Who Is Scott Bessent? And Why Is This Gay Billionaire Working For Donald Trump?
Donald Trump’s pick to run the US economy is a 62-year-old, Yale-educated hedge fund billionaire. He is an out gay man, has a husband, two kids, and a portfolio worth over a billion dollars.
Scott Bessent was recently confirmed as the new US Secretary of the Treasury, making him the first LGBTQIA+ person approved by the Senate for a Republican cabinet. The position also places him fifth in the line of succession for the presidency, a historic first for an openly gay person in American politics.
So, what are we to make of this appointment? It places a member of our community in one of the most powerful rooms in the world, yet under an administration whose party has actively worked against our rights.
From Wall Street to Washington
Bessent is no stranger to the world of high finance. After graduating from Yale in the eighties, he cut his teeth at Soros Fund Management, the firm run by Democratic megadonor George Soros. He eventually left to start his own hedge fund, Key Square Group. While his firm had a rocky start, it grew into a major player, managing billions in assets at its peak. Bessent has pledged to resign from the company and sell his stake to avoid any conflicts of interest. His financial disclosures reveal a net worth of at least one billion dollars, which includes a home in the Bahamas and millions in art and cryptocurrency.
A Family Man with a Pink Palace
Away from the trading floor, Bessent and his husband, John Freeman, a former New York prosecutor, live a life many would envy. The couple married in 2011 and have two children, Cole and Caroline. They raised their family in Charleston, South Carolina, at the historic John Ravenel House, a stunning pink-coloured mansion they purchased in 2016. After a multi-year restoration project, their home won a local preservation award. It seems the family is ready for a change of scenery, however, as the famous Pink Palace is now on the market for over 20 million dollars.
A Difficult Contradiction
The story of Scott Bessent’s life is one of incredible progress. In an interview with Yale Alumni Magazine, he reflected on how much the world had changed.
“If you had told me in 1984 when we graduated and people were dying of AIDS that 30 years later I’d be legally married and we would have two children via surrogacy, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Bessent said.
He built his family using the very rights our community fought for decades to secure. Yet, he has now aligned himself with a political movement that directly threatens them. Surrogacy has been viciously attacked by conservative voices, with one Trump advocate recently calling the practice “evil” and suggesting anyone involved should be imprisoned for life.
This follows the previous Trump administration’s policy of labelling children born to married same-sex couples as born “out of wedlock”. It presents a stark and uncomfortable picture. Bessent’s presence in the cabinet is a milestone, but it is one wrapped in contradiction, leaving many to wonder if he will be a voice for change on the inside or simply help empower a party that could erode the very foundations of his own family.
