Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and his business partners have signed on the dotted line to redevelop a real-estate project in the Serbian capital of Belgrade and incidentally, the former president was interested in the same when he occupied the White House, New York Times reported Sunday.
The development comes amid reports that Kushner has chosen a quiet life over joining a potential Trump administration.
What Happened: Kushner’s team signed a tentative agreement with the Serbian government last week, which gives the former’s investment firm a 99-year lease, at no charge, and the right to build a luxury hotel and apartment complex as well as a museum at the site which was previously the headquarters of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense in Belgrade, the Times reported, citing draft outline of the agreement provided to it by Serbian officials. The defense headquarters was bombed by NATO in 1999.
The development assumes importance, given Trump reportedly told a top Serbian official in 2013 even before he became the president that he wished to build a luxury hotel on the site. The project did not materialize before the 2016 election, and after the election, the former president stayed away from doing any new foreign deals. the report.
Later Richard Grenell who served as a special envoy to Balkans under Trump, brought up a similar plan. The bureaucrat reportedly wanted the U.S. government under Trump and Serbia to jointly work on rebuilding the Defense Ministry site.
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Kushner, however, refused knowledge of the two previous interests. The report said the venture capitalist on Sunday denied discussing the Belgrade project with his father-in-law or awareness about the latter’s interest. He also reportedly said the two sides had tentatively agreed to give the Serbian government 2% of profits generated by the approximately $500 million project.
Grenell is now working with Kushner on the latest deal, the report said.
Benzinga has reached out to Kushner Companies and Affinity Partners for clarification on the report and plans to update the story accordingly
Why It’s Important: Kushner’s private equity firm Affinity Partners was in the eye of the storm over the $2 billion Saudi financing it received immediately after Trump stepped down, with Democrats calling for an investigation into whether there was quid-pro-quo.
Kushner and former first daughter Ivanka Trump have distanced themselves from Trump’s presidential campaign for the 2024 election. The former president has clinched the Republican nomination and is currently leading President Joe Biden in most nationwide opinion polls.
Last month, Axios reported that Kushner’s firm is looking at deals in Israel right now despite the ongoing wrangling between the country and the Hamas militants.
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