Scott Bessent was one of George Soros’ right-hand men when the liberal billionaire bet against the pound on Black Wednesday.
Mr Bessent, then in his early 30s, was part of one of the most famous trades in history and helped net the Soros Fund some $1.5 billion in the space of a month. For Britain, it was a national humiliation that “broke the Bank of England”.
Mr Bessent, whom Mr Trump once praised as a “nice-looking guy and one of the most brilliant men on Wall Street”, has now been named as the incoming president’s treasury secretary.
In many ways, he is a conventional pick: a donor to the Trump campaign who became the Republican’s economic adviser, who had the Wall Street pedigree to back it up.
But his association with Mr Soros, a boogeyman for the American Right who hired him twice and has given billions of dollars to his ventures, marks him out.
The nomination to the Treasury means that one of the final open cabinet positions has now been filled – subject to Senate confirmation.
For a time, Howard Lutnick, the former head of financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald, seemed the likeliest option. Elon Musk, the Tesla billionaire and close Trump ally, had openly lobbied the president-elect to choose him.
But Mr Trump did not, reportedly souring on Mr Lutnick as he jostled with Mr Bessent for the role, with the pair criticising and briefing against each other for the role.
Mr Lutnick was given the Commerce Secretary role this week, in what appeared to be a consolation prize. Mr Bessent came out on top and will see his defeated rival around the Cabinet table.
It also raises questions about Mr Musk’s influence, who not only praised Mr Lutnick but has criticised Mr Soros as a threat to “the very fabric of civilisation”.
Mr Bessent, a 62-year-old South Carolina native, has made a career at the side of Mr Soros betting against currencies – and winning.
He reportedly joined Soros Fund Management in London in the early 1990s as its head of global research, a year before Mr Soros’ short of the pound. He is said to have played a behind-the-scenes role in the bet.
One figure who reported to him described Mr Bessent as “one of the few guys who wasn’t scared” of Mr Soros, describing the pair as a “pretty powerful combination”.
In fact, the 62-year-old rarely had as much success without the backing of his protege when he sought to branch out in later years.
Bessent ‘widely respected’
In 2000, Mr Bessent is said to have launched Bessent Capital with some $200 million in capital from his former boss.
Forbes reports that this wound down some six years later, and he rejoined Soros Fund Management in 2011 as chief investment officer.