Massad Boulos (Tiffany Trump's father in-law)

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Mona Pereth
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Joined: 11 Sep 2018
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Location: New York City (Queens)

04 Jan 2025, 9:38 pm

A while back, in a thread about Arab and Muslim Americans and Trump's Middle East policies, I mentioned that Trump now has a Lebanese-American son-in-law, Michael Boulos, the husband of Trump’s youngest daughter Tiffany. I quoted some news stories about Michael Boulos's father Massad Boulos, a Christian Lebanese-American businessman who campaigned for Trump among Arabs here in the U.S.A.

Here is an article published by an American think tank called the Century Foundation, Trump’s Would-Be Lebanon Whisperer, November 20, 2024, speculating on Massad Boulos's possible impact on Trump's foreign policy.

Some very interesting news about Massad Boulos since then. First:

- Trump picks daughter Tiffany's father-in-law Massad Boulos as senior Mideast adviser: "It was the second straight day Trump picked a family member for his team," ABC News, December 1, 2024.
- Massad Boulos picked to be Trump’s senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, Politico, December 1, 2024
- Trump taps Lebanon-born Massad Boulos as Arab and Middle East adviser: "Boulos is the father-in-law of Trump’s daughter Tiffany and led campaign outreach to Arab and Muslim Americans," Al Jazeera, 1 Dec 2024

So, looks like he'll have a significant role. But the Al Jazeera story also says the following about his background:

Quote:
For his part, Boulos has been largely silent on his personal views on the Middle East and has not articulated his own policy positions.

He was born to a politically connected Christian family in Lebanon but moved to Texas as a teenager and eventually joined his family’s business ventures in Nigeria.

While The Associated Press news agency had previously reported that Boulos ran for parliament in Lebanon in 2009, he disputed that account in a recent interview with Newsweek.

He also pushed back that he was “a friend” of Suleiman Frangieh, a Lebanese politician with ties to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad whose presidential ambitions have been backed by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Boulos instead said he was not affiliated with any party in Lebanon but remained “acquainted with most Lebanese Christian leaders”.

Subsequent news stories about him have gotten really odd. For example:

Tiffany Trump’s Father-in-Law Might Be a Bogus Billionaire, Yahoo News, Thu, December 12, 2024:

Quote:
t appears Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law isn’t the ultra-wealthy business guru he’s long been described as.

It was revealed Thursday that Massad Boulos, Donald Trump’s soon-to-be Middle East adviser, spent the last two decades as a truck and machinery salesman for a Nigerian company that profited just $66,000 in 2023, reported The New York Times.

The Gray Lady also investigated multiple reports that tied him to a company named Boulos Enterprises, which is apparently owned by a different family who shares his surname.

The details suggest that Boulos is a far cry from the billionaire business mogul that he’s long been described as.

Boulos has been profiled by international media outlets who have all heralded his business prowess. The Economist, for example, described him last month as being a “successful Lebanese-American businessman largely unknown in the wider world.”

The highly connected 50-something has reveled in being described as a tycoon. The image has also earned him high praise from President-elect Trump, who has called him a “dealmaker.”

Most recently, Boulos claimed to a Times reporter in October that he was the chief executive of a “multibillion-dollar automotive manufacturing and distribution company” in Nigeria.

“It’s accurate to describe the company as a multibillion-dollar?” a Times reporter asked Boulos.

“Yeah,” Boulos replied. “It’s a big company. Long history.”

In reality, however, that company—COA Nigeria PLC—is worth much less.

The Times reported that the company was worth about $865,000 at its current share price. Even more shocking was Boulos’ stake in the business, which filings show is worth a measly $1.53 (yes, less than $2). Records show that Boulos’ father-in-law is COA Nigeria PLC’s owner.

Pressed about his apparent fibs and failures to set the record straight in prior interviews, the Times reported that Boulos claimed he’d merely been confirming what other media outlets had already—incorrectly—written about him.

Boulos’ place in MAGAworld goes back to 2018. That’s the same year his son, Michael, began dating Trump’s youngest daughter. Tiffany, 31, and Michael, 27, got hitched in 2022 and were photographed smiling together at the RNC and at Trump’s election night party.

Trump embraced Boulos on the campaign trail this year, using him to woo Arab-American voters and as an intermediary between the himself and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Boulos was born in Lebanon but moved to Texas as a teenager. He reportedly holds Lebanese, Nigerian, French, and American citizenship, and may soon be one of Trump‘s most integral advisers. His position-in-waiting, Middle East adviser, does not require Senate approval, but is sure to be a critical role given the instability in the region.

Boulos’ wife, Sarah Fadoul Boulos, comes from money. He told the Times that “any significant wealth” of his is the result of his relationship with her, though he reportedly has tried to launch a number of business ventures—an “erotic drink” manufacturer, construction companies, and a restaurant—that haven’t appeared to pan out.


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