Donald Trump and his allies have pledged to dismantle the Inflation Reduction Act if the former president wins back the White House.
But that could prove costly for Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner, whose investment fund has poured millions into American solar projects.
Kushner’s investment fund, Affinity Partners, gambled on the growth of green energy by putting serious cash into the California solar finance company Mosaic. Its stake in Mosaic is “north of 10 percent,” and Affinity holds a seat on the company’s board, according to a person who was granted anonymity to speak freely about the firm’s portfolio. Its total investment is worth more than $100 million, the person said.
Affinity also co-led a $200 million funding round in 2022 for Mosaic, which has issued more than $14 billion in loans to homeowners.
In contrast, Trump has railed for years against green energy, falsely claiming that wind turbines cause cancer and make whales “crazy” and warning that electric vehicles could unleash a “bloodbath” on the auto industry. And while the presumptive Republican nominee has been less vocal about solar power specifically, he has pledged to halt all spending under the IRA, the 2022 climate law behind the country’s clean energy boom.
“Upon taking office, I’ll impose an immediate moratorium on all new spending, grants and giveaways under the Joe Biden’s mammoth socialist bills like the so-called Inflation Reduction Act,” the former president said last month at a rally in Wisconsin. “We’re going to save all that money. It’s not helping you at all. It’s not doing a thing for you.”
Neither Affinity nor Mosaic responded to requests for comment on the record.
It is unclear how much of Kushner’s own personal fortune — if any — may be tied to the solar project. Kushner’s fund has drawn a flood of investments from outside the U.S., including money from the petro-states Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to reporting in The New York Times.
But as the lead investor in Mosaic, Affinity would have taken the highest stake in the company in the funding round — and would be positioned to reap the highest reward if the company succeeds. Mosaic provides loans for solar projects and sustainable home improvements.
Axios first reported in 2022 on Affinity’s decision to take a stake in Mosaic, a deal later confirmed by outlets including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
It’s telling that both Kushner and some fossil fuel companies are entering the clean energy marketplace, said Andrew Rosenberg, who was a senior official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Clinton administration.
The industry is growing and profitable, he said. But he said he doesn’t expect Kushner — or Trump — to publicly praise clean energy as a viable path for business success.
“The truth is that this is a good thing for them, it’s a good thing for their pocketbooks, it’s a good thing for the country — in terms of jobs — and it’s a necessity for the climate,” Rosenberg said. “Instead of telling people that they’re doing all this stuff, they’re cutting backroom deals and saying, ‘How do I just take all the money and run?’”
Kushner’s investment came as lawmakers were hammering out a final agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act. The final law, which President Joe Biden signed in August 2022, included what was then estimated at about $370 billion in clean energy tax credits and incentives, leading to a boom in solar and wind power projects. More recent estimates by the Joint Committee on Taxation say the tax credits could eventually amount to twice that amount.
Since the law was passed, Mosaic’s clean energy loans have almost doubled.
That means Kushner’s investment fund is at risk of losing money if Trump is elected and tears down government support for the clean energy industry.
Trump has pledged to be a “dictator” on his first day in office in order to boost fossil fuels. He has also referred to the IRA as the “biggest tax hike in history,” and his allies and former administration officials have crafted a detailed plan to do away with the law’s clean energy incentives.
It’s unclear if Trump would go after the solar tax credits that have been a boon for Mosaic.
But Mosaic is a fan of the climate law. The company joined Rewiring America to increase the public’s awareness of the IRA — and it touts its work as a vital tool for combating climate change.
“We know that just like a Mosaic, it will take all of us coming together to achieve our vision — 100% clean energy for all,” the company’s website says.
Kushner’s growing portfolio
Solar energy is in a boom cycle.
The Inflation Reduction Act has spurred $13 billion of private investment into about 80 factories or expanded facilities to produce solar goods, according to the White House. The Solar Energy Industries Association reported that last year, solar energy accounted for more than half of all new electric generating capacity, a 51 percent increase from when the IRA was enacted. The solar industry now employs more than 250,000 Americans.
On the campaign trail in recent months, Trump has barely mentioned solar energy, even as conservative and fossil fuel interest groups expect him to strip the clean energy industry of government support.
Trump’s allies in the conservative movement, including former administration officials, see a second Trump term as an opportunity to expand fossil fuels.
More than 100 conservative groups have joined with the Heritage Foundation to craft Project 2025, a blueprint for a second Trump administration that includes detailed plans to roll back the IRA. It also calls for eliminating renewable energy offices within the Department of Energy as well as other parts of the federal government that support the clean energy industry.
Tom Pyle, a Project 2025 contributor who was on Trump’s Department of Energy transition team, said the former president is not as opposed to solar energy as he is to wind projects.
But he also said the investment from Kushner’s firm didn’t seem large enough to influence Trump’s approach to clean energy.
“It doesn’t feel like a whole lot of money to me, for him to be like, ‘Oh, gosh, I better be nice to solar now,’” Pyle said.
Kushner’s Affinity is almost entirely funded by overseas investors, according to the firm’s most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. In addition to Mosaic, the fund has invested in an Israeli car-leasing firm, a German company that manufactures gym equipment and the operator of the Burger King brand in Brazil.
Most of Affinity’s money, or $2 billion, comes from the government wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, while Qatar and the United Arab Emirates each contributed $200 million, according to The New York Times.
Kusher developed relationships with those countries when he worked for Trump at the White House. And as his investments grow, so do conflict-of-interest concerns.
“Following the laws and the rules is something we always do,” Kushner told The New York Times in April. “Perception, I’ve learned that from my time in politics, is important. But I can’t control what everyone is going to write or say about me.”
Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, said Kushner has shown little regard for avoiding conflicts of interest since he “seemed to potentially leverage the work that he did in the White House for investments.”
“In a kind of common sense way, it seems like a clear conflict of interest,” he said. “He has significant financial interests in different industries and with different countries, and he has a father-in-law who — past experience suggests he’s close to and influential with — is making policy pronouncements that could influence what the United States does in the future and that could drive decisions that other countries or companies make right now.”
