Getty Anthony Scaramucci during a conference in Switzerland in January 2017.
Anthony Scaramucci has alternated between careers as a financier, a political advisor, and, briefly, as the White House Director of Communications. He’s set to be one of the contestants on the new season of Celebrity Big Brother, where he feels his past experiences have given him what it takes to win.
Given Scaramucci’s starring role in the CBS competition, some may be wondering how much he’s worth. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Scaramucci has an estimated net worth of $200 million. Read on to learn how he made his fortune and how he likes to spend it.
1. He Paid for His College Education By Himself & Got His First Job At Goldman Sachs
Scaramucci was born to a middle class family in Long Island. “My parents were the children of Italian immigrants,” he told the Port Washington News. “My father worked at Gotham Sand and Stone and my mother was a homemaker. Looking back, we lived a modest lifestyle but I never felt disadvantaged. My parents wanted nothing more than for their children to realize the American Dream and worked tirelessly to create those opportunities for us.”
Despite being a mediocre high school student, Scaramucci turned things around the time he started applying to colleges. His father Alexander helped pay for his tuition to Tufts University. Once he got accepted into Harvard Law School, however, Scaramucci paid his own way. After graduating, he landed his first job as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs.
Despite this fortuitous turn, however, he was fired less than a year later. “I was terrible at it,” he admitted. “I’m not Steve Cohen, I’m not Julian Robertson, I’m not Dan Ochs. I’m actually Anthony Scaramucci. Here’s my skill set; let’s see if I can use it to be who I am.” He was eventually hired back, and rose to the position of Vice President before resigning in 1996.
2. He Founded SkyBridge Capital In 2005 & the Firm Currently Has Holdings Valued at $7 Billion
Scaramucci founded SkyBridge Capital in 2005. He served as chairman of the firm for over a decade, and ultimately decided to sell a portion of his stock to RON Transatlantic EG and HNA Capital (U.S.) Holding when he was being considered for a White House position. While the specific terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, sources told Bloomberg that the deal was valued between $200 million and $230 million, depending on future performance. Scaramucci owned 45 percent of the firm before the deal was made.
In April 2018, however, it was announced that Scaramucci would be returning to SkyBridge after the deal with HNA Group fell through. CNN Business cited the lack of approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States as the cause. While the deal was called off, the two firms have discussed striking a deal to market SkyBridge’s products in China.
In a 2018 interview with Bloomberg, he revealed his plans to attract as much as $1 billion from China and to double client assets to $20 billion over the next five years. “Believe it or not, fund of funds is actually a pretty hot product in China,” he explained.
3. Scaramucci, Who Credits His Grandmother & Parents for His Work Ethic, Has Written4 Books
Scaramucci has also written four books throughout his career. The first, titled Goodbye Gordon Gekko: How to Find Your Fortune Without Losing Your Soul, was released in 2010. His other books include 2012’s The Little Book of Hedge Funds, 2016’s Hopping Over the Rabbit Hole: How Entrepreneurs Turn Failure Into Success, and 2018’s Trump, the Blue-Collar President.
Scaramucci credits his grandmother and parents for his work ethic. “[My grandmother] came to this country without a dollar to her name or command of the language,” he said. “And worked extremely hard to help provide for her family, working as a maid and in other labor-intensive jobs.”
He has also made guest appearances on Fox Business Network, including as the host of the series “Wall Street Week,” in 2016, but is not a paid contributor to Fox.
4. He Refused a Salary During His Stint As White House Director of Communications
Scaramucci would have earned $179K in his role as White House Communications director, but a source told the Daily Caller that he wouldn’t accept a White House salary. He confirmed the report to CNN. This made Scaramucci the fourth member of the Trump administration to work for free, joining Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Reed Cordish.
This is not the first time that Scaramucci has turned down a sizable salary. During his time as the Vice President and chief strategy officer at the Export-Import Bank, he refused to take his $172,100 annual salary.
5. He Is a Minority Owner of the New York Mets Baseball Team
According to Newsday, Scaramucci and a pair of investors teamed up to boy a 4% share in the New York Mets baseball team in 2012. The share amounted to roughly $20 million. Scaramucci was also part of a group that paid $365K for Mike Piazza’s game-worn jersey from the Mets’ first post-9/11 game. Piazza hit the game-winning home run during said game.
While Scaramucci doesn’t have direct input on the Mets organization, he has spoken openly about the team and what he feels should be done. In a recent interview with Fancred, he weighed in the team’s over-spending. “I’m super concerned. Not to get overly dramatic, but if you traded the whole team for the Yankees triple-A team, I would be less concerned,” he said.
“The Yankees stack up on players, they pay through the nose for the draft, they give out very high signing bonus,” he added. “You’re going to lose about 45-50% of these kids. The remainder go to triple-A. One or two of them become world-class prospects. If you do the statistical analysis, that is the way to go to build your team.”
“These guys don’t do that,” he concluded. “They nickel and dime these guys in the prospect area, nickel and dime during the draft, and then they go after players that are through their sell by date. That’s what we have been dealing with.”