Scott Bessent (born 1962) is an American investor, philanthropist, and educator.[1][2][3][4] He is the founder of Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm.[1][5][6][7][8]

Early life and education

Bessent was born in Conway, South Carolina.[9][10] He attended Yale College, graduating in 1984.[9][11][12]  While at Yale, Bessent wrote for The Yale Daily News, was President of Wolf's Head Society and Treasurer for the class of 1984.[13]

Investment career

Bessent was previously the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management, the $30 billion family office of billionaire George Soros.[9][14][15][16] From 2006 to 2011, Bessent was an Adjunct Professor of economic history at Yale, where he taught three courses.[9][10][17][2][12] The Daily Beast included his 2010 class in its listing of “Hottest College Courses.”[18]

Bessent first joined Soros Fund Management (SFM) in 1991 and was a partner there throughout the 1990s.[9][2] At the age of 29, he was asked to head SFM's London office.[9][14][19][20]

According to Sebastian Mallaby's history of hedge funds, More Money Than God, Bessent's analytics played a key role in helping George Soros and Stan Druckenmiller construct SFM's wager against the British pound, which netted the firm a profit of $1 billion.[10][21][5][22][23]

In addition to heading the London office, Bessent served as SFM's head of global research and co-head of external manager selection.2,3,5,16 He also directly managed $1.5 billion of the firm's capital.[9][24]

After resigning from SFM in 2000, Bessent founded a $1 billion hedge fund, which he converted to a family office in 2005.[9][19] He was also a senior investment advisor at fund-of-funds Protégé Partners.[10][2]

Bessent was in the process of starting a new fund in the summer of 2011 when George Soros asked him to return to SFM as CIO.[14][6]

Bessent served as the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015.[25] Under Bessent's leadership, the firm made a profit of $10 billion.[25][26] 

In August 2015, it was announced that Bessent would be leaving Soros Fund Management to start his new firm, Key Square Group, with $2 billion of George Soros's money.[25][15][16]

Key Square Group

Bessent founded Key Square Group with Michael Germino, who had been the Global Head of Capital Markets at SFM.[26] A number of the pair's former colleagues from SFM followed them to Key Square.[26][7]

Key Square received a $2 billion anchor investment from George Soros.[25][15][16] By the end of its first quarter of operation, Key Square was managing $4.5 billion.[8] 

At the end of 2017, Key Square's assets were $5.1 billion.[25][1] Bloomberg in May 2018 reported that Key Square had mostly outperformed rival macro managers and continued to generate significant investor interest.[25] As part of a pre-arranged deal, the firm gradually returned the Soros capital as it took in other assets.[25] Its investors include Australia's sovereign wealth fund.[1]

Philanthropy

Bessent has been active at his alma mater, Yale University, where he sits on the University Council.[13] He and his sister donated the Bessent Library to Yale in honor of their father, H. Gaston Bessent, Jr.[27] Bessent has also endowed three scholarships at Yale, including one for students who are first-generation college matriculants, one for students from South Carolina, and one for students from the Bronx.[27]

Bessent previously served on the board of God's Love We Deliver, an organization founded to deliver meals for homebound people with AIDS.[13][28] He is a supporter of The Harlem Children's Zone, where he has chaired their annual dinner and mentors recent graduates.[29]

Bessent currently serves on the board of trustees of Rockefeller University, where he chairs the Investment Committee and is a member of the Executive Committee.[30] He is vice-chair of Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, and a former board member of the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.[30][31] Bessent is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[13][30]

Personal life

Bessent resides in Charleston, South Carolina.[32]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Volatility Offers Rich Pickings," The Australian, November 16, 2018
  2. 1 2 3 4 “Soros Puts New Man at Helm,” Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2011
  3. ↑ School, Columbia Business (2013-03-08). "Institutional Investing: Alternative Assets in Pension Plans". Courses at Columbia Business School. Retrieved 2018-12-04. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  4. ↑ "Kenan Institute Welcomes Investor Scott Bessent for Lunch and Discussion with Kenan Scholars – Student Opportunities". www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  5. 1 2 “Scott Bessent Quits Soros Group to Launch Hedge Fund,” Financial Times, August 4, 2015
  6. 1 2 “George Soros’ Protégé Just Nailed One of the Biggest Hedge Fund Launches Ever,” Business Insider, January 5, 2016   
  7. 1 2 “Bessent’s $5.3 Billion Fund Makes Star Emerging Markets Hire,” Bloomberg, March 27, 2017   
  8. 1 2 “Former George Soros Executive Raises $4.5bn For New Fund,” Financial Times, January 5, 2016   
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Meet The Hedge Fund Superstar George Soros Just Hired To Take Over His $25 Billion Fund," Business Insider, September 19, 2011
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Soros Aide Wins Kudos for Japan Bets," Wall Street Journal, February 14, 2013   
  11. ↑ "Ex-Soros Trader Bessent Returns to $25 Billion Firm as CIO," Bloomberg, September 19, 2011
  12. 1 2 “Life and Money Management,” Yale Alumni Magazine, Sept/Oct 2015   
  13. 1 2 3 4 “New Members Appointed to University Council,” YaleNews, November 8, 2016   
  14. 1 2 3 "Soros appoints new CIO to family office," Financial Times, September 19, 2011
  15. 1 2 3 “Soros’s Investment Chief to Depart,” Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2015   
  16. 1 2 3 “Soros’ CIO to Start Own Hedge Fund with $2 Bln,” Reuters, August 4, 2015   
  17. ↑ "Sohn Hearts and Minds 2018: Top Investment Tips from Leading Fund Managers," Australian Financial Review, November 16, 2018   
  18. ↑ “Hottest College Courses: From Economics to Sustainable Food,” The Daily Beast, September 6, 2010   
  19. 1 2 “Soros’ European Investment Head Bessent Leaves,” Bloomberg, June 8, 2000   
  20. ↑ “Top Soros Man Bessent Quits to Start Hedge Fund,” Telegraph, June 9, 2000
  21. ↑ "Stock Pickers Let Good Tips Roll," The Australian, November 16, 2018   
  22. ↑ “A Top Soros Money Manager Is Leaving to Start Own Firm,” Wall Street Journal, June 9, 2000   
  23. ↑ “George Soros ‘Makes $1.2bn Betting Against Yen’,” The Guardian, February 15, 2013
  24. ↑ “Former Soros Manager Scott Bessent Raises $1 Bln for New Funds,” Bloomberg, September 27, 2000
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 “George Soros Gets Most of His $2 Billion Back from Bessent," Bloomberg, May 14, 2018
  26. 1 2 3 “Ex-Soros’s Bessent Raises $4.5 Billion For New Hedge Fund Firm,” Bloomberg, January 5, 2016   
  27. 1 2 “Annual Report of Giving to Yale, 2000-2001," www.giving.yale.edu
  28. ↑ “Out 100 -- Money + Business: Scott Bessent,” Out Magazine, January 2001
  29. ↑ “Harlem Children’s Zone Annual Benefit, April 24, 2013.” http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork/organization/Harlem_Children's_Zone_30051   
  30. 1 2 3 "Three New Trustees Are Elected to the Board," Rockefeller University Press Release, March 3, 2016
  31. ↑ “Palatial Purchase Palmer Home B&B on East Battery, Known as the Pink Palace, Sells for $6.5M,” Post and Courier, June 21, 2016
  32. ↑ McDermott, John (July 31, 2022). "SC hedge fund investor looks to spread the word about math and financial literacy". Post and Courier.

Further reading

Steven Drobny, "The Stock Operator: Scott Bessent," Inside the House of Money

Sebastian Mallaby, More Money Than God: Hedge Funds and the Making of a New Elite

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