Foreign Investment in Entertainment and Gaming is Under Scrutiny as Probe Into Jared Kushner’s Saudi ties Unfolds, Setting the Wider Context for the Ongoing EA Buyout.
The United States House Judiciary Committee, a group of lawmakers who review legal and oversight issues, has opened an investigation into Jared Kushner’s financial links to Saudi Arabia. The news has piqued attention across entertainment and games, as Saudi funding has become a familiar part of the industry in recent years, notably the EA buyout. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) now holds sizable stakes in several major publishers, and its role in the sector is under examination. The EA buyout sits in the middle of this, with players and analysts worried about the potential impact if a group of investment firms ends up owning some of the biggest names in gaming, including EA and, in turn, Maxis.
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Concerns Raised in the Latest Letter
Representative Jamie Raskin has also written to the US House Judiciary Committee to outline why he believes Jared Kushner’s financial ties to Saudi Arabia need closer review. His letter sets out the concerns behind the new inquiry and explains why the committee should look at how these investments were made. It gives a clearer picture of what lawmakers want to understand as the investigation moves ahead.
Mr. Kushner’s investment firm, Affinity Partners, has amassed approximately $6.16 billion in assets under management—including $1.2 billion in the past year alone—with an extraordinary 99 percent of its funding derived from foreign nationals. These include sovereign wealth funds operated by the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. At the same time, Mr. Kushner has assumed a central role in sensitive geopolitical negotiations across the Middle East and beyond.
Despite explicit public assurances that he would avoid both government service and fundraising during President Trump’s second term, Mr. Kushner has done precisely the opposite. He has inserted himself into the world’s most volatile global conflicts as one of the United States’ chief negotiators all while deepening his financial reliance on, and entanglement with, foreign governments.
Jared Kushner’s Business Interests
Jared Kushner, husband of President Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, founded his investment firm, Affinity Partners, after working as a senior advisor during the first Trump term. One of the firm’s largest investors is the Saudi Arabian PIF, a sovereign fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Other Gulf nations, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, have also invested.
In recent months, Jared Kushner has taken on the role of peace envoy, looking to settle conflicts between Israel and Hamas forces, Russia and Ukraine, and the United States and Iran. Both Israel and Gulf nations (involved in the ongoing illegal war) have sizable investments in Affinity Partners, with analysts arguing that all negotiations are for business rather than peace.
How This Fits Into the EA Buyout
The EA Buyout is unfolding at the same time that questions about outside investment in gaming get louder. Several firms are now looking to take control of EA, and the outcome could affect how studios, such as Maxis, operate in the coming years post-buyout. Earlier this week, creators Lilsimsie and Zefrine hosted a livestream with US Representative Maxwell Frost to raise awareness of the issues studios could face due to the EA buyout and to bring attention to the Players Alliance petition. You can find out more about the petition below.
Have you signed the Player Alliance Petition? Let us know your thoughts below, and stay tuned to Sims Community for all the latest on the EA buyout!
I’m curious as to why people are putting so much effort into stopping the EA buyout. Won’t EA still be a terrible company in the end, both to buy from and to work for, even if the buyout is stopped? I think Sims players should just move on, tbh.