"Four days before Donald Trump's inauguration last year, lieutenants to an Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed a deal with the Trump family to purchase a 49% stake in their fledgling cryptocurrency venture for half a billion dollars, according to company documents and people familiar with the matter. The buyers would pay half up front, steering $187 million to Trump family entities."
"At least $31 million was also slated to flow to entities affiliated with the family of Steve Witkoff, a World Liberty co-founder who weeks earlier had been named U.S. envoy to the Middle East, the documents said. The investment was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, an Abu Dhabi royal who has been pushing the U.S. for access to tightly guarded artificial intelligence chips, according to people familiar with the matter."
"Tahnoon-sometimes referred to as the "spy sheikh"-is brother to the United Arab Emirates' president, the government's national security adviser, as well as the leader of the oil-rich country's largest wealth fund. He oversees a more than $1.3 trillion empire funded by his personal fortune and state money that spans from fish farms to AI to surveillance, making him one of the most powerful single investors in the world."
Four days before the inauguration, Abu Dhabi lieutenants signed to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, sending $187 million to Trump family entities. Eric Trump signed the deal, and at least $31 million was designated for entities tied to Steve Witkoff's family. The investment was backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who seeks access to AI chips and oversees vast state and personal wealth across AI, surveillance, and investments. A foreign government official thus acquired a major stake in an incoming U.S. president's company. Later, Trump approved sales of Nvidia chips to the UAE despite concerns they could be shared with China.
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