Michael Boulos’ marriage to Donald Trump’s daughter raised his family’s profile. But behind the glamour, the New York Times reveals controversial deals – an overpriced superyacht purchase involving Jared Kushner and a case with a Saudi businessman seeking access to the White House.

It was January 2021, when Michael Boulos, just a few years out of college, knelt in the White House Rose Garden and proposed to Tiffany Trump. The positive response from the daughter of then-president Donald Trump gave the Boulos name new prestige and access to a world of influence. Almost immediately, according to documents, contracts, and messages published by the New York Times, Boulos and his relatives began to profit financially from their new position close to the Trumps.

The superyacht “Solstice” and Jared Kushner

The first case was a family matter. Boulos, then acting as a businessman in his cousin Jimmie Frangi’s yacht brokerage company, identified Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a potential client. The offer: a “deal” on a roughly 50-meter unfinished vessel, with the prospect of renovation and use.

The presentation sent to Kushner in June 2021 quoted a cost of €12.5 million (about $15 million at the time), including a flat brokerage fee of €1 million for the Boulos–Frangi team. “Just to be clear, we’re talking about a $1 million commission?” Kushner reportedly asked, according to transcribed excerpts.

In reality, according to Frangi’s own messages, the company was spending much less on acquiring the yacht. In one message he wrote: “THIS GIVES US 3.5,” implying that the overcharge amounted to about $2.5 million. Company staff even discussed the need to stop Kushner from hiring an independent appraiser: “It will be hard to hide,” one of them noted.

It is unclear whether Boulos knew the full scheme. But the messages show he was actively involved in the process, even pressing when Kushner’s lawyers delayed: “Tiffany and I are furious,” he wrote to associates.

The deal closed in early 2022. Frangi said he made $400,000, while Boulos pocketed around $300,000. Later, according to a court deposition from a third lawyer, Kushner realized he had been overcharged by $2.5 million. He did not publicly comment on the details, but an associate noted that today Boulos is working “very successfully” to find a new buyer for the same yacht, which remains unfinished at Greek shipyards in Perama.

The “Saudi deal” and the $100,000

A few months after the yacht deal closed, in June 2022, Boulos and Frangi met with Saudi businessman Abdulilah Allam in Virginia. Allam, once a major real estate investor, had seen his wealth seized in Riyadh after Mohammed bin Salman’s 2017 “anti-corruption” crackdown.

Frangi, who owed Allam millions, proposed a plan: he would use Boulos’ connections to the Trump family to “soften” the Saudi authorities and help restore Allam’s fortune. In return, his own debts would be cleared and he would secure a stake in new ventures.

Just before the meeting, Frangi texted Allam: “He needs $25,000, I told him it’s a loan.” The message included Boulos’ name and bank account. On the day of the meeting, Allam wired $100,000 into Boulos’ account.

The explanation for the payment shifts depending on who speaks: Boulos’ representative said it was repayment of a debt Frangi owed him. An associate of Allam claimed it was a personal loan. Frangi himself alternated between calling it a loan and debt settlement.

The messages, however, show the strategy was about signaling access: “It would be good to fly with Michael and Tiffany,” Frangi wrote to Allam. “Delete all the messages,” he added in Arabic. Boulos does not appear in those messages and denies any involvement.

In the end, Allam neither received a wedding invitation nor regained his wealth.

The rise of the father and the shadow of power

The publicity of the 2022 Mar-a-Lago wedding also boosted Michael’s father, Massad Boulos. He was presented as a “billionaire” in international media and emerged as a key supporter of Trump’s campaign. After the 2024 election, he was appointed presidential adviser for the Middle East and later a senior State Department official for Africa.

However, a New York Times investigation last year revealed his wealth was in fact rather modest, with his stake in the family trucking company in Nigeria valued at less than… two dollars.