the Japanese yen. After he left the Soros Fund in 2015, he 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 second openly gay man to serve in the Cabinet of the United States (after Pete Buttigieg). As the U.S. secretary of the treasury is fifth in the United States presidential line of succession, he is the highest-ranking openly LGBT person ever to serve in the federal government of the United States.
== Early life ==
Bessent was born on August 21, 1962, in Conway, South Carolina, the oldest of three children of Barbara (née McLeod) and Homer Gaston Bessent Jr., a real estate agent. His mother married five times and his father went bankrupt due to bad real estate investments. He is of French Huguenot and Scottish descent. He has one living younger sister, Paige; his other younger sister, Wyn, died in 2022 after an illness. John Jenrette, a member of the United States House of Representatives who was convicted of accepting a bribe in the FBI's Abscam sting operation, was Bessent's uncle.
Bessent got his first summer job at age 9. In 1980, he graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School in Little River, South Carolina. He considered attending the United States Naval Academy in Maryland but decided not to as he was unwilling to lie about his sexual orientation.
In 1984, Bessent received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in political science from Yale University. During his undergraduate studies, he served as an editor of Yale Daily News, president of Wolf's Head Society, and treasurer for the class of 1984. He was chairman of the 1984 Yale Alumni Fund and an assistant to the director of athletics.
== Investing career ==
Bessent secured an internship with Jim Rogers after meeting him at a Yale Career Center event. After graduation, Bessent worked at Brown Brothers Harriman and then for Jim Chanos at Kynikos Associates. He joined Soros Fund Management (SFM) in 1991, eventually becoming head of the London office. In 1992, Bessent was a leading member of the team whose bet on the Black Wednesday collapse of the British Pound sterling earned the firm over $1 billion. Some sources, such as Forbes, describe Bessent as having been a "protégé" of George Soros, SFM's founder.
After resigning from SFM in 2000, Bessent founded a $1 billion hedge fund, Bessent Capital. The fund closed in 2005. Bessent has said he learned that he should not change his style or the firm's approach because of investor preferences. He was also a senior investment adviser to fund-of-funds Protégé Partners. Bessent returned to SFM as chief investment officer from 2011 to 2015. His bet against the Japanese yen in 2013 yielded more than $1.2 billion in profit in three months.
From 2006 to 2011, Bessent was an adjunct professor of economic history at Yale, where he taught three courses.
=== Key Square Group ===
Bessent left SFM in 2015 to launch Key Square Group, a hedge fund named after a spot on the chessboard, with Michael Germino, who had been the global head of capital markets at SFM. It received a $2 billion anchor investment from George Soros. Key Square uses geopolitics and economics to make macro investments. Its main fund returned 13% in 2016 but declined or broke even every year from 2017 to 2021 before making major gains in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The inconsistent track record scared away clients. Assets under management shrank from $5.1 billion in 2017 to $577 million in 2023 and the number of institutional investors declined from 180 to 20 over the same period. It earned "double digits" percentagewise in 2024.
As part of a prearranged deal, in 2018 the firm returned Soros's investment as it took in other assets. Its investors include Australia's sovereign wealth fund, Future Fund.
Bessent announced that he would sever ties with the group as Treasury Secretary.
== Early involvement in politics ==
In 2000, Bessent hosted a fundraiser for Al Gore at his home in East Hampton, New York. That year, he also donated $1,000 to John McCain. In 2007, he donated $2,300 to Barack Obama and in 2013, he donated $25,000 to Hillary Clinton's campaign. At that time, he was described as a Democrat who supported liberal causes.
After Trump was elected president in 2016, Bessent donated $1 million to Trump's 2017 presidential inaugural 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, that raised nearly $7 million for Trump's 2024 campaign. In April 2024, he was a host of a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that raised $50 million for Trump's campaign. In July 2024, Bessent was a key economic adviser to Trump.
== Secretary of the Treasury (2025–present) ==
=== Nomination and confirmation ===
On November 22, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Bessent to serve as the United States Secretary of the Treasury in his second administration. On January 16, 2025, Bessent appeared before the United States Senate Committee on Finance. At the hearing, he defended plans to impose tariffs, supported tax cut extensions, and called for tougher economic policies on China and Russia.
On January 21, the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance advanced Bessent's nomination to the Senate floor by a 16–11 vote. On January 27, the Senate voted 68–29 to approve Bessent's nomination. That day, a man in possession of multiple Molotov cocktails and a knife intending to murder Bessent was arrested at the United States Capitol.
=== Tenure ===
On January 28, 2025, Bessent was sworn in as the 79th Secretary of the Treasury by U.S. Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Bessent became the first openly gay person to lead the U.S. Treasury Department and the second openly gay U.S. Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary.
On January 31, 2025, Bessent granted the Department of Government Efficiency team access to the Treasury Department's payment system.
On February 3, 2025, Bessent was named the acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; he immediately ordered the agency to halt all work.
In February, Bessent and acting United States Secretary of Commerce Jeremy Pelter were tasked with implementing a United States sovereign wealth fund.
In April 2025, Trump initially named Gary Shapley as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, but Shapley was soon replaced by Michael Faulkender, Bessent's preferred pick, after Bessent lobbied Trump. This led to a dispute between Bessent and Elon Musk, reportedly causing a shouting match.
On August 8, The New York Times reported that Trump was removing Billy Long as the commissioner of internal revenue in preparation for an ambassadorship nomination. Bessent was named as Long's acting successor.
In September 2025, Bessent reportedly clashed with Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte and threatened to punch him.
On September 24, 2025, Bessent announced a planned $20 billion economic lifeline to Argentina, to purchase government bonds and help stabilize the nation's economy. The purchase was finalized on October 9. On October 15, Bessent said he was negotiating deals for the private sector to give Argentina another $20 billion, adding that several banks and sovereign wealth funds had expressed interest.
Also on October 15, Bessent said that the U.S. would work to create a strategic mineral reserve, potentially with JPMorgan Chase. He added that the U.S. would set price floors across multiple industries, and potentially take equity stakes in other rare-earth companies in order to reduce reliance on China, as the U.S. Department of War did in July 2025 with MP Materials.
On October 22, 2025, the United States imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft and Lukoil over continued fighting in Ukraine. Bessent said in a statement: "Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine. We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions."
== Views ==
=== Domestic ===
Bessent has characterized the present U.S. economy as a "barbell economy", explaining that while it has powerful financial and raw material sectors, it also possesses a weakened middle class. He proposed a three-point economic plan for Trump modeled on Abenomics (lower deficit, monetary easing, and fiscal stimulus).
Bessent opposes raising the federal minimum wage in the United States, arguing that it is "more of a statewide and regional issue". He supports lowering interest rates, continuing Social Security, reducing government intervention in the economy, easing Supplementary Leverage Ratio regulations on banks, and expanding nuclear power. He also supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, praising the creation of Trump Accounts.
Bessent supports a strong dollar policy, differing from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who have spoken in favor of a weak dollar policy. He has been labeled a gold bug, calling gold a historical "store of value". Bessent is pro-crypto and supports federal regulations on stablecoins.
Following the plan to phase out the penny due to its negative seigniorage, Bessent expressed support for changing the composition of the nickel to cheaper materials to get production costs below 5 cents.
Bessent opposes the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency. He supports the establishment of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, and has proposed including government-sponsored enterprises in the fund. Bessent supports raising FDIC insurance limits on bank accounts; as of 2025 they are set at $250,000.
Bessent proposed seeking an early confirmation of a replacement for Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, whose term expires in May 2026, as a way to reduce Powell's influence, prompting some criticism. Bessent later "walked back" the idea.
=== Foreign ===
In 2022, Bessent praised Trump and former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe for containing China. He called China "ever more antagonistic".
Bessent has supported tariffs in the second Trump administration. In a November 2024 Fox News op-ed, he wrote that the "U.S. opened its markets to the world, but China's resulting economic growth has only cemented the hold of a despotic regime" and argued tariffs "are a means to finally stand up for Americans". In March 2025, amid Trump's threats to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico, Bessent defended the tariffs, saying, "access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American Dream." In April 2025, after Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs, Bessent warned countries against retaliating, promising escalation. On April 9, Trump paused many of the tariffs; Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were credited with convincing Trump to do so. Bessent has advocated pressuring U.S. trading partners to restrict their economic relationships with China.
In August 2025, Bessent accused India of profiting from reselling Russian oil during Russia's war against Ukraine, saying: "This is what I would call the Indian arbitrage—buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product. They've made $16 billion in excess profits—some of the richest families in India."
In September 2025, Bessent voiced support for more secondary sanctions on Russia to "collapse" the Russian economy, saying the Trump administration is "prepared to increase pressure on Russia, but we need our European partners to follow us."
== Personal life ==
Bessent resides in Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C. He belongs to the Huguenot Church, a religious association whose expansion his ancestors supported in 1680.
Bessent is openly gay and married John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor, in 2011. They have two children, born through surrogacy.
Bessent has had close friendships with King Charles III and Robert Trump. Robert's ex-wife, Blaine Trump, is the godmother of Bessent's daughter.
=== Board memberships ===
Before becoming treasury secretary, Bessent sat on the university council at Yale University. He and his sister donated the Bessent Library to Yale University. Bessent has endowed three scholarships at Yale: one for students who are first-generation college matriculants, one for students from South Carolina, and one for students from the Bronx.
Bessent chaired the investment committee and is a former member of the executive committee on the board of trustees of Rockefeller University. He formerly served on the board of God's Love We Deliver, an organization founded to deliver meals for homebound people with AIDS. He is a trustee of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (renamed the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation), and a former board member of the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston. Bessent is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
=== Clubs ===
Bessent has participated in Dialog, a secretive, invitation-only social club founded by Peter Thiel and Auren Hoffman. He is also a member of the Economic Club of New York.
=== Philanthropy ===
Bessent opened two foundations in 2022, and created the McLeod Rehabilitation Center at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Greenville, South Carolina. He also supports the King's Trust in London and the Harlem Children's Zone in New York City. He has supported restoration of the Nathaniel Russell House, a National Historic Landmark in Charleston.
=== Property ===
Bessent has bought and sold at least 20 homes, valued in total at over $127 million, many of which he renovated. On at least eight of them, he lost money. In 2007, Bessent bought a house in Bedford Hills, New York, for $11.3 million. He sold it in 2011 for $7.1 million, losing at least $4.2 million. In 2007, Bessent purchased a unit at One Sutton Place South in Manhattan that formerly belonged to a sister of John F. Kennedy for $12 million; he sold it, at a loss, for $9.5 million in 2009. In September 2007, Bessent reportedly designated, through an attorney, the Bedford Hills property and a property in Provincetown, Massachusetts as his principal residences simultaneously on mortgage documents with Bank of America despite rider documents referencing the properties as secondary residences and his primary residence being in Manhattan at the time (of which Bank of America was aware).
In 2010, Bessent bought a 9,719-square-foot house in Miami Beach for $9.5 million; he sold it for $14.5 million in 2014 after a renovation. In 2010, he bought a 10,665-square-foot home in Southampton, New York, for $9.95 million; he sold it for $19 million in 2019 after a renovation. He took a loss on his unit at 720 Park Avenue, buying it for $19.25 million in 2017 and selling it for $15 million in 2021. In 2016, Bessent bought the 9,407-square-foot John Ravenel House for $6.5 million. His renovation received an award from the Preservation Society of Charleston in 2021. He sold the property in March 2025 for $18.25 million plus $3 million for the furnishings and fixtures; it was the highest price ever for a house in Charleston.
=== Wealth ===
As of December 28, 2024, Bessent's net worth was at least $521 million according to his financial assets disclosure by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics; his actual net worth is speculated to be around $600 million. At that time, he owned more than $50 million in each of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, the Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF, and the Invesco QQQ as well as real estate in the Bahamas worth $5 million to $25 million and a home in Cashiers, North Carolina, worth $5 million to $25 million. He owns farmland worth up to $25 million in North Dakota that provides him a rental income of up to $1 million per year.
== References ==
== Further reading ==
Steven Drobny, "The Stock Operator: Scott Bessent," Inside the House of Money
== External links ==
Media related to Scott Bessent at Wikimedia Commons
Appearances on C-SPAN
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