Abu Dhabi royal known as ‘spy sheikh’ bought massive stake in Trump

Abu Dhabi royal known as ‘spy sheikh’ bought massive stake in Trump

An Abu Dhabi royal known as the “spy sheikh” reportedly bought a massive stake in the Trump household’s crypto agency for half a billion {dollars} in secret just 4 days before President Trump took workplace.

Two months later, the Trump administration allowed the United Arab Emirates entry to 500,000 of the most superior AI chips each 12 months – a pointy reversal from Biden-era export curbs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan – a bearded, wiry man virtually never seen without his signature darkish sun shades – entered right into a cope with the Trump household to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty Financial, The Journal reported, citing company paperwork and sources.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan secretly bought a massive stake in the Trump household’s crypto agency, according to a report.

The deal – which was signed by Eric Trump, the president’s son – would pay $187 million to the Trump household upfront, according to the Journal.

It would also put aside $31 million for entities affiliated with the household of Steve Witkoff, a World Liberty co-founder and Trump’s longtime {golfing} buddy who was named US envoy to the Middle East just a few weeks prior, according to the report.

Tahnoon – the United Arab Emirates’ national safety adviser and brother to the Gulf monarchy’s president – had been pushing the US for entry to AI chips after the Biden administration sought to limit exports over issues they could possibly be diverted to China.

It raised questions round whether or not the deal violates the emoluments clause of the Constitution, which blocks the president from receiving income from overseas governments by way of his companies, The Journal famous.

Tahnoon’s AI agency G42 had earlier raised issues among American lawmakers for its shut ties to sanctioned Chinese corporations like Huawei, according to the report.

Eric Trump, the president’s son, signed the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. Getty Images

After Trump’s re-election, though, Tahnoon met with Trump, Witkoff and other US officers a number of instances, including a go to to the White House in March, sources told the newspaper.

Just a few months later, the Trump administration granted the UAE entry to 500,000 superior chips yearly – demanding the equal of more than two Hoover Dams value of energy, and sufficient to build certainly one of the largest-ever data middle websites, according to The Journal. 

Roughly one-fifth of those chips had been slated to go to G42, the report said.

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told The Post that Trump’s belongings are in a belief managed by his kids and there are “no conflicts of interest,” and that Witkoff has “spent considerable time away from his family” on his personal dime to advance “goals of peace around the world.”

She accused legacy media shops of spreading lies and “lodging smears” against Trump officers.

Tahnoon met with Trump, Witkoff and other US officers a number of instances, including a go to to the White House in March, sources told The Journal. White House/News Pictures / Shutterstock

“President Trump performs his constitutional duties in an ethically sound manner and to suggest so otherwise is either ill-informed or malicious,” White House counsel David Warrington told The Post.

Warrington said Witkoff has divested from World Liberty Financial and doesn’t “participate in any official matters that could impact his financial interests.”

The 49% stake sale would make Tahnoon’s agency Aryam Investment 1 the largest shareholder in World Liberty Financial, and add two Aryam execs – who also held top roles at G42 – to World Liberty’s five-person board, The Journal reported, citing paperwork.

Tahnoon’s MGX is also concerned in the new TikTok US three way partnership and Stargate, a $500 billion data middle project. through REUTERS

A few weeks before the UAE chips deal was announced in May, World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff – Steve Witkoff’s son – announced that MGX, another Tahnoon-backed company, would use World Liberty’s stablecoin to full a $2 billion funding in Binance.

That helped skyrocket World Liberty’s stablecoin – USD1, which is pegged to the US greenback – up the rankings of the largest stablecoins, according to The Journal.

In October 2025, Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who had pleaded responsible to violating anti-money laundering guidelines. People near UAE royals had been pressuring the Trump administration to pardon Zhao, The Journal reported.

Tahnoon’s MGX is also certainly one of the buyers behind the new three way partnership working TikTok in the US, under a deal negotiated by the Trump administration.

MGX is also certainly one of the buyers backing Stargate, a $500 billion data middle project involving OpenAI and SoftBank that Trump unveiled on his first full day in workplace, however has yet to announce a lot progress.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also raised $1.5 billion for his funding agency in 2024 from a Tahnoon-backed company, according to The Journal.

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