Overview
- Company documents cited by the Wall Street Journal indicate an Abu Dhabi–linked vehicle tied to Sheikh Tahnoon agreed to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million days before the inauguration, with Eric Trump signing the deal.
- Roughly $250 million was reportedly paid upfront, including about $187 million to entities associated with the Trump family and at least $31 million to entities linked to WLFI co-founder Steve Witkoff.
- Months after the investment, the Trump administration approved broader UAE access to advanced U.S.-made AI chips; reporting notes Tahnoon chairs G42, which is slated to receive a portion of the chips.
- Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Greg Landsman called the arrangement corrupt and urged investigations and anti-corruption reforms, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed regulators to pause reviews involving WLFI.
- President Trump said he was unaware of the transaction and that his family runs WLFI, and outlets report no announced criminal charges or formal government investigations tied to the deal.