Anthony Scaramucci rose through the financial ranks of New York, ardently defending Wall Street and founding a global hedge fund. Now his latest project will be the White House’s messages.
Scaramucci was tapped as the next communications director for the White House Friday afternoon. The job has been vacant since veteran GOP strategist Mike Dubke resigned from the post in late May.
Scaramucci, who became the senior vice president and chief strategy officer of the Export-Import Bank in June, met with President Donald Trump Friday morning.
The appointment of the Goldman Sachs alumnus to the White House communications department was not pleasing to some in the administration. By early afternoon, White House press secretary Sean Spicer announced his resignation.
Read on to find out more about Scaramucci, more commonly known among friends as “The Mooch,” an apparent reference to his last name.
Financier
Named Wall Streeter of the Year by Yahoo Finance in 2016, Scaramucci founded and co-managed SkyBridge Capital, a fund of hedge funds with a reported $11.8 billion in assets.
He’s also hosted a variety of financial conferences and programs, including Fox Business Network’s “Wall Street Week” and the glitzy SALT Conference, an annual gathering of prominent financiers and politicians.
RESIGNATIONS, CHANGES ON TRUMP LEGAL TEAM
Scaramucci, 53, sold his SkyBridge Capital in January in preparation for a role in the Trump administration. The price of the sale was not disclosed, but firm was thought to be valued at more than $200 million, the Financial Times reported at the time of the sale.
Fundraiser
A Republican in New York, Scaramucci has donated to politicians in his party for a long time – but Trump, a fellow wealthy New Yorker, didn’t catch his eye right away.
Scaramucci initially backed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and then former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
While he was supporting Walker, Scaramucci said he was a “team Republican” but had a difficult time communicating with Trump.
“When I talk to Donald and he talks to me, I guess we don’t understand [each other],” Scaramucci told Fox Business Network in 2015. “I may need to get an interpreter in the room to talk to Donald.
Ultimately, the Long Island native kept his promise to support the Republican presidential nominee and threw his full support behind Trump, eventually serving on his transition team.
At the SALT Conference in May, Scaramucci contended that he is “ready to serve” in the current administration.
“And so, to the extent the president needs me, I will be available to him,” Scaramucci said then.
“I remain loyal to the president and to the cause,” he added.
On Friday, White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway sang Scaramucci’s praises, saying that he has been “an incredible asset to President Trump during the campaign, transition” and now.
Scaramucci made headlines in 2010 when he asked Obama during a televised town hall meeting when he was going to “stop whacking at the Wall Street piñata.”
Scaramucci has also contributed to scores of Democratic politicians, including Obama.
