Overview
- Company documents reviewed by multiple outlets show associates of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed agreed on Jan. 16, 2025, to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, with Eric Trump signing the agreement.
- About $187 million from the initial $250 million payment went to Trump-linked entities, at least $31 million to Witkoff family entities, and another $31 million to entities tied to other co-founders, according to the reports.
- The deal made Aryam Investment the largest outside shareholder and installed two Aryam executives with roles at Tahnoon’s G42 on World Liberty’s five-member board.
- Reporting says that after Tahnoon met U.S. officials, the administration moved to expand Emirati access to advanced U.S. AI chips, including a framework of roughly 500,000 chips a year and a later approval of 35,000 chips to G42.
- The White House and World Liberty deny any link between the investment and chip-policy decisions, while Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren demand congressional inquiries; the status of the remaining $250 million due by July 2025 is unclear and no formal probe has been announced.