Kushner’s sister touts family ties in pitch to Chinese investors
BEIJING — Jared Kushner says he has stepped away from the day-to-day business of his family’s real estate company while he serves as a senior adviser to his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.
But Kushner’s relatives are working feverishly to solicit overseas money for projects in the United States, and they are highlighting their ties to Kushner as they court investors.
Kushner’s sister, Nicole Meyer, on Saturday made a pitch to attract $150 million in financing for a Jersey City, N.J., housing development, known as One Journal Square, to more than 100 Chinese investors gathered at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Beijing.
The money would be provided through a much-criticized government program known as EB-5 that awards f o re i g n i nve s t o r s a pat h to citizenship in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in U.S. development projects.
Speaking in a ballroom, Me y e r s a i d t h e p r o j e c t “means a lot to me and my entire family.” She mentioned her brother’s service as chief executive of Kushner Cos., the family business from which he resigned in January, saying he had left to serve in the Trump administration.
The projec t was advertised to Chinese investors as the latest offering from the “star Kushner real estate family.” The project, which includes two towers, 1,476 luxury apartments and even a medical center for pets, was promoted as “Kushner 1.” Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2018.
R i s a He l l e r, a s p o ke s - woman for Kushner Cos., declined to comment.
Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, has become a central voice on China, serving as a conduit bet ween Beijing and Washington.
A s a b u s i n e s s man, h e courted Chinese firms, most notably Anbang Insurance Group, the financial firm linked to members of the country’s ruling Communist Part y. In March, Kushner Cos. said it had ended talks with Anbang for an investment in its headquarters at 666 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan. The potential deal raised eyebrows because of its favorable terms for the Kushners, who are seeking help with the troubled property.
Even as Kushner seeks to keep a distance from the family business in his new role, his persistent ties to the company have come under scrutiny.
He remains the beneficiary of a series of trusts that own his stakes in Kushner Cos. properties and other investments, worth as much as $600 million. Since his move into politics, he has divested his stakes in dozens of other entities used to hold the investments, although he has held on to the vast majority.
Kushner’s government ethics disclosure form shows he was a manager at or president of six entities associated with the Jersey City project until January. He divested his stake in one of them, K One Journal Square LLC, in January.
Government ethics experts have criticized Kushner for retaining an interest in the business, given his broad White House portfolio.