Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy speaks during a dinner with President Donald Trump and other business leaders in August 2018, at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. A member of the Qatari royal family invested roughly $50 million in Newsmax, according to documents and representatives for the media company and the royal, in a moment of acute Middle East tensions during the Trump administration.
Among the documents were internal forms prepared by Genesis that proposed the corporate structure would be “set up with the intention of benefiting the State of Qatar.” They depicted Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, the younger brother of the ruler of Qatar and vice chairman of the country’s sovereign wealth fund , as the “option beneficiary,” a term for a person who would take control of the structure under certain circumstances.
Though it was not mentioned by name, Heritage was described in the January federal indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez as having “ties to the Government of Qatar.” The indictment alleges that a Qatari government official associated with the investment firm provided Menendez’s family members with tickets to the Formula One race in Miami. The Post hasthat the unnamed firm in the indictment matches the description of Heritage. The firm is not accused of wrongdoing.
to target a Gen Z audience and co-founded by William Lewis, who became publisher of The Post this year. “Newsmax deal is incredible for Qs,” Cox wrote to Allaham roughly two weeks after the article appeared online. “Literally is a game changer.” For much of Trump’s time in office, Ruddy was a rare on-the-record source for journalists about the president’s views. In doing so, he became a recognizable Trump “insider” even though some people close to the former president, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations, said that Ruddy’s influence with Trump was always more of an illusion cultivated by the Newsmax CEO than a reality.
Qatar routinely touts its tens of billions of dollars in investments in American businesses, which serve to both diversify its economy and bolster its stature and influence in the U.S. capital. Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, for example, has made major investments in U.S. real estate and bought a 5 percent stake last year in the company that owns Washington’s professional basketball and ice hockey teams.
Qatar is also the primary funder of Al Jazeera, one of the most influential media networks in the Arab world. In February 2021, following Sultan’s investment in Newsmax, Al Jazeera launched a right-leaning outlet called “Rightly,” which was meant to attract American conservative viewers. The outlet ended operations in December 2021.