Grand Theft America / Receipt money-2026-01-16-068
Abu Dhabi-backed fund buys 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500M
An Abu Dhabi-linked investment vehicle backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan acquired a 49% stake in the Trump family's crypto venture World Liberty Financial for $500 million, in a deal signed four days before Trump's second inauguration.
What happened
Reporting attributes roughly $187 million of the deal's proceeds to Trump family-controlled entities and about $31 million to entities tied to co-founder Steve Witkoff. The House Select Committee on the CCP later opened an inquiry into the arrangement over national-security and data-protection concerns.
Why it matters
A sovereign-wealth-linked entity from a country with deep security and trade ties to the U.S. directed nearly $200 million to the sitting president's family business days before he took office, raising the appearance that a foreign government was purchasing access and favor with the incoming administration.
Receipt details
- Take the foreign money
- Venture inflow
- $500M
