Chris Christie is getting into real estate.
The former New Jersey governor has co-founded a property investment fund with his wife, the Wall Street Journal reported.The aim is to raise $150 million.
The fund looks to take advantage of Opportunity Zones, which is a federal program that gives tax breaks for development in low-income areas. The zones are part of the tax overhaul and allow investors to defer capital-gains taxes by investing in qualifying real estate projects.
Christie is a senior adviser, sources told the Journal, while his wife, Mary Pat Christie, is executive vice president. The Christies started the fund, known as Hampshire Christie Qualified Opportunity Fund LLC, with Hampshire Cos., a real-estate investment firm founded by Christie’s longtime ally, Jon F. Hanson.
He joins other former government officials who are eyeing the program. Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director in 2017, has launched an Opportunity Zone fund through his investment firm, SkyBridge Capital. One of the architects of the program, the former Obama administration senior economic adviser Steve Glickman, runs an Opp Zone advisory business. [WSJ] — Meenal Vamburkar