Jared Kushner’s White House Role Complicates Skyscraper Deal
The project would entail stripping the 60-year-old building to its steel structure and adding about 40 floors. It could take until 2025 to complete.
.. Anbang Insurance Group, a big Chinese insurer with strong political and family connections to the government in Beijing, is in advanced talks to provide as much as half of the $2.5 billion in equity for the planned redevelopment.. Mr. Trump and Jared Kushner have taken steps to insulate themselves from potential conflicts of interest. For example, Mr. Kushner has sold his personal stake in 666 Fifth Ave. and dozens of other properties to a trust controlled by other family members... But some ethics experts have said these measures have fallen short.. Kushner Cos. is trying to change the fortunes of a property that looked at one point like a disastrous investment. The company purchased it for $1.8 billion in 2007, just before the real-estate crash. By 2011, the company was struggling to make mortgage payments, raising the possibility of a default.
.. Negotiations with Anbang began after the Chinese company reached out to Jared Kushner, according to people familiar with the negotiations. Since then Mr. Wu has met in New York with Charles Kushner multiple times, according to the people.