President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary operates a hedge fund that reaped a massive windfall two years ago — even as global markets sagged.

A former executive at Democratic megadonor George Soros’ hedge fund, Bessent is some Trump advisors’ favored choice for arguably the top U.S. economic post after John Paulson dropped out of contention.

Not surprisingly, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., a member of the Senate Finance Committee as well as the Senate Banking Committee, commended his fellow South Carolinian, in a news release, saying Bessent will “usher in a tax code that enhances growth, investment and economic opportunity for all Americans.”

Scott Bessent, the founder of the Connecticut-based hedge fund Key Square Group, had been making a full-court press for the post.

Now is one of the stronger times of the year for stocks. pic.twitter.com/Hh4kA7xx6V — Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) November 26, 2024 The stock market rallied on Monday as investors reacted positively to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary.

In 1992, Bessent helped Soros pull off the firm’s greatest trade: shorting the British pound. The British government was part of the European Union at the time, and its central bank—the Bank of England—had committed to keeping the value of the pound within a strict range alongside other European currencies,