Scott Bessent

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

Key Square Group was the largest hedge fund launch of 2016 and, at that time, the third-largest hedge fund launch ever. The firm's name alludes to the pivotal position for a player's king during the endgame in chess.

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. In addressing his departure, an SFM memo praised his skill and dedication, noting that “Scott will continue to advise SFM on an informal basis and remains close to George Soros and the Soros family.”

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.

Bessent served as the Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management from 2011 to 2015. Under Bessent's leadership, the firm made a profit of $10 billion. In February 2013, Bessent was credited with helping Soros Fund Management make more than $1.2 billion in profits, in part by betting that the Japanese yen would weaken against other major currencies. Bessent had a reputation for the strength of his convictions, holding onto his investment theses even when they differed from those of George Soros.

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

By the time he decided to leave SFM in 2000, an SFM memo described Bessent as “a trusted advisor for nearly a decade.”

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

Bessent first joined Soros Fund Management (SFM) in 1991 and was a partner there throughout the 1990s. At the age of 29, he was asked to head SFM's London office. He was one of the two youngest Managing Directors at the firm.

Bessent was born in Conway, South Carolina. He attended Yale College, graduating in 1984. He originally intended to become a computer scientist or journalist, but switched to finance when his passion for investing was sparked by an internship with renowned money manager Jim Rogers. While at Yale, Bessent wrote for The Yale Daily News, was President of Wolf's Head Society and Treasurer for the class of 1984.

Scott Bessent (born 1962) is a prominent American investor, philanthropist, and educator. He is the founder of Key Square Group, a global macro investment firm which was one of the largest hedge fund launches of all time.