Who is Scott Bessent? Trump pick for treasury secretary is a Wall Street financier, could boost crypto- The Week

President-elect Donald Trump has announced Scott Bessent as his nominee for US treasury secretary to succeed Janet Yellen from the Joe Biden administration.

Who is Scott Bessent?

Scott Bessent, a hedge fund billionaire, is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of New York-based hedge fund Key Square Capital Management.

Bessent has been openly supported Trump’s stance on the crypto industry. This could help cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to continue their upward momentum.

He was a former executive working with Soros Fund Management, analysing macroeconomic challenges. He was instrumental in providing economic advice to Trump’s election campaign.

Bessent made headlines when he dismissed the views of 16 Nobel Prize-winning economists that tariffs would lead to price hike and inflation.

The Yale graduate interned with money manager Jim Rogers who was George Soros’ first partner and co-founded Quantum Fund.

Bessent who is from South Carolina lives with husband John Freeman, a former New York City prosecutor. They have two children.

Besides Bessent, Trump has picked several others including Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer for labour secretary, Scott Turner as head of the Department of Housing Development, Fox News contributor Dr Janette Nesheiwat as Surgeon General, former Congressman Dr Dave Weldon as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Russel Vought as director of the US Office of Management and Budget.