Bessent started his career with Soros in the 1990s as managing partner at Soros Fund Management’s London office. During this time, Soros, Bessent and Stanley Druckenmiller took a massive position against the British pound.
In 1992, the team at Soros Fund Management thought that the Bank of England was too weak to prop up its national currency against Germany’s Deutschmark. At that time, the U.K. was languishing in a recession, but the recently reunified German economy was booming.
Soros’s fund had about $5 billion in assets under management and he felt super confident that the British pound would plummet. As NPR reported, Soros allowed his team to borrow funds up to $15 billion to magnify their short position.
Firm managers like Bessent steadily increased their position as the economic situation became increasingly dire for the U.K. Then, on September 16 — a date now called “Black Wednesday” — their educated guess turned into a goldmine as the British pound faced immense selling pressure.
According to Fortune, Soros made roughly $1 billion in profit on this one position, earning a famous nickname in financial circles: “The man who broke the Bank of England.”
Are Bessent and Soros still talking?
During Bessent’s time with Soros, he eventually rose to the C-suite, becoming chief investment officer (CIO) of the famed hedge fund. Interestingly, Bessent was also instrumental in another huge trade in the forex market, this one against the Japanese yen. As The Guardian reported, this trade brought in roughly $1.2 billion to Soros’s already impressive profits.
Soros later helped Bessent take off on his own, reportedly sending $2 billion to Key Square Group, according to The New York Times.
But recent reports suggest the two aren’t on the friendliest of terms.
Even though Soros is a legend for cashing in on currency crises, he’s far better known to the American public for giving large sums to Democratic candidates and other left-leaning causes. According to his philanthropic network, the Open Society Foundations, Soros has donated $32 billion since 1984.
Newsweek reported that Bessent had once supported Democrats as well. That changed around 2016, when he began donating more and more to conservative causes and candidates, including President Donald Trump.
