Scott Bessent—worth an estimated $600 million according to Forbes—wasn’t well-received when he identified himself as a fellow soybean farmer suffering under China’s boycott.
The Secretary of the Treasury appeared on This Week Sunday, and spoke to host Martha Raddatz about the U.S. relationship with China alongside the impacts of tariffs, and shared that he related with the struggles of the working man more than people realized.
Predictably, the former hedge fund manager’s self-identification as “actually a soybean farmer” wasn’t lapped up by the masses, who were quick to fact check him online.
Talking about how President Trump has stated his wish to see “our farmers to be taken care of,“ Raddatz added: “China has been boycotting American soybeans and American farmers have really suffered.”
She asked: “Do you see a real light at the end of the tunnel there, they may allow soybeans again?”
Multimillionaire Bessent earnestly responded: “Well, Martha, in case you don’t know it, I’m actually a soybean farmer. So, I have—I have felt this pain, too.”
You know, I’m something of a soybean farmer myself https://t.co/7sOd5rlVLY pic.twitter.com/VaZIVyLr3u
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 26, 2025
Explaining that farmers—as a core group of Trump supporters—had seen their vital Chinese buyers diminish to almost nothing despite having a bumper crop this year, Bessent claimed that things were looking up for him and his fellow laborers.
“I think we have addressed the farmer’s concerns, and I’m not going to get ahead of the president, but I believe when the announcement of the deal with China is made public, that our soybean farmers will feel very good about what’s going on both for this season and the coming seasons for several years,” he said.
In an attempt to be relatable, Bessent now is a soybean farmer. Any other soybean farmers house look like this? pic.twitter.com/SnKkYV0UV0
— Justin Carroll (@justincarroll_x) October 26, 2025
Beyond debating Bessent’s fortune telling about Trump’s potential deal with President Xi Jinping, many viewers were also very focused on the financier’s farming claims.
“From his perch as a long-time global currency trader on Wall Street, Bessent also invested $25 million in Midwest land, which he leases out to actual farmers. He is not a ‘soybean farmer,’” one detractor posted on X.
“In an attempt to be relatable, Bessent now is a soybean farmer. Any other soybean farmers house look like this?” wrote another, alongside an image of Bessent’s South Carolina pink stucco mansion—the John Ravenel House—which he sold a few months ago for $18.25 million according to the New York Post, setting a record for the area.
A third viewer added: “Personal fortune of over $600m and growing, but yes you are feeling the pain of farmers because you own land that others farm on. What a ridiculous statement.”
From his perch as a long-time global currency trader on Wall Street, Bessent also invested $25 million in Midwest land, which he leases out to actual farmers. He is not a “soybean farmer.” https://t.co/fedyo39FWO
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 26, 2025
“Bessent’s a soybean farmer the same way Elon Musk is a coal miner; spiritually, from a distance,” joked another.
While Bessent’s status as a farmer is being questioned online, he has been fixated on soybeans (and the all-important TikTok) in many recent discussions about a potential US-China deal—and has stressed that we’re just waiting on “the two leaders to consummate” the deal during their talks.
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