Kushner Companies Receive Hundreds of Millions from UAE, Qatar

Jared Kushner’s private equity fund has reportedly received hundreds of millions of dollars in investment from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, is an adviser to the administration on Middle East policy, including developing a peace plan between Israel and Palestine.

According to the New York Timesthe investments followed a similar infusion of cash from a Saudi Arabian wealth fund, raising concerns about how those close to the Trump administration could profit from their previous government roles.

The UAE sovereign wealth fund invested about $200 million in Kushner’s company, Affinity Equity, as did the Qatari fund, The Times reported. The recently revealed investment is small compared to the Saudi fund, which invested $2 billion in Affinity in 2021 shortly after Kushner left the White House.

These investments are not considered illegal because there are few ethics guidelines or laws about foreign investment in private companies after officials leave government jobs. The investments are not unique to Kushner, either, as investments are a well-known tactic by Gulf states to influence U.S. officials of both parties.

The investment firm of former Trump administration Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has also received huge sums from Middle East wealth funds, including $1 billion from a Saudi wealth fund.

Likewise, Trump himself has announced business deals with Middle Eastern interests, including a $4 billion Saudi Arabia-backed Trump-branded hotel complex.Trump was also a vocal supporters A member of the Saudi-owned LIV Golf Tour, an upstart rival to the PGA of America, includes tournaments at his golf courses.

Last year, the then Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee, launch an investigation Access to the initial Saudi investment in Kushner’s fund. Rep. Caroline Maloney (D-N.Y.), who was chairwoman at the time, said the probe was aimed at investigating whether Kushner used the influence of the administration position in exchange for investment.

“Your close relationship with Crown Prince bin Salman, your pro-Saudi stance during the Trump administration, and the PIF’s decision to fund most of your new venture — just six months after your White House term ended — — created a quid pro quo that this is your foreign policy work during the Trump Administration,” Maloney said in a letter to Kushner at the time.