It 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.
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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.
It’s not the first time a Trump associate has wrongly claimed to be a billionaire. His old commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, was worth $700 million when he began his gig in 2017—but had been touting himself as a billionaire. Forbes reported at the time that Ross had claimed a “phantom $2 billion” that simply did not exist.
Trump’s transition team declined to comment to the Times about the revelations in its story. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
