Overview
- Company documents show Aryam Investment 1, backed by UAE royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, agreed on Jan. 16, 2025 to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million.
- About half was paid upfront, with roughly $187 million routed to Trump family entities, around $31 million to entities tied to co-founder Steve Witkoff’s family, and about $31 million to other co-founder-linked entities.
- The agreement was signed by Eric Trump, and the investor became the company’s largest outside shareholder as two Aryam executives with senior roles at Tahnoon-linked G42 joined the five-member board.
- The deal was not announced when it closed and surfaced months later after disclosures showing a sharp reduction in Trump family ownership, according to reporting based on Wall Street Journal documents.
- Months after the investment, the U.S. approved UAE access to large quantities of advanced AI chips, with a portion earmarked for G42, while the White House and World Liberty denied any conflicts and lawmakers sought oversight and briefings.