Kushner seeks new Gulf funding while acting as Trump’s envoy

Jared Kushner, one of the US administration’s key negotiators on the Middle East and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, is reportedly seeking new investment for his private equity firm, Affinity Partners. According to The New York Times, he has recently held talks with potential investors in an effort to raise at least $5 billion.

As part of the fundraising effort, representatives of Affinity also met the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), which manages the kingdom’s oil revenues and is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The PIF is already Affinity’s largest investor. It invested about $2 billion in the firm shortly after the end of Trump’s first administration. According to sources, the fund also holds a right of first refusal to participate in future investment rounds. Sovereign wealth funds from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also expected to be approached.

Kushner is simultaneously involved in diplomatic activities for the US administration. Recently, acting as Trump’s ‘peace envoy’, he met Iran’s foreign minister in Geneva. The talks ended without an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Affinity said in investor materials that since its founding in 2021 it has raised roughly $5 billion, more than three-quarters of which has already been invested in various companies, including the Israeli insurer Phoenix Financial and the fintech firm Revolut. Internal projections estimate a return on investment of about 25 per cent.

(max)