New book makes fiery claims about Jared Kushner’s finances in Trump’s first term

Key points

• Matthew Cole's book alleges Kushner was linked to two Gulf-funded bank accounts during Trump's first term.
• Kushner denies the claims as 'completely insane' and has threatened legal action against the publisher.
• The book says the accounts were meant to fund Middle East policy goals for Trump's benefit.

A new book by author Matthew Cole, titled Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East, was released in the US this week and has sparked a political and media firestorm. An excerpt published by Vanity Fair last Thursday drew a furious response from Jared Kushner, who called its claims 'completely insane'.

The book contains allegations about Kushner's financial dealings during Donald Trump's first term, including claims linking him to huge bank accounts allegedly funded by Gulf states. Kushner has demanded that Vanity Fair retract the excerpt and has threatened legal action against the book's publisher, Simon & Schuster.

Allegations in the book

Cole reports that the top intelligence official in the United Arab Emirates, Ali Al Shamsi, called Kushner 'the most expensive employee we've ever had'. The book details alleged payments into two 'slush fund' bank accounts allegedly set up for Kushner by Emirati prince Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Arabian prince Mohammed bin Salman during Trump's first term.

According to Cole, the accounts were partially managed by Kushner on an iPhone hacked by Russian and Dutch intelligence. He claims the 'Alpha' account held roughly $750m at First Abu Dhabi Bank and the 'Beta' account contained roughly $1bn, moved to the Israeli Central Bank via Azerbaijan. Cole's sources are predominantly anonymous and he does not print images of emails or other documentation to support his reporting.

The central allegation in this book is categorically false. These are not questions of interpretation or competing recollections: there are no bank accounts. They don't exist.

— Chad Mizelle

Kushner's response

Kushner denied the claims on X, writing: 'We denied every one of these claims on the record, yet the author failed to provide a single shred of evidence to substantiate any of them.' He added that during the period in question he was one of the most scrutinized people in the world and that none of the allegations ever surfaced because none of the events happened.

Kushner's attorney Alejandro Brito told Cole that any allegation Kushner knew of, had access to, or engaged in conduct related to any government-funded or government-linked bank account is 'totally false and defamatory', and that 'there are no accounts and never were'. Chad Mizelle, identified as Jared's attorney, said on X that the central allegation is categorically false and that there are no bank accounts. The Guardian contacted Kushner's legal counsel and the Saudi and Emirati embassies for comment and received no response.