Published 14:39 IST, October 7th 2019
Ivanka Trump, Jared made $82 million while working in White House
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the president’s daughter and son-in-law, earned at least $82 million in outside income while they working for the White house.
According to the recent reports released by the financial disclosure forms on Monday, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner earned at least $82 million in outside income while they worked as the senior White House advisers during 2017. However, Ivanka gained a profit of approximately $3.9 million from her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington and more than $2 million in severance from the Trump Organization, while her husband earned over $5 million in income from Quail Ridge, a Kushner Cos. apartment complex acquired last year in Plainsboro, N.J.
The reports reveal how the couple is earning an enormous amount of money from other enterprises while serving in the White House, an unrealistic income flow that ethics experts warn could lead to potential conflicts of interests. The couple has quit the daily oversight of their companies as they work as unpaid senior advisers to the president.
While Donald’s son-in-law divested some holdings, he and his wife have maintained large stakes in businesses with a domestic and foreign tie. Kushner’s family real estate company has enormous properties spread around the country, including thousands of apartment units in states including New Jersey and Maryland. Apart from properties, Trump’s eponymous clothing and accessories line is produced exclusively in foreign factories in countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China.
Kushner’s assets worth $735 million
According to the previous year’s filings, Kushner’s investments were worth between $179 million and $735 million, while Trump’s assets were valued between about $55.3 million and $75.6 million. However, some of their assets were jointly listed.
As the Office of Government Ethics uses broad ranges for assets and liabilities, it becomes tough to figure out the exact net worth using the forms. In an email statement sent by Peter Mirijanian, the spokesman for Abbe Lowell, Kushner’s and Trump’s ethics counsel, said that the couple have followed all rules and that Monday’s disclosures are an insufficient way to understand the nuances of their net worth.
Mirijanian said that since joining the administration, Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump have complied with the rules and restrictions as set out by the Office of Government Ethics and the current filing which OGE also reviews, their net worth remains largely the same, with changes reflecting more the way the form requires disclosure than any substantial difference in assets or liabilities.
In their last financial disclosure, filed in July 2017, the couple reported jointly making at least $19 million in income from business ventures and $80 million in real estate and other revenue between January 2016 and the first months of 2017.
Updated 16:07 IST, October 7th 2019