US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has disclosed that he owned shares in JPMorgan, one of the country’s largest banks, while serving in a government role responsible for overseeing the stability of the US financial system.
Bessent, a former investor who most recently ran a hedge fund, has been married to John Freeman, a former New York prosecutor, since 2011. Freeman was appointed by President Donald Trump last year to serve on the American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent federal agency.
JPMorgan holds a prominent position in the US financial sector as the nation’s largest bank, placing the institution within the broader financial system overseen by the Treasury Department.
The value of the JPMorgan shares disclosed by Bessent represented only a small portion of his overall wealth, which is estimated to be at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
According to Bessent’s 2025 financial disclosure, his assets had a minimum combined value of about $228m. His actual wealth could be significantly higher because federal financial disclosure rules require officials to report asset values within ranges rather than provide exact figures.
Bessent also reported several bank accounts containing cash worth “over” $50m, making it difficult to establish his precise net worth from the disclosure documents.
Bessent’s Divestment Commitments
Before taking office, Bessent agreed during the Senate confirmation process to shut down his hedge fund and sell interests in dozens of assets as part of measures designed to prevent potential conflicts of interest.
The divestment process later faced complications involving farmland Bessent owned in North Dakota.
Federal ethics officials determined that the properties needed to be sold to avoid possible conflicts, and Bessent agreed to dispose of them as part of his commitments during the confirmation process.
However, he missed the initial deadlines in 2025 for completing the required sales. Treasury officials attributed the delay to the properties being illiquid, making them difficult to sell within the original timeframe.
Bessent eventually signed a certification in December 2025 confirming that he had completed all the required divestitures.
