U.S. President Donald Trump has built a business empire spanning real estate, casinos and entertainment. His family’s growing crypto dealings are now facing mounting criticism over conflicts of interest and foreign influence.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser, and his co-investors own a major stake in the company behind that bank. A top United Arab Emirates official holds a stake in the family’s latest venture: a planned crypto bank now drawing scrutiny over foreign ties to a sitting President. Mr. “The shareholder structure of the bank’s holding company, called WLTC Holdings, is the same as World Liberty’s, though Tahnoon and his co-investors used a different entity — called StringZ Holding RSC — for the stake in WLTC. Mr.
Tahnoon and his co-investors own a 49% stake in the bank’s holding company, the Journal reported. An entity affiliated with the Trump family holds a 38% stake,” the Journal said, quoting a source. Tahnoon and others had invested $500 million in World Liberty Financial in January 2025.
“The deal, signed four days before President Trump’s inauguration, steered $263 million to Trump family entities, according to the President’s most recent financial disclosure,” the Journal noted.
Policy shift
Its CEO Zach Witkoff, is the son of Mr. Trump’s West Asia envoy, Steve Witkoff. Other co-founders include Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Barron Trump, Steve Witkoff, and the President himself. This arrangement could blur the line that separates governance and private financial interests. The Trump administration sets policy, and the President’s family and allies benefit financially. These relationships raise fundamental questions: Can a sitting President accept investments from a foreign government official in his companies?
Founded in 2024, World Liberty Financial is at the heart of the Trump’s crypto empire.
