Trump Says He Knows Nothing About World Liberty UAE Stake

President Donald Trump confirmed that he co-owns World Liberty Financial but said he knows "nothing about it" when pressed on the crypto company's UAE-linked investors, in a CBS 60 Minutes interview published Nov. 8.

The interview was recorded at the White House on Friday, Nov. 6. It was Trump's first sit-down since Tuesday's midterms, in which Republicans lost both the House and the Senate, handing Democrats control of congressional committees and their subpoena power.

"My sons run the company"

Interviewer Ross Douthat asked why Trump's ties should be viewed differently from a hypothetical Biden family arrangement. Trump answered:

"Because I know nothing about it."

He then said, "I have a company. My sons run the company," and argued his sons should not be barred from doing business during his presidency. Pressed on why he does not divest, he pointed to his investments through Wall Street firms and index funds and asked, "how do you divest from cash?"

Asked whether foreign investors think they are buying influence, Trump said "I don't know" and noted that presidents have faced the issue "going back to George Washington." He said earlier presidents owned "whatever crypto was at the time," citing oil. When Douthat cited a Forbes report that Trump's net worth has risen by $3 billion since he returned to office, Trump replied that "so did everyone."

CBS has published the full transcript.

The UAE investment

Abu Dhabi-based Aryam Investment 1, backed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, agreed to buy a 49% stake in World Liberty for $500 million days before the January 2025 inauguration, the Wall Street Journal reported. Eric Trump reportedly signed the deal. About $187 million of the initial $250 million payment went to Trump family entities, and at least $31 million went to entities tied to the family of Steve Witkoff.

Trump also denied knowing about the investment when asked in February, saying then that his sons handle the crypto business. World Liberty's website lists DT Marks DEFI LLC as holding about 38% of the equity interests in the project's parent company.

Sun challenges the filings

The UAE ownership has also surfaced in court. Justin Sun is seeking about $264,000 in sanctions against World Liberty and its lawyers in his suit over frozen WLFI tokens. He alleges the company first disclosed only Florida citizenship, then amended its filing after an August hearing to list 22 entities with citizenship in Florida, Delaware, Puerto Rico and the UAE. Sun says World Liberty is using its UAE citizenship to challenge federal jurisdiction.

Sun said:

"World Liberty was proudly American when it was selling tokens. It discovered its UAE roots only when it needed a way out of an American federal courtroom."

World Liberty's attorneys said they only recently learned of the additional citizenship information. Sun plans to refile in state court.

Legal and political exposure

In October, Circle shareholder J. Benjamin Greenberg sued Trump, World Liberty and associated parties under the Foreign Emoluments Clause. World Liberty and the White House rejected the allegations, Circle distanced itself from the suit, and no court has found a constitutional violation.

Lawmakers have already started asking questions. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in August over UAE access to advanced US technology, citing the World Liberty investments. Sen. Richard Blumenthal has set a Jan. 4, 2027 deadline for Binance, Tether, World Liberty and Fight Fight Fight LLC to voluntarily produce records. He lacks subpoena power as ranking member, but his office now calls him the incoming chair of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Mike Katz, a partner at Manatt, predicted that congressional committees would examine World Liberty. "I think they're gonna be looking for self-dealing," he said.

The token is under pressure as well. WLFI is down more than 66% this year, and World Liberty announced a buyback on Nov. 5.