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Who is billionaire Scott Bessent’s husband John Freeman? The partner of Trump’s treasury secretary pick is a former prosecutor who lives with him in a historic house known as the ‘Pink Palace’

Scott Bessent is president elect Donald Trump’s pick for treasury secretary. Photo: AP Photo
Scott Bessent is president elect Donald Trump’s pick for treasury secretary. Photo: AP Photo

The man chosen to head the US treasury by president-elect Donald Trump currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina with his husband John Freeman – so what do we know about the father of 2?

Billionaire Scott Bessent is on the cusp of becoming America’s first openly-gay treasury secretary after US president-elect Donald Trump confirmed he had selected him for the role.

Trump has been filling key posts in his second administration in recent weeks, with several of the positions – including treasury secretary – traditionally requiring a Senate hearing and a majority approval.

Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, in August. Photo: Reuters
Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, in August. Photo: Reuters
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If approved by the Senate, Bessent will be leading the charge on America’s economic policies. The former Soros Fund Management executive has openly supported Trump’s economic policies and “America First agenda” and will oversee everything from tariffs to spending cuts.
He helped finance Trump’s second presidential bid and has been described as an “economic adviser” to the campaign. The billionaire runs in elite circles. As well as being a Trump insider, the Daily Mail notes that he’s also close friends with Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla.

But who is the man by Bessent’s side? John Freeman married Bessent in 2011. Here’s what you need to know about the couple and their rise to power in Washington.

Finding love

In an interview with Yale Alumni Magazine, Bessent said that he and Freeman got married in 2011 and now have two children via surrogacy, something he thought would never happen.

“In a certain geographic region at a certain economic level, being gay is not an issue. What’s fantastic is now, people in the rest of America, whether blue collar or white collar, have access to everything. If you had told me in 1984 when we graduated and people were dying of Aids that 30 years later I’d be legally married and we would have two children via surrogacy, I wouldn’t have believed you.”