RIYADH (Middle East Eye) – Jared Kushner, a former senior White House adviser and son-in-law of former U.S. president Donald Trump, is touting his past work with Saudi Arabia as an asset for investors in his new investment fund, The Intercept has reported.
The Intercept obtained a slide deck from Kushner’s firm Affinity Partners that pitches Kushner’s experience securing deals with Saudi Arabia as something that should give investors confidence that their money will be well spent.
In particular, the slide deck touts Kushner’s role in negotiating an oil production cut in the spring of 2020, in a bid to stabilize rapidly collapsing oil prices at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The investor pitch also advertises his involvement in the controversial normalization agreements signed between the Zionist regime and four Arab regimes - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
“Affinity’s unique network and experience makes us a differentiated partner for companies navigating the rapidly evolving global political and economic environment,” reads one slide obtained by The Intercept.
Six months after leaving the Trump administration, Kushner secured a $2bn investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, led by the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a close ally and beneficiary of Kushner’s support when he worked at the White House.
But a recent article published by The New York Times reported that a panel that screens investments for the $620bn Public Investment Fund (PIF) cited a number of concerns with Kushner’s Affinity Partners, including its “inexperience” and the “public relations risks” arising from Kushner’s previous role as a senior adviser to Trump.
Despite the objections, the full board of the PIF overruled the panel’s objections.
Kushner has developed a close relationship with several senior figures throughout the Middle East including bin Salman, also known by his initials MBS, with whom he has been engaging with for years through emails, text messages, and other forms of contact, according to a report by The New York Times.
During his time in the Trump administration, the Saudi royal family gifted him two swords and a dagger worth nearly $48,000, for which he ended up paying the U.S. government after leaving office.