Toronto Star

Kushner’s wealth, debt have grown

Records show Donald Trump’s son-in-law has $181 million in assets, up $40 million from 2017

- STEPHEN BRAUN AND BERNARD CONDON

WASHINGTON— Financial disclosure forms show that White House special adviser — and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law — Jared Kushner’s wealth and debt both appear to have risen over the year, an indication of the complex state of his finances and the potential conflicts that confront some of his investment­s.

Disclosure­s issued late Monday by the White House for Kushner and his wife, Trump’s daughter Ivanka, showed that Kushner held assets totalling at least $181 million (U.S.). His previous disclosure filed in April 2017 showed assets in at least the $140-million range.

The financial disclosure­s released by the White House and filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics routinely show both assets and debts compiled in broad ranges between low and high estimates, making it difficult to precisely chart the rise and fall of the financial portfolios of federal government officials.

The White House released the disclosure­s for Kushner and Ivanka Trump on a heavy news day, while the world’s media lavished attention on President Trump’s preparatio­ns to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un for talks over nuclear weapons. The White House had released the president’s own financial report last month.

A spokespers­on for the couple said Monday that the couple’s disclosure portrayed both assets and debts that have not changed much over the past year — and stressed that Kushner and Ivanka Trump have both complied with all federal ethics rules.

“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,” said Peter Mirijanian, a spokespers­on for the couple’s ethics lawyer, Abbe Lowell. “As to 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.”

One of Kushner’s biggest holdings, a real estate tech startup called Cadre that he co-founded with his brother, Joshua, rose sharply in value. The latest disclosure shows it was worth at least $25 million at the end of last year, up from a minimum value of $5 million in his previous disclosure.

The bulk of Ivanka Trump’s assets — more than $50-million worth — was contained in a trust that holds her business and corporatio­ns. That trust generated over $5 million in revenue last year.

She reported a stake in the Trump Internatio­nal Hotel in Washington, D.C., worth between $5 million and $25 million. The hotel has been a focus of lawsuits against the president and ethics watchdogs who say Trump is violating the constituti­on by profiting from his office as diplomats spend big money there.

Kushner and his wife took at least $83 million in income and capital gains last year, according to the disclosure­s.

Kushner’s disclosure also showed that he has assumed growing debt over the past year, both expanding his use of revolving lines of credit and taking on additional debt of between $5 million and $25 million as part of his family company’s purchase last year of a New Jersey apartment complex.

Aseries of interim financial reports last year showed that Kushner had increased lines of credit with Bank of America, New York Community Bank and Signature Bank, each from at least $1 million to $5 million. Such moves do not mean Kushner has yet accumulate­d that debt, but has the ability to do so.

The new disclosure shows Kushner did take on new debt last year with Bank of America worth between $5 million and $25 million — but jointly with other investors in Quail Ridge LLC, a company used for his family firm’s purchase of Quail Ridge, a 1,032-unit apartment community in Plainsboro, N.J., near Princeton.

The disclosure­s also showed that Ivanka Trump owns an interest in that purchase through a family trust.

The disclosure showed that Kushner reported making at least $5 million in income from the developmen­t since Kushner Companies bought the complex in September.

The family business has made a splash with high-profile deals for buildings in New York City in the past decade, but lately has been returning to its roots by buying garden apartments in the suburbs.

Under an ethics agreement he signed when he joined the administra­tion in early 2017, Kushner withdrew from his position as CEO of Kushner Companies. But even as a passive investor, he retains many lucrative investment­s — which ethics critics have warned could raise conflicts of interest.

The family business has made a splash with high-profile deals for buildings in New York City in the past decade

 ?? LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES ?? White House special adviser Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump took at least $83 million in income and capital gains last year, according to disclosure­s.
LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES White House special adviser Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump took at least $83 million in income and capital gains last year, according to disclosure­s.

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