Key Takeaways
- • Two lieutenants of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE national security advisor and brother of the UAE president, signed a contract just four days before Donald Trump took office in January 2025 to channel $500 million into World Liberty Financial, according to the Wall Street Journal and Fortune.
- • In exchange, the Tahnoon-linked entity received a 49% equity stake in World Liberty Financial, the DeFi platform founded in 2024 that is one of the Trump family's main crypto businesses.
- • The two lieutenants who signed the deal also hold top positions at G42, the Abu Dhabi-based technology and venture capital firm, and G42 senior executive Fiacc Larkin is an advisor to World Liberty Financial, per his LinkedIn and a New York Times report.
- • The deal has drawn scrutiny because it follows a landmark U.S. agreement to grant G42 access to advanced AI chips; World Liberty Financial and the White House both deny any link between the investment and administration policy.
- • Trump Media & Technology Group and Trump family members' memecoin and Bitcoin mining ventures illustrate the broader conflict-of-interest concerns raised by critics.
Summary
Just four days before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, two lieutenants to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed a contract to funnel $500 million into World Liberty Financial, the Trump family's crypto company, according to a Wall Street Journal report that Fortune cited. A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial confirmed to Fortune that the transaction occurred. In exchange for the investment, a company tied to Sheikh Tahnoon, an Emirati national security advisor often called the "spy sheikh," received 49% equity in the firm. World Liberty Financial was founded in 2024 as a decentralized finance platform that applies banking activities such as lending and borrowing to the blockchain.
The two sheikh lieutenants who signed the World Liberty deal also hold senior positions at G42, an Abu Dhabi-based technology and venture capital firm backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family. When Fortune asked in May whether G42 backed the company, Eric Trump, cofounder of World Liberty Financial, declined to name investors, saying: "we've got some pretty meaningful investors." Separately, G42 senior executive Fiacc Larkin is an advisor to World Liberty Financial, according to his LinkedIn profile, as first reported by the New York Times.
The investment comes amid scrutiny of a landmark AI agreement under which the U.S. agreed to provide advanced AI chip access to G42, a significant AI investor. A World Liberty Financial spokesperson said: "Any claim that this deal had anything to do with the administration's actions on chips is 100% false." White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest." A G42 spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal adds to broader concerns about conflicts of interest tied to the president's policies and his family's crypto businesses, which rely heavily on his likeness and brand. The president and the first lady have both promoted their own memecoins, Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, has expanded into crypto, and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have backed American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining business.
The two sheikh lieutenants who signed the World Liberty deal also hold senior positions at G42, an Abu Dhabi-based technology and venture capital firm backed by the Abu Dhabi royal family. When Fortune asked in May whether G42 backed the company, Eric Trump, cofounder of World Liberty Financial, declined to name investors, saying: "we've got some pretty meaningful investors." Separately, G42 senior executive Fiacc Larkin is an advisor to World Liberty Financial, according to his LinkedIn profile, as first reported by the New York Times.
The investment comes amid scrutiny of a landmark AI agreement under which the U.S. agreed to provide advanced AI chip access to G42, a significant AI investor. A World Liberty Financial spokesperson said: "Any claim that this deal had anything to do with the administration's actions on chips is 100% false." White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said: "President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest." A G42 spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The deal adds to broader concerns about conflicts of interest tied to the president's policies and his family's crypto businesses, which rely heavily on his likeness and brand. The president and the first lady have both promoted their own memecoins, Trump Media & Technology Group, which operates Truth Social, has expanded into crypto, and Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have backed American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining business.
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