TRD talks Jared Kushner’s divestments, real estate holdings on CNN

Jared Kushner may no longer be pulling the strings at his family’s real estate company, but his business dealings remain under scrutiny.

The Real Deal‘s managing web editor Hiten Samtani appeared on CNN to discuss Kushner’s stake in his family’s real estate business. Kushner’s finances and business dealings are being investigated by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is looking into  Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election. In December, while still head of Kushner Companies, Kushner met with Sergey Gorkov, the chairman of the sanctioned Vnesheconombank who is also a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Although President Trump’s son-in-law resigned from his position at Kushner Companies and divested from 666 Fifth Avenue, he remains invested in nearly 90 percent of his pre-White House real estate holdings, 124 properties that are held in a trust.

“He has a financial stake in these properties, he’s not divested from everything,” Samtani said. “He’s probably got too much on his plate at the moment. I mean, you can’t try to solve Middle East peace and be the liaison with the Pentagon and also look at properties.”

The family’s flagship tower at 666 Fifth Avenue is $1.4 billion in debt and the family has been searching for financing. A multi-billion-dollar plan with Anbang Insurance Group to redevelop the building fell through in late March. [CNN]— E.B. Solomont