Kushner seeking Mideast investments for newly founded firm -- NYT

Officials from Qatar and the UAE have so far reportedly declined to invest in Affinity Partners; Saudi Arabia said still negotiating

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US president Donald Trump, who served as his senior adviser, is attempting to raise money from Gulf states for a new investment firm he recently founded, the New York Times reported.

According to the Friday report, Kushner has found little success so far. Qatari officials declined to invest in the firm, Affinity Partners, a person familiar with the matter was cited as saying, as did the main Emirati sovereign wealth funds.

Leaders of Qatar saw Kushner as an opponent in the former US administration, the source said. UAE rulers saw him as an ally, but question his business track record, another source told the paper.

However, the Saudi Arabian $450 billion Public Investment Fund is negotiating with Kushner over what could prove to be a sizable investment in Affinity Partners, the two sources said.

Kushner declined to discuss the matter with the New York Times. The report said it was not clear which other investors he had spoken to so far, both inside or outside the United States.

Kushner hopes to raise an amount in the low billions of dollars by early next year, the report said, citing a source familiar with the firm’s plans.

A general view of the Marina district towers is seen from the observation deck of ‘The View at The Palm Jumeirah,’ in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, April 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Earlier this year, it was reported that Kushner would also open an office in Israel that will promote business ties between Israel, India, Gulf states, and North Africa.

One of Kushner’s last acts as an adviser to Trump was leading the brokering of normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

Much of Kushner’s emphasis while shaping his father-in-law’s Middle East policy was on peace nurtured through investment and economic development. It was a winning formula with what he dubbed the “Abraham Accords,” but failed to bring about a breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Kushner also took a leading role in running Trump’s campaigns in 2016 and 2020, but has signaled that he is not going to be involved in a possible Trump campaign in 2024.

Kushner is a third-generation principal in a family real estate empire founded by his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor.