Lebanese-born, controversial real estate investor, founder of Colony Capital, and former adviser to Donald Trump, with whom he is linked by a long-standing friendship is Tom Barak, who is expected to settle in Ankara as the new United States ambassador to Türkiye.

Donald Trump announced his choice in a post on his Truth Social account, calling Barack a “respected and experienced voice of reason in both political and business circles”.

Barack is another choice Donald Trump made from his inner circle. It has already been announced that the next US ambassador to France will be Charles Kushner, father of the president-elect’s son-in-law, who was previously jailed for fraud, but was granted a pardon by his father-in-law.

Real estate investments

Barak, 77, is the grandson of Lebanese immigrants in Los Angeles. He was born in 1947 and grew up in Southern California. He was educated at the University of Southern California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate in law from the University of San Diego.

His professional career began at the firm of Herbert W. Kalmbach, personal attorney to Richard Nixon. He then found himself in Saudi Arabia, where he eventually learned Arabic and worked for several years as counsel to the king’s sons.

In 1991, Barak founded Colony Capital to buy troubled real estate loans from failed banks. His company has invested in various sectors, including real estate in the Middle East and non-performing loans in Germany. One of his rather unusual investments is Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch and a $24 million loan to the famous photographer Annie Liebowitz.

Friendship with Donald Trump and accusations of undeclared lobbying

Barak is known for his close relationship with Donald Trump, with whom he has had a business partnership in the past. In the 2016 presidential election, he was a senior adviser to his campaign, and in 2017 he was chairman of the inaugural committee.

Since January 2017, he has served as an adviser to administration officials on U.S. policy in the Middle East.

In 2021, Barak was accused of illegally lobbying for the government of the United Arab Emirates without being declared. After a six-week trial, he was acquitted of the charges in 2022. During the proceedings, he insisted he never did anything wrong. In his plea, he said he wanted better U.S. relations with Gulf countries and that he interacted with Emirati officials and their intermediaries as part of his role as head of Colony Capital.

In the past, Barak was reportedly a friend of billionaire pedophile Geoffrey Epstein, who committed suicide in prison after being convicted of sex offenses.

Barak’s appointment comes at a critical time for US-Turkish relations, as both sides have disagreed over US support for the Syrian Kurds, as well as on the issue of Türkiye’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defense system.