WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday released details of the personal finances of his staffers, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka, confirming that he has surrounded himself with some very affluent advisers.
White House ethics officials said the legally required disclosure documents provided a snapshot of assets and positions held by personnel when they first entered their new jobs at the White House, and before they started selling stocks and other assets that could pose conflicts of interest.
The White House disclosed Gary Cohn, former Goldman Sachs president and now head of the White House National Economic Council, had assets worth at least $230 million, but possibly much more. Little information was given on several of his assets and only indicated they were worth more than $1 million.
Cohn had income ranging from $48 million to nearly $77 million in the year preceding his engagement in the White House, though it could be much higher.
Jared Kushner’s 54-page report - which included most of the assets and income of his wife Ivanka Trump — included scores of assets worth six- and seven-figures.
The New York Times reported that the couple’s real estate and investment empire was worth as much as $741 million. Kushner held executive positions with 266 LLCs, corporations, groups and non-profits, which he has resigned from since January.
Democratic lawmakers have expressed concern about potential conflicts of interest for Kushner, who like Trump is a New York real estate developer.
Trump this week officially added his daughter Ivanka to his staff. She had a fashion business and was involved in her father’s global real estate development business, but stepped aside from managing the businesses when her father entered the White House.
Senior adviser Steve Bannon, whose pre-White House bank accounts, real estate and other holdings were valued at between $3.3 million and $12.6 million.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus had assets of between $604,000 and $1.16 million and income of $1.42 million. About $566,000 of his income came from the Republican National Committee and the rest from his partnership in a Milwaukee law firm.
Neither Trump nor Vice President Mike Pence’s assets were included in the documents.
Trump has faced questions about conflicts of interest with his hotel and golf course businesses since his election in November. He has handed off control to his two oldest sons, but ethics watchdogs have complained that the arrangements do not go far enough to avoid conflicts, and have urged Trump to divest fully or set up a blind trust for his assets.
Trump, a real estate magnate and television celebrity with no political experience before he was elected president, has brought in some high-net-worth people to advise him.
For example, Reed Cordish, a Baltimore real estate developer before he become Trump’s technology adviser, disclosed pre-White House assets of between $92 million and $798 million. He had income of between $48 million and $55 million.
— Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
