Scott Bessent's investment fund experienced 90% redemptions in its first year.
Posted by The MeidasTouch Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict1 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
The MeidasTouch PodcastOct 27, 2026
The 90% decline is real but it was cumulative, not a first-year event: Key Square's main fund returned about 13% in its inaugural year (2016), and assets fell roughly 90% from a ~$5 billion peak to $577 million by 2023.
What was said
… Just be aware. Brainwash vineyard set. The guy worth nearly a billion dollars. He's beautiful. Might want to look down on the Martha's Vineyard set. I mean, dude, you made hundreds of millions of dollars being a loser based on your carry of a fund where there was 90% redemptions, you freaking loser. You lived in a replica i kid you not in South Carolina, Charleston, of Barbie's Malibu mansion. He lived in pink Barbie's Malibu mansion, some 22 million dollar pink estate in Charleston, for being a loser, for a fund that lost 90% of its investors, like, in the first year. And his MAGA arc was fine, finding the magnet of other losers just like him. There's no one more Martha's Vineyard than this guy. This guy, literally, if there was a language of Martha's Vineyard, there's someone who that's that guy. …
The MeidasTouch Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Reuters reports Key Square's inaugural year, 2016, produced a remarkable 13% return, directly contrary to a first-year collapse in redemptions or assets.[1]
Contradicts. Sources place the decline after the first year: Key Square lost 7% in 2017 and then lost money or broke even from 2018 to 2021, with assets falling from about $5 billion to $577 million by 2023.[1][2][3]
Supports. The fund did suffer roughly a 90% decline in assets over its life, and the number of institutional investors fell from 180 to 20, so the 90% magnitude is supported as a cumulative figure.[2][3][4]
Context. Commentary such as The Bulwark and Raw Story says the fund 'went south after its first year' and lost 90% of capital, but these are opinion-driven pieces that do not establish first-year redemptions.[4][5][6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 4 not rated, 1 tier 3
- 1Exclusive: Fund manager Bessent scores double on Trump victoryreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Scott Bessent - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 3Mega Hedge Fund Launches Are Rare — and Don't ...institutionalinvestor.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, supports
- 4Wall Street investor rips Cabinet member as nothing but a ...rawstory.com · tier 3 · cited for: supports, context
- 5How Trump's Treasury Secretary Crashed His Own Hedge ...thebulwark.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 6How Trump's Treasury Secretary Crashed His Own Hedge Fund (w ...podscripts.co · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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