Hedge Fund billionaire Scott Bessent has broken his silence over speculation that he is the front-runner to become Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary.
Bessent, praised by Trump as ‘one of the top analysts on Wall Street’, told Fox News that “the opportunity to be able to give back to the country would be incredible,” but that the decision was still Trump’s.
“It’s all President Trump’s decision, he made great decisions during the campaign. I can’t wait for the four years,” he told the programme.
Bessent, founder of Key Square Capital Management, was a leading fundraiser for Trump during his recent campaign for a second term.
Bessent appears to be the frontrunner in the race, in part because of his close ties to Trump’s economic advisers such as Larry Kudlow. The Wall Street Journal reports this.
Scott (is) my top choice for Treasury. I’m a big fan,” Kudlow told the publication.
Bessent has also secured coveted endorsements for the position from other Wall Street names.
“Scott Bessent is uniquely better suited than Howard Lutnick to lead the US Treasury Department. Scott understands markets, economics, people and geopolitics better than anyone I’ve ever interacted with,” Kyle Bass, founder of Hayman Capital Management, argued about X.
Billionaire Scott Bessent has spoken about the possibility of becoming Treasury Secretary
Bessent previously served as an economic advisor to Donald Trump
Bessent has publicly supported several of the president-elect’s economic policies, including imposing higher tariffs on imports.
“I don’t need to tell President Trump anything, he’s already done it,” Bessent told Fox News on Thursday.
Hedge fund titan Stan Druckenmiller also spoke highly of Bessent, against Axios he “can’t think of an area of global investing that he hasn’t touched.”
“We had a great economy under Trump 1.0 from 2016 until just when we hit the wall. Covid was one of the greatest periods in American history,” Bessent told Fox.
“I think we can experience a golden age under Donald Trump in the next four years. We can reduce production, we can have energy dominance… we will have a technological boom.”
The hedge fund boss previously told the FT that Trump’s tariff plans posed a “maximalist” threat that could be negotiated with trading partners.
“It’s escalation to de-escalate,” he told the publication.
He also previously told CNBC that he would like any tariffs to be “phased in” so that any inflationary side effects can emerge over time and be countered by other policies such as deregulation.
Bessent, who made his fortune with George Soros betting on the Japanese yen, would have significant influence on the country’s economy if appointed finance minister.
This role includes stabilizing the U.S. economy and Treasury market and advancing the President’s economic policies.
“Think of the coalition that Donald Trump has put together, this is the greatest political comeback in history.
“It was a combination of working-class Americans and Elon Musk, who else in the world could do that than Donald Trump,” Bessent told Fox News.
“I’ve had a great career and the opportunity to give something back to the country would be incredible in any way I can help,” he added.
“It’s all President Trump’s decision, he made great decisions during the campaign. I can’t wait for the four years.’
Bessent, who is gay, is married to former New York City prosecutor John Freeman.
The couple lives in South Carolina with their two children.
Another candidate for Treasury Secretary is wealthy investor Howard Lutnick, who raised $75 million for Trump and is partly responsible for his transition efforts.
Lutnick was one of the speakers at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden and has also spoken with Musk about cleaning up government financial efficiency.
“We’re going to take the waste out of our $6.5 trillion budget and then we’re going to balance the budget… we have offices that we’re not using, we have procurement waste on a massive scale and I mean massive scale,” Lutnick said.