Scott Bessent on July 10, 2024. Photo by DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

By Jacob Kornbluh November 25, 2024

As President-elect Donald Trump finalized the formation of his cabinet, he tapped for Treasury Secretary a former top ally to Jewish billionaire George Soros, a champion of liberal causes who is frequently the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories from right-wing actors including Trump himself. 

The nominee, Scott Bessent, 62, spent more than two decades as a top executive at Soros’s investment fund before leaving to forge his own path, eventually appealing to some of Trump’s most ardent loyalists.

Bessent gained Trump’s trust during the campaign by predicting a potential economic fallout if the Democrats won the election and played down Trump’s trade threats in media appearances. 

He was picked after jockeying that included three Jewish candidates for the treasury post: Kevin Warsh, an economic policy adviser during the George W. Bush administration and former Federal Reserve Board member; Marc Rowan, CEO of Apollo Global Management; and Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-chair of the Trump transition team. Lutnick instead is Trump’s pick to head the Department of Commerce.

The treasury department plays a crucial role in U.S. policy that matters to American Jews and Israel. It oversees the implementation of economic and trade sanctions on adversaries like Iran and tax exemption of nonprofits. If confirmed, Bessent would succeed Janet Yellen, who is Jewish.

The Bessent-Soros connection 

Bessent joined Soros Fund Management in 1991, initially overseeing the firm’s London office before becoming its chief investment officer. He left in 2015 and founded Key Square Group with $4.5 billion in capital. 

According to the Financial Times, Soros has historically expressed dissatisfaction with his chief investment officers during challenging periods. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bessent said he left on good terms. 

Bessent first got to know Trump three decades ago, having formed a friendship with the president-elect’s late brother, Robert Trump. He supported Trump in 2016, but played a more prominent role this year, serving as a top economic adviser and a leading fundraiser for the campaign.

Trump’s selection of a Soros protégé to implement his economic agenda is particularly notable given his own use of Soros as a bogeyman in fundraising emails last year to stoke conservative fears.

Soros, the Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and Democratic mega donor, is often the subject of campaign memes that depict him as a puppet master who manipulates national events for malign purposes —  a common antisemitic trope, according to the Anti-Defamation League. The attacks on Soros intensified last year over his support of progressive candidates, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who led Trump’s prosecution in the hush-money trial.

Emily Tamkin, who wrote a book about Soros and is a Forward opinion columnist, said that for Republicans, Soros “is kind of a convenient embodiment of everything they don’t like about liberal politics.”

But any hesitation about the Soros connection was apparently overshadowed by Bessent’s close alignment with Trump’s views on key issues. In a recent interview, Bessent endorsed Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, a hallmark of his first term. 

“I say let’s make America great again, and let’s make Iran broke again,” Bessent said on Fox News. 

Praise from Wall Street

Stanley Druckenmiller, a Jewish billionaire who worked closely with Bessent at the Soros investment firm, told the Washington Post after the appointment: “He seems to get along with George Soros and Donald Trump. What else do you need to know?”

John Paulson, a hedge fund manager who is also Jewish and dropped out of the bid for treasury, praised Bessent as an “outstanding pick” to “successfully implement President Trump’s economic agenda.”

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