Kushners nearing tower sale to Qatar-tied company

NEW YORK — The company controlled by the family of White House adviser Jared Kushner is close to receiving a bailout of its financially troubled flagship building by a company with ties to the government of Qatar, according to executives briefed on the deal.

Charles Kushner, head of the Kushner Cos., is in advanced talks with Brookfield Properties over a partnership to take control of the 41-story tower at 666 Fifth Ave., according to two real estate executives briefed on the pending deal but not authorized to discuss it. Brookfield is a publicly traded company, headquartered in Canada, one of whose major investors is the Qatar Investment Authority.

Kushner and his son Jared, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, bought the office tower 11 years ago for a record-setting $1.8 billion. But the building today only generates about half its annual mortgage payment, and 30 percent of the 41-story tower is vacant.

The deal with Brookfield is likely to raise Jared Kushner further concerns about Jared Kushner’s dual role as a White House point person on the Middle East and a continuing stakeholder in the family’s company. Kushner earlier this year lost his topsecret security clearance amid concerns that foreign governments could attempt to gain influence with the White House by doing business with the Kushner Cos.

Although he resigned as chief executive of the company when he joined the White House in January 2017, Kushner retained most of his stake in the firm. He shed some of the assets — including his stake in 666 Fifth Ave. — by selling them to a trust controlled by his mother. His real estate holdings and other investments are worth as much as $761 million, according to government ethics filings.

The Kushner Cos. and Brookfield both declined to comment, and the White House and the Qatar Investment Authority did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Qatar Investment Authority is the secondlargest shareholder in Brookfield Properties, ranking only behind Brookfield’s former parent company. And the Qatar fund and Brookfield have teamed up on several real estate deals in the United States and elsewhere in recent years.