According to reports, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is allegedly trying to entice nations in the Middle East to invest billions in his private equity firm. This is while he is conducting business as Trump’s “special envoy for peace,” whose duties include negotiating with Iran as the U.S. wages war with them.
Kushner “has spoken with potential investors in recent weeks about raising $5 billion or more for Affinity Partners, his investment firm.” In further reporting by the New York Times, “Affinity’s representatives have already met with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund,” according to two sources close to the discussions.
The fund was created to invest the proceeds from Saudi Arabia’s massive oil reserves, and is operated by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who is close with Kushner and the Trump administration. Two billion has already been invested into the firm in 2022.
The report also states that Kushner was initiating these meetings and intends to do so into the rest of the year, despite his role.
It is believed that Kushner, along with prodding from Bin Salman and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, encouraged the Trump administration to move forward and strike Iran after the talks ended. According to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a “fair and equitable” deal was “within reach” in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump’s naming of Kushner as a “special envoy for peace” means that he has to file a financial disclosure report, with just days left before a 30-day deadline. The news has alarmed watchdogs, noting that Kushner has a history of such dealings.
“The risk of Mr. Kushner’s potential conflicts is particularly concerning because his private investment firm has very publicly done significant business with foreign partners who also have interests in the conflicts on which he has been assigned to work,” wrote Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington CEO Donald Sherman in a letter to the White House.
