Trump's new communications director has a long history on Wall Street and a love-hate relationship with the press

Hollis Johnson

Anthony Scaramucci, who has been appointed to head the White House's communications operations, has a long history on Wall Street – and has been a big Trump backer and public advocate.

He previously worked at Goldman Sachs and later founded SkyBridge Capital, a fund of hedge funds firm that caters to America's rich dentists and doctors.

Sean Spicer, the White House's embattled press secretary, announced his resignation on Friday, reportedly after telling President Donald Trump that he strongly disagreed with the selection of Scaramucci.

Scaramucci is a household name on Wall Street, but relatively unknown elsewhere.  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 with hedge fund titans. 

The fund's sales practices drew criticism over the years, and a Main Street mutual fund 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 which 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 also hosts a TV show called Wall Street Week on Fox Business.

But he was also 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