General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJared Kushner Tried and Failed to Get a Half-Billion Dollar Bailout From Qatar...
Not long before a major crisis ripped through the Middle East, pitting the United States and a bloc of Gulf countries against Qatar, Jared Kushners real estate company had unsuccessfully sought a critical half-billion investment from one of the richest and most influential men in the tiny nation, according to three well-placed sources with knowledge of the near transaction.
Kushner is a senior adviser to President Trump, and also his son-in-law, and also the scion of a New York real estate empire that faces an extreme risk from an investment made by Kushner in the building at 666 Fifth Avenue where the family is now severely underwater.
Qatar is facing an ongoing blockade led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and joined by Egypt and Bahrain, which President Trump has taken credit for sparking. Kushner, meanwhile, has reportedly played a key behind-the-scenes role in hardening the U.S. posture toward the embattled nation.
That hardline comes in the wake of the previously unreported half-billion dollar deal that was never consummated. Throughout 2015 and 2016, Jared Kushner and his father, Charles, negotiated directly with a major investor in Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, known as HBJ for short, in an effort to refinance the property on Fifth Avenue, the sources said.
Trump himself has unsuccessfully sought financing in recent years from the Qataris, but it is difficult to overstate just how important to Kushner the investment at 666 Fifth Avenue is for him, his company, and his familys legacy in real estate. Without some outside intervention or unforeseen turnaround in the market, the investment could become an embarrassing half billion dollar loss. Its unclear precisely how much peril such a loss would put Jared, or his familys, finances in, given the opacity of their private holdings.
HBJ, a former prime minister of Qatar who ran the countrys $250 billion sovereign wealth fund, is a billionaire and one of the worlds richest men. He owns a yacht worth $300 million called Al Mirqab, the same name he gave to the private investment firm that Kushner pitched. The former emir of Qatar summed up HBJs power with a quip: I may run this country, but he owns it.
https://theintercept.com/2017/07/10/jared-kushner-tried-and-failed-to-get-a-half-billion-dollar-bailout-from-qatar/
cilla4progress
(24,728 posts)Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985. In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering, and served time in federal prison. After his release, he resumed his career in real estate. He is the father of Jared Kushner, who is the husband of Ivanka Trump and son-in-law and senior advisor to President of the United States Donald Trump.
Wellstone ruled
(34,661 posts)What happens next,the Saudi's and Trump start tearing a Qatar apart. Gee,you think.
MineralMan
(146,288 posts)Never mind that our Middle East military is based in Qatar. Never mind that relationship. They still retaliated because Qatar wouldn't finance Jared and that affects First Daughter Ivanka.
The timing is too freaking transparent, and putting out military position at risk over some financial deal? Jebus!