The Path to Nuclear War is Littered with Real Estate
I wasn't going to write anything tonight because I'm supposed to be working, but I thought I'd check just one thing, one tiny little detail as pertains to the current conflict in Iran: what's at stake for Donald Trump? Not on a country level, or even oil, but personally. What does he care? He's always leaned more towards in-fighting, and this worldly stuff feels well above his paygrade and SAT scores. So why?
(I never went back to work.)
I started with the kids, namely Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. They have more money than God, and certainly more money than the President, but I was curious where it goes, what it looks like on paper, and why they might care about what happens to Iran. Turns out, Kushner owns an investment firm out of Miami called "Affinity Partners" that dabbles in Israeli shareholding. (Israel led the current conflict with Iran on June 12th.) As a result, Kushner's company is the biggest shareholder for Phoenix Holdings, a multi-line insurance and investments products firm out of Givatayim, as well as Shlomo Holdings, which invests in automotive, real estate, and shipyards, out of Nir Tzvi. Lastly, he invested $150 million in Dubizzle, an online classified, located in Dubai. All seemingly innocuous buys pre-inauguration, but Kushner's investments could become an increasing conflict of interest as the U.S. begins a campaign against Iran.
Trump and his sons are no strangers to the Middle East either. They have an international golf club and hotel being built in Dubai, a luxury golf resort being built in Doha, Qatar, three projects being built in Saudi Arabia, and a half-billion-dollar international hotel slated for completion in Muscat, Oman.
But there's one person we can't leave out of the equation, someone who's recently gone radio-silent, as it were. And that's Elon Musk. "Why?" you ask. "Didn't he get fired? Isn't he gone?" No, I doubt he's gone. But his Twitter page is all Tesla ads and happy employees, boosting morale around robotic taxis. And I, for one, don't believe a word of it. Because after Elon finally said the thing we all knew, and we had our little dance parties in the grocery store and called our best friends to celebrate, he went back in his hole and disappeared. Even with the "Big Beautiful Bill" on the line, something he's fought against incessantly due to its affect on his businesses, nothing. Absolute (relative) silence.
But here's why.
You see, Elon Musk has a Starlink deal with Saudia Arabia. He also has a Tesla Deal. Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal own stakes in Musk's artificial intelligence startup, xAI. And his Boring Company has proposed an underground road network in the capital of Saudi Arabia, and is partnering with Dubai to build a 17km underground tunnel system called the "Dubai Loop." Vy Capital, a secretive investment firm out of Dubai, has invested in at least five different companies owned by Musk. Meanwhile, SpaceX provides launch services for Emirati satellites and is in discussions with Emirates Airlines, and Neuralink is holding clinical trials in Abu Dhabi at the Cleveland Clinic, focusing on brain chips.
So there's a lot at stake, but not as far as the people of the United States are concerned. It's not about gas and oil, safety, or really even about supporting Israel. It's about land, and money, and property, and ties. Everything Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, and Elon Musk owns is cozied up to Iran, and in countries that could care less about the civilians who live there.
So when you call your Representative asking for change, for consequences, for impeachment, be sure to mention real estate and what's at stake for the Trump Administration and their closest allies.
Because it's not you and I they're worried about. It's cash.
Ellie is an author, editor, and owner of Red Pencil Transcripts, and works with filmmakers, podcasts, and journalists all over the world. She lives with her family just outside of New York City.
Thank you for doing this work. I am not at all surprised by these connections, but would have no clue as to how to find these details. His grifts have nothing to do with the U.S., but everything to do with himself, property and $$$$. He’s the same con man he always was!
This is insane. HOW is this not THE thing everyone is talking about? Once upon a time, this would have been the only story on the news. This makes prior scandals like Watergate, seem like a nursery rhyme.