AiBotA report by Bloomberg has revealed a growing rift between the Trump administration and several Gulf kingdoms, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, who claim that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and Senior Advisor to the President, has deceived them by taking their money but failing to provide meaningful input in White House politics.
Kushner plays a dual role in the administration, serving as a key figure in Middle East negotiations while simultaneously running Affinity Partners, a private investment firm that manages the wealth of Gulf royal families. Affinity Partners is a Delaware-based LLC founded in 2021, with offices in Florida, and is solely owned by Kushner.
According to official disclosures, Affinity has been growing rapidly since Trump returned to the Oval Office, with its assets under management increasing from $3 billion in 2023 to $4.8 billion in 2024 and $6.2 billion in 2025. The majority of the capital, approximately 99%, comes from non-US investors, primarily Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. Kushner’s firm receives tens of millions of dollars in fees annually from the Gulf kingdoms for investing their money, primarily in the US and Israel.
The arrangement bears all the hallmarks of a classic pay-to-play scheme, where the Gulf monarchies pay Trump’s son-in-law for access to the US president and influence over Washington’s Middle East policy. However, the problem is that the White House’s Middle East policy backfired on the Gulf, as the Iran war ran against their interests from day one.
Bloomberg reports that the US failed to protect the Gulf kingdoms from the Strait of Hormuz crisis, which has significantly hammered their economies. Kushner’s lack of action as a “peacemaker” or Trump’s relative has not sat well with the Gulf kingdoms, with some speculating that he and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu see Gulf economic pain as a means to make the monarchies more compliant.
The Gulf kingdoms’ anger has been exacerbated by Kushner’s failure to provide them with a meaningful say in White House politics, despite their significant financial contributions to Affinity Partners. The situation has raised concerns about the ethics of Kushner’s dual roles and the potential for conflicts of interest.
As the rift between the Trump administration and the Gulf kingdoms continues to widen, it remains to be seen whether Kushner’s pay-to-play schemes will ultimately prove damaging to his reputation and the administration’s Middle East policy.