Getty Anthony Scaramucci during a conference in Switzerland in January 2017.
New York financier Anthony Scaramucci, who has no previous political or communications experience, was President Donald Trump‘s White House Communications Director for less than two weeks. The 53-year-old Long Island native is worth millions, and is the co-founder of SkyBridge Capital.
On July 27, Scaramucci’s public financial disclosure form was released, showing that he still could profit from SkyBridge.
Ten days after he was hired, sources told the New York Times that Scaramucci is out of the White House. It was the first move of new White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly.
Scaramucci took the job once held by Mike Dubke, who resigned in May. Multiple White House officials told Politoco that Scaramucci was chosen despite resistance from Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and others. In fact, The New York Times reported that Press Secretary Sean Spicer resigned because he thought hiring Scaramucci was a “major mistake.” NBC News is reporting that Steve Bannon said Scaramucci will get the job “over my dead body.”
Scaramucci is married to Deidre Ball, who has filed for divorce. His brother is David Scaramucci. He is a graduate of Tufts University and Harvard Law School.
In addition to his work on Wall Street, Scaramucci was a frequent contributor to Fox News and Fox Business, even co-hosting the weekly show Wall Street Week.
Here’s a look at Scaramucci’s net worth and wealth.
1. Scaramucci’s Net Worth Is at Least $44.8 Million
GettyAnthony Scaramucci at Trump Tower in January.
Scaramucci has an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, Celebrity Net Worth notes, although other sources suggest it’s much lower. The Squanderer estimates that Scaramucci’s net worth is much lower. The site suggests that it would be unlikely for Scaramucci to be worth more than the size of the SkyBridge fund, and estimates his net worth as being in the $200 million to $300 million range.
Scaramucci’s financial disclosure form shows that he could still profit from SkyBridge. He earned $4.9 million from his ownership stake in the company between January 1, 2017 and the end of June, when he took a job at the Export-Import Bank. He also made $5 million in salary from SkyBridge between January and June. His minority stake in the New York Mets is worth an estimated $5 million. As Politico notes, Scaramucci lists $85 million in assets. But Fortune points out that if you facotr in mortgages, loans and other liabilities, his net worth is between $44.8 million and $64.3 million.
A White House adviser told Politico that his job at Export-Import Bank was a “very temporary move” just to get him closer to Washington until the Trump Administration could find him a position.
In his CNN interview after the disclosure form came out, Scaramucci said he’s not benefiting from SkyBridge, but said he is “entitled,” through his previous ownership, to “some residual profits.” But he insists that he no longer works there, and his ownership stake has been sold.
Scaramucci had a modest upbringing, as the son of a Long Island construction worker, according to a 2012 New York Magazine profile. His father paid for his Tufts tuition. However, he paid for his Harvard Law School education himself and landed a job as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs.
“I grew up in a middle-class family in Port. My parents were the children of Italian immigrants. My father worked at Gotham Sand and Stone and my mother was a homemaker,” Scaramucci told the Port Washington News in January. “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.”
The Goldman Sachs job only lasted a year, but it was a helpful experience. He learned that he was “terrible” at being a banker, but Goldman took another gamble with him. His second job there was in sales. According to his LinkedIn page, he eventually rose to a Vice President position before resigning in 1996. He then founded a hedge fund and landed at Neuberger Berman.
After a two-year stint at Lehman Brothers, Scaramucci created SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm. He became a major figure in global finance, winning the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award New York Award in Financial Services in 2011. He was ranked No. 85 on Worth’s 2016 Power 100 list.
2. He Sold a Major Stake of SkyBridge in January 2017 for an Estimated $200 Million
GettyAnthony Scaramucci at Trump Tower in November 2016.
In January, Trump was considering Scaramucci for Director of White House Office of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs. However, former Ideagen CEO George Sifakis got the job instead.
Scaramucci took steps to sell his stake in SkyBridge in January while he was under consideration for the role. On January 17, the firm announced that RON Transatlantic EG and HNA Capital (U.S.) Holding took a major stake in the company.
Although financial terms weren’t disclosed, sources told Bloomberg that the deal was valued at $200 million, although that could grow to $230 million, depending on future performance. Before the deal was made, Scaramucci owned 45 percent of the firm.
Under Scaramucci, SkyBridge managed or advised $12 billion in assets through November 2016, the firm said in its January statement. As part of the deal, the SALT Conference, which Scaramucci launched in 2009, became its own entity. The event is held every spring in Las Vegas. The deal also said that Scaramucci will no longer be involved in SkyBridge or SALT from now on.
RON is an upstart firm, with mystery investors behind it, Bloomberg reported on January 27. “They bought SkyBridge in spite of, not because of, my affiliation with the administration, because they both recognize that I would personally recuse myself from any and all activities in terms of my relationship with the administration,” Scaramucci told Bloomberg of the two firms.
3. Scaramucci Didn’t Plan on Taking a White House Salary
Scaramucci would have earned $179,000 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 this himself to CNN. Scaramucci would have been the fourth member of the Trump administration to work for free, joining Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Reed Cordish.
Scaramucci and his family lives in Manhasset on Long Island. In a 2016 Long Island Business News interview, he said his house is about two miles from the home he grew up in Port Washington.
“If I ever wake up and think of myself as a TV star, I want my friends in my hometown to hit me on the head with something. I grew up in Port Washington and live in Manhasset about two miles from the home I grew up in,” he told LIBN.
According to CNBC, Scaramucci isn’t the only Wall Street financier with a home in Manhasset. Bruce R. Bent, the founder of the first money market fund, lives there. Bernie Madoff also had a home there.
4. Scaramucci & 2 Other Business Partners Spent $365,000 on Mike Piazza’s 9/11 Mets Jersey
In April 2016, Scaramucci, Tony Lauto and an anonymous business partner bought the New York Mets jersey catcher Mike Piazza wore on September 21, 2001, the first Mets game after the September 11, 2001 attacks. The New York Post reported that the trio spent $365,000, the most ever paid for a modern baseball jersey.
Scaramucci and Lauto also made a deal with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Mets and the 9/11 Memorial Museum so the jersey can be on display on a rotating basis between the two museums and Citi Field.
“We had too many friends die in those buildings to let that jersey go anywhere else,” Scaramucci told The Post. “Tony and I wanted to make sure that jersey stays in New York. We talked to Mike, he’s happy. We talked to [Mike’s father] Vince [Piazza], he’s happy.”
Scaramucci told the Post that the jersey “represents so much,” adding, “There is tremendous artistic symbolism to this thing. This is about picking yourself up, no matter what happens in life, and going back into life and hitting home runs.”
Scaramucci and his business partners also have a small piece of Mets ownership.
5. Scaramucci Raised Funds for Obama in 2008, but Switched to Supporting Republicans Presidential Campaigns in 2012 & 2016
In 2008, Scaramucci was a fundraiser for future President Barack Obama and Democrats. But between the 2008 and 2012 elections, he became critical of Obama’s Wall Street policies. By 2012, he joined Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s finance team. He was also a fundraiser for Trump during the 2016 election.
FEC data shows that Scaramucci made several donations to the Obama campaign, including a $28,500.00 donation in late October 2008. But he also donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 primary campaign.
In a 2012 interview with the Daily Beast, he said he was raising more money than other members of Romney’s finance team. He wouldn’t say how much because he “doesn’t want to grandstand.” Scaramucci only said he “raised millions” and was “one of the top raisers” for Romney.
In 2010, Scaramucci famously confronted Obama during a CNBC town hall, asking “When are we going to stop whacking at the Wall Street pinata?” (Scaramucci later told the New York Times that he shouldn’t have used the word “pinata.”)
In May 2016, Scaramucci joined the Trump campaign team. After the election, Scaramucci worked on the transition team. He longed for a role in the White House, telling Fox Business in March that he was confident he could get a role after the SkyBridge deal closed in April.
“Unfortunately, our business, SkyBridge Capital, very complex business, was sold on January 17, likely to close April 15 thereabout,” Scaramucci said. “And I think when you look at the potential issues around the business and the recusals, I think it’s just better to cut cleanly, get the cash and then, you know, start the job.”
The New York Post reported that Scaramucci was also being considered for the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development ambassadorship, which would have required a move to Paris.
“I’m superstitious, I’d like to end up getting a job in the administration,” Scaramucci said in June. “If that’s the job, I’ll gladly serve.”
