New York: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner took in as much as USD 135 million in revenue during their second year as aides to President Donald Trump, generated from their vast real estate holdings, stocks and bonds and even a book deal, according to their financial disclosures released Friday.
Ivanka Trump's stake in her family's Washington DC hotel down the street from the Oval Office generated USD 3.95 million in revenue in 2018, barely changed from a year earlier.
The hotel, a favourite gathering spot for foreign diplomats and lobbyists, is at the center of two federal lawsuits claiming Donald Trump is violating the Constitution's ban on foreign government payments to the president.
Another big Ivanka Trump holding, a trust that includes her personal business selling handbags, shoes and accessories, generated at least USD 1 million in revenue in 2018, down from at least 5 million the year before. Ivanka Trump announced in July of last year that she planned to close her fashion company to focus on her work as a White House adviser for her father.
The disclosure for her husband, Jared Kushner, shows that he took in hundreds of thousands of dollars from his holdings of New York City apartments and that he owns a stake in the real estate investment firm Cadre worth at least USD 25 million.
The disclosures released by the White House and filed with the US Office of Government Ethics shows minimum revenue for the couple of USD 28 million last year generated from assets valued at more than USD 180 million.
The disclosures filed by federal government officials each year show revenue, assets and debts in broad ranges between low and high estimates, making it difficult to precisely chart the rise and fall of business and financial holdings.
Among the dozens of sources of income for Ivanka Trump was a USD 263,500 book advance for "Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success," published in 2017. Trump has pledged to donate royalties to her charitable fund.
Kushner's holdings of apartment buildings through his family real estate firm, Kushner Cos., were the source of much of his income. Westminster Management, the family business overseeing its rental buildings, generated USD 1.5 million. Separately, one of the family's marquee holdings, the iconic Puck Building in the Soho section of Manhattan, generated as much as USD 6 million in rent.
Among other properties cited in the disclosure was a former warehouse-turned-luxury-condominium in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn that brought in more than USD 350,000 in sale proceeds and rent.
Former and current tenants in the building have filed a suit against the Kushner Cos alleging it used noisy, dusty construction to make living conditions unbearable in an effort to push them out so their apartments could be sold. The Kushner Cos has said the suit is without merit.
Cadre has also drawn conflict-of-interest questions. It launched a fund to take advantage of massive tax breaks by investing in downtrodden areas designated "Opportunity Zones," a Trump administration program pushed by both Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Also, this month the Guardian newspaper reported that Cadre received USD 90 million in foreign funding from an opaque offshore vehicle since Kushner entered the White House. Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell did not immediately respond to an email and phone message seeking comment.
Kushner appears to have cut his debt. He had loans and lines of credit worth at least USD 27 million at the end of last year, down from a minimum value of USD 40 million the previous year. His lenders include Bank of America, Citi Group and Deutsche Bank. Deutsche Bank is also a major lender to President Trump's company and has been subpoenaed by congressional investigators looking into his finances.
Both Kushner and his wife took steps to distance themselves from their businesses before taking on their roles as unpaid White House advisers. Kushner stepped down as CEO of Kushner Cos and sold stakes in many holdings, while Ivanka Trump similarly stepped away from executive roles at her companies.
-AP
