Christopher Ruddy
founder and CEO, Newsmax
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/26/qatar-newsmax-investment/
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had established a diplomatic and economic blockade against Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups across the Middle East
President Donald Trump initially sided with its regional rivals, praising their move in 2017 and criticizing Qatar for funding terrorism.
In 2019 and 2020, Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani, a former Qatari government official and the owner of a London-based investment fund, Heritage Advisors, invested in Newsmax. The investment has not been previously reported.
Before and after the investment, senior newsroom leaders urged Newsmax staff to soften coverage of Qatar
Newsmax and Heritage Advisors confirmed the investment after being presented with documents detailing the transaction, which show that Sultan subsequently transferred his stake to a Cayman Islands-based corporate structure. The $50 million investment represents a significant minority stake in Newsmax, a privately held media company estimated to be worth between $100 million and $200 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Genesis Trust, a Cayman Islands-based financial services provider
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, the younger brother of the ruler of Qatar and vice chairman of the country’s sovereign wealth fund (QIA), as the “option beneficiary,” a term for a person who would take control of the structure under certain circumstances.
Ruddy’s relationship with Trump was a major selling point as his representatives attempted to secure a large investment from Qatar. A short biography of Ruddy sent by Cox to Allaham in advance of a dinner with the Qatari defense minister in January 2018 describes Ruddy as “one of President Trump’s best friends and the President’s most trusted private advisor,” and goes on to say that Ruddy “maintain[s] walk in privileges at the Oval Office and he privately dines with the President several times a month.”
Qatari government paid over $460,000 during Trump’s presidency to Trump World Tower in New York City for properties it owned, and in 2018 members of Qatar’s ruling family spent more than $280,000 at Washington, D.C.’s Trump International Hotel.
http://linkedin.com/in/christopherruddy
Christopher Ruddy is founder and CEO of Newsmax, which raised funding from sovereign wealth fund of Hamas safe-haven Qatar.
