The first family is doing OK too

As President Trump signs multibillion-dollar deals on his Middle East tour, it’s not just governments and defence giants set to cash in — his own family could be raking it in too.

Trump looks set to make a barrel of money for himself and his family.

The coffers of the US government and leading defence and technology companies are not the only accounts that might swell this week as President Trump tours the Middle East, signing multibillion-dollar deals.

Due to a range of business interests in the region, Trump also looks set to make a barrel of money for himself and his family. The energy-rich Gulf states that the president is visiting are becoming almost like a second home for the first family. In this month alone, an Abu Dhabi investment fund bought $2 billion in USD1, a cryptocurrency backed by the US dollar that just happens to be issued by the Trump family’s crypto exchange, Liberty World Financial.

In the past year there has also been the opening of a new Trump golf course in Qatar and Trump-branded hotels in Dubai and Jeddah.

Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, played pivotal roles in Trump’s first term before stepping aside this time around. However, that has not stopped Kushner from securing dollars 3.5 billion in investment from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE for his private equity firm.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

At the weekend it also emerged that the Qataris will donate a Boeing 747 worth $400 million as a replacement for Air Force One. It all marks a huge change from just over 12 months ago, when Trump was facing the prospect of financial ruin due to various court cases. Now, he is as rich as he has ever been, with Forbes estimating that his wealth had risen in the past year from $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion.

The Middle East has been fertile ground, but the president has squeezed cash from other places, too, including an official range of Maga merchandise. Products include watches, aftershave, trainers, and a Trump Bible.

His family too have seized on the opportunity. Don Jr, his eldest son, has launched a private members’ club in Washington DC. Meanwhile, Eric Trump, his second son, has been at the vanguard of the family’s crypto efforts.

Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W Bush administration, said it was almost impossible to stop Trump’s efforts. “He is the president and he can use his own name to sell whatever he wants. It’s unethical, but there’s not a lot that can be done to stop him,” he said.

The Times