How Jared Kushner Sealed The $110 Billion Saudi Arms Deal
It’s the Art of The Deal – Jared Kushner’s version.
The First Son-In-Law showed off his business skills earlier this month while skillfully brokering a huge arms deal with Saudi Arabia, according to The New York Times.
Kushner reportedly played host to a top Saudi delegation on May 1, trying to finalize a $100 billion arms deal. When the going got tough and the price tag seemed a bit high even for the wealthy oil kingdom, Kushner picked up the phone in front of the Saudis, called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn A. Hewson, and got her to cut the price.
Officials speaking to the Times described Kushner’s phone call as “unorthodox” but made clear that there was no legal problem with it. The gesture, which reportedly impressed the Saudi guests, demonstrates how Kushner, like his father-in-law President Trump, has brought the real estate world’s dealmaking practices into high-level White House diplomacy.
For now, it seems to be working, and the deal sealed by Kushner will be formally announced during the president’s visit to Saudi Arabia.
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!