Anthony Scaramucci, the former White House communications director and founder of SkyBridge Capital, once reflected on how the 1975 recession and his father’s reduced work hours became a defining moment that forced him to mature early.
Growing Up In A Working-Class Immigrant Household
Speaking on the Desperately Seeking Wisdom podcast in 2023, Scaramucci described growing up in a working-class Italian-American family where money was tight and stress was constant.
His father came from a coal-mining background in northeastern Pennsylvania, a life marked by hard labor and limited financial security.
Scaramucci said financial pressure often spilled into family life, creating anxiety at home.
“When you’re living day to day, paycheck to paycheck … a lot of things [are] outside your control,” he explained, noting how economic strain can harden people over time.
The Day His Father’s Hours Were Cut
One moment, in particular, stayed with him. Scaramucci recalled being 11 years old when his father came home angry after learning his work hours had been cut during the recession.
“He was an hourly worker. He needed that money by hour, but we were in a recession,” Scaramucci said, describing how the stress boiled over at home.
While he acknowledged his father’s reaction was wrong, he also recognized the fear driving it.
Scaramucci ‘Was Hustling’ At 11 Years Old
Instead of feeling powerless, Scaramucci decided to act. At 11, he got a newspaper route and later worked as a stock boy at a local supermarket, earning about $45 a week — solid money for a child in the mid-1970s.
“I was hustling for money,” he said. He gave $25 of his weekly pay to his mother to help cover household expenses and saved the rest. “I wasn’t spending it. But I was pocketing in case, God forbid, they needed it.”
After nearly a year, he had saved about $1,000 — not for spending, but for security.
Fear, Responsibility and Diverging Paths
Scaramucci said the pressure at home affected his family in different ways. While his older brother struggled with drug addiction later in life, Scaramucci became what he called a workaholic.
Looking back, he framed his drive as rooted in fear, not ambition. “I was there because I gotta make sure that these people are okay. And so there was a tremendous amount of anxiety in the house,” he said.
A Brief White House Role To Building Wall Street Career
Known as “The Mooch,” Scaramucci lasted only 11 days as White House communications director during Donald Trump’s first term before being fired — a stint so brief it gave rise to the slang term “a Scaramucci.”
Before launching SkyBridge Capital in 2005, Scaramucci co-founded Oscar Capital Management, an investment firm that was acquired by Neuberger Berman in 2001.
Earlier in his career, he worked in Goldman Sachs & Co.’s private wealth management division.
A Long Island, New York, native, Scaramucci earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Tufts University and later obtained his law degree from Harvard Law School.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he currently has a net worth of $90 million.
Photo courtesy: Al Teich / Shutterstock.com
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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