Public Fund Led by Saudi Crown Prince Reportedly Invests $2 Billion in Kushner Fund

A public investment fund led by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, invested over $2 billion in former White House adviser Jared Kushner’s new $2.5 billion investment fund. Kushner, who is also the son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, developed a friendly relationship with the crown prince, known as MBS, during his tenure in the White House. He formerly worked as a real estate developer, and this appears to be his first foray into being an investment fund manager. The New York Times reported on Sunday that the Saudi panel that supervises investments for the sovereign wealth fund expressed concern about the inexperience of the Affinity Partners investment organization led by Kushner and objected to the deal, but was overruled by MSB. Kushner was the lead member of the Trump Administration to defend the crown prince after US intelligence agencies investigated and found that he had approved the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince. The deal smacks of political payback, ethics experts told the Times.