Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reported at least $82 million in outside income while working as unpaid advisors to President Trump.
This included $3.9 million that Ivanka made from her father’s investment in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. last year, Bloomberg reported. She also received $2 million in severance from the Trump Organization, according to financial disclosure reports released by the White House on Tuesday.
The New York Times reported that Ivanka and her husband remained investors in various entities that bought and sold as much as $147 million in real estate and other assets. Trusts benefiting Kushner, Trump or their children purchased real estate in New York and New Jersey between March and September 2017 totaling at least $9.8 million.
Kushner reported more than $5 million in capital gains from the sale of a shopping mall in the Bronx. He also reported between $27 million and $135 million in outstanding liabilities, according to Bloomberg.
The fact that Trump and Kushner retain ownership in their respective private real estate businesses has raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest. According to Tuesday’s disclosure, Kushner divested more than 125 assets and is in the process of doing so with several more. He also noted that he will continue to recuse himself from matters related to real estate, broker-dealer and online financial services connected to his holdings in Quadro Partners, which owns Cadre.com, the real estate investment platform he co-founded. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that he omitted his stake in the company from financial disclosure reports.
In an exclusive interview with The Real Deal in late May, family patriarch Charles Kushner criticized ethics watchdogs, who he said punish wealthy people for entering public service.
“I think they’re a waste of time,” he said. “They’re guys who can’t get a real job, ethics watchdogs? Who gets a job — ethics watchdog? Give me a break.”
He also said a larger divestment from company assets on behalf of Jared wouldn’t have eliminated scrutiny. “We have a lot of assets, a lot of net worth, and it’s inter-tangled with trusts, and kids and a lot of things. So no matter what we did, you know, no matter what we did, there would have been some kind of potential or perceived conflict. We did the best we could.”
[Bloomberg] — Kathryn Brenzel