Kushner Dispute: Book Alleges $2 Billion Gulf Fund and Hacked iPhone

Jared Kushner rejected a new account alleging he controlled billions of dollars in hidden foreign funds and operated on a compromised iPhone. The claims appear in an excerpt published Thursday in Vanity Fair, taken from a forthcoming book by journalist Matthew Cole. Kushner called the narrative baseless and promised legal action against the author.

The book is titled Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East. It argues that Kushner managed more than $2 billion in slush money from regional leaders to buy influence within the U.S. government. The excerpt details events from his tenure as a senior White House adviser in the first Trump administration, a role where he helped shape policy regarding Israel, the Gulf states, China, and Russia.

The timeline of the allegations begins in 2017. According to the text, Dutch intelligence agents discovered that Russia had hacked Kushner's iPhone. They learned this after turning a Russian spy and subsequently gained access to the device. The report states that the agents could view the screen whenever Kushner used the phone. Their service then captured every image he displayed.

The account describes the spies watching Kushner log into a United Arab Emirates account that had received hundreds of millions of dollars from an Azerbaijani bank. It further claims that Saudi Arabia and the UAE deposited at least $2 billion into accounts tied to Kushner, including one at the Bank of Israel. The authors say these accounts were disguised as government bodies or charities. The funds were supposedly allocated for off-the-books diplomatic goals, such as brokering a peace deal between Israel and Palestine. A person with knowledge of the money reportedly said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman placed roughly $1 billion in one account for Kushner's personal benefit.

Kushner's legal team issued a statement Thursday night denying every claim on the record. Kushner stated that the allegations were completely insane and never happened. He noted that the author provided no bank statements, wire transfer records, account numbers, or transaction dates. His attorney labeled the claims false and defamatory, stating the team plans to pursue legal action without naming the specific parties involved.

The White House directed questions to Steven Cheung, the president's assistant and director of communications. Cheung posted on X that the source book was complete fiction. He described the author as a failed spy thriller writer and said the piece offered only mysterious words from unnamed sources, lacking any evidence or documentation.