Hollis Johnson
It only took Anthony Scaramucci 10 days to go from getting hired as President Donald Trump’s new communications director to suddenly looking for a new job.
The Long Island native has a long history on Wall Street, and was an early, vocal backer of President Donald Trump.
Scaramucci’s appointment to the White House set off a firestorm of controversy that included the resignation of embattled press secretary Sean Spicer, the ousting of chief of staff Reince Priebus, and an expletive-filled interview that ultimately paved the way to his downfall.
Scaramucci has long been a household name on Wall Street, but was relatively unknown elsewhere until his wild ride at the White House. Here’s a primer:
He was hired, fired and then rehired at Goldman Sachs
Reuters/ Lucas Jackson
Scaramucci worked at Goldman Sachs for some time after graduating from Harvard Law School.
He was even fired before being rehired in a sales role, he recounted to reporters several years ago.
He later founded SkyBridge Capital, which invests rich people’s money in hedge funds
Thomson Reuters
Scaramucci later ran SkyBridge Capital, a fund of hedge funds firm. It basically invests wealthy people’s money into hedge funds, private investment vehicles that make bets on the markets.
Scaramucci had heralded SkyBridge as a way for America’s dentists and doctors – who might not have enough money to access hedge funds directly – to put their money in the hands of hedge fund titans.
The fund’s sales practices drew criticism over the years, and a Main Street mutual fund that SkyBridge started also struggled with performance, Reuters reported earlier this year.
Still, the firm grew to billions in assets, much of that from relationships with Wall Street banks that directed their rich clients’ money into the fund.
He has a love-hate relationship with the press
Screenshot, CNBC
Scaramucci loves media attention and courts it like a pro (including from Business Insider). Sometimes, it is to promote books, like one he wrote on entrepreneurship called “Hopping over the Rabbit Hole.” He has also hosted a TV show called “Wall Street Week” on Fox Business.
But he was accused of threatening a columnist after he wrote something Scaramucci didn’t like. Felix Salmon, a financial columnist, wrote for Reuters about his experience.
Here’s Salmon back in 2011:
“I’ve seen another side to Scaramucci: my post about his wine tasting was followed by a series of irate phone calls and emails from him, not only to me but also to any and every senior Thomson Reuters executive he could think of. It’s the steely competitor underneath the glad-handing exterior.”
Scaramucci said he tried to get Salmon fired twice, though the two eventually made up.
More recently, he reportedly threatened to sue CNN over a story that it later retracted. When it did, and three staffers were let go, he tweeted “.@CNN did the right thing. Classy move. Apology accepted. Everyone makes mistakes. Moving on.”
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
