Jared Kushner's PE firm secured $2 billion from Saudi Arabia

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Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment for his private equity firm from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund last summer. Kushner set up Affinity Partners in July following his departure from the White House, where he served as a senior advisor to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump. Though said to have been rebuffed by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in July, The Times reported. However, citing an internal document dated June 30, The Times reported that an internal PIF panel tasked with assessing the feasibility of investment was reluctant to support Kushner's fund, citing his lack of experience. The group also flagged that its background check found that Affinity Partners was "unsatisfactory in all aspects" and that there were "public relations risks" given Kushner was a former senior adviser to Trump. The chairman of the board is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country's de facto leader who has formed a close bond with Kushner since 2017. In filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, Affinity Partners said it had a total of $2.5 billion under management, almost all of which appears to comprise the Saudi investment, according to The Times. Kushner's close links with Crown Prince Mohammed and the existence of the investment in Affinity Partners are likely to raise ethical questions should Kushner return to the White House with Trump, should the latter run for and win the 2024 election. Trump has not said whether he is running for office again. There needs to be an investigation into this.