RIYADH (Middle East Eye) – Jared Kushner, former White House adviser and son-in-law of former U.S. president Donald Trump, is reportedly in talks to receive upwards of $2bn from Saudi Arabia for his private equity firm, according to the journalism studio Project Brazen.
The studio, founded by former Wall Street Journal reporters, reported that the money will come from Riyadh’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the fund for the equity firm could eventually reach up to $5bn. However, the target size is unclear.
Sources told the reporters that Kushner has been debating how to limit the impact of having Saudi Arabia as a key investor in the new investment firm.
The Saudi embassy in Washington did not respond to Middle East Eye’s request for comment on the matter.
In July, news emerged that the former White House adviser was starting his own investment firm called Affinity Partners, in a move that would see him leave the political arena for the foreseeable future. Reuters reported at the time that he was seeking to open an office in the occupied territories.
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 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.
Trump’s son-in-law was also influential in the establishment of the normalization agreements between the Zionist regime and four countries - the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
The Project Brazen report also comes a month after former Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin received $2.5bn for his new private investment firm Liberty Strategic Capital. The firm also received funds from Saudi Arabia’s PIF and other Middle East countries, according to The Times.