(Reuters) -Billionaire investor John Paulson said on Tuesday he was dropping out of contention for U.S. Treasury secretary in Donald Trump's new cabinet, putting the focus squarely on fellow investor Scott Bessent, the other main candidate in the race.

Veteran investor John Paulson is dropping out of the running to become President-elect Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, he said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.“Although various media outlets have mentioned me as a candidate for Secretary of the Treasury,

The investor John Paulson removed himself from consideration as a potential nominee for Treasury secretary by President-elect Donald Trump. Paulson is the head of Paulson & Co. family office, and is famous for shorting the subprime mortgage market in 2007 ahead of the financial crisis.