Trump, Carney, and Brookfield: The Billion-Dollar Connection

Trump once needed a favour. Brookfield delivered. Years later, the man who ran Brookfield wants to lead Canada—with Trump’s blessing.

What is the connection between Donald Trump, Mark Carney, and Brookfield Asset Management, and is this why Trump appears to be backing Carney for Prime Minister of Canada?

Let’s look at the facts…

The 2018 Bailout of Jared Kushner by Brookfield

In 2018, Brookfield Asset Management signed a 99-year lease for 666 Fifth Avenue, a Manhattan office tower owned by Jared Kushner's family real estate firm, Kushner Companies. The deal, worth $1.1 billion, was paid upfront, which is highly unusual—if not, unprecedented—in these transactions. However, at the time, Kushner Companies was struggling with $1.2 billion in debt, so this deal effectively bailed them out.

For those who don’t know, Jared Kushner is the son-in-law of Donald Trump, and served as a senior advisor in Trump’s first administration from 2017 to 2021. He played a significant role in Middle East diplomacy and was instrumental in brokering the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations.

Ok, back to this $1.1 billion, 99-year lease… The unusual nature of this deal gets even more bizarre when you realize that Brookfield’s largest investor is the Qatar Investment Authority or the (QIA), a sovereign wealth fund controlled by the Qatari government. Given Kushner’s position in the Trump administration, and his involvement in Middle East diplomacy, this deal now raises red flags about political influence.

However, when the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives began investigating the transaction, Brookfield denied any political influence, claiming the QIA was a passive investor—although some reports suggested otherwise.

And because some reports suggested otherwise, I dug a little deeper… Here’s what I found…. Right before Trump took office, Kushner Companies sought funding directly from Qatar’s QIA for 666 Fifth Avenue, but the request was denied. Shortly after, in June of 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others launched a blockade against Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. The Trump administration backed the blockade, aligning with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Some reports suggest that Kushner may have even actively opposed U.S. efforts to mediate the crisis, which would have increased pressure on Qatar.

Then, all of a sudden, the Trump administration shifted its stance and became more conciliatory toward Qatar. In April 2018, Trump hosted Qatar’s Emir at the White House, reversing his position on the blockade. By June 2018, Qatar’s Sovereign Wealth Fund announced a significant increase in investments in the US, and then just a few short months later, in August of 2018, Brookfield—holding billions of Qatar's investment dollars—signed the 99-year lease for 666 Fifth Avenue, rescuing Kushner Companies from its financial troubles.

So, while there is no concrete proof that Kushner or Trump used US policy as leverage, this sequence of events is highly suspect. To me it looks like Kushner was losing his shirt; the Qataris were not interested, then, through political leverage, they had no choice but to play ball, where Brookfield Asset Management was used as a proxy to avoid a direct conflict of interest. Again, this is just my assessment of the facts.

Brookfield’s Influence Grows

Ok, so Brookfield bails out Trump’s son-in-law with an unprecedented deal while he was serving in the administration—the connection here is quite clear.

Now that we know Brookfield has direct ties to Trump, I thought it would be important to understand how deeply embedded they were in the US economy—Here’s what I found… Brookfield has significant investments in the United States spanning real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy, and private equity.

Their notable real estate includes 666 Fifth Avenue: The Kushner bailout deal. Manhattan West (New York): A $4.5 billion development completed in 2021, featuring 7 million square feet of mixed-use space. And 135 Mobile Home Parks in 13 states, consolidating ownership in this sector.

As for infrastructure and energy, Brookfield operates over 33,000 megawatts of capacity in the US from renewable energy sources. They acquired a significant stake in Westinghouse Electric Company, a nuclear energy provider, for $4.6 billion. Brookfield also owns stakes in US energy infrastructure, including pipelines and storage facilities, supporting fossil fuels alongside renewable energy.

In total, Brookfield manages over $1 trillion in assets globally, with the US accounting for roughly half, or $500 billion, of its portfolio. So it’s safe to say Brookfield is an asset of interest to the US government.

Enter Mark Carney

Alright, now let’s jump to Mark Carney. First, when did Carney join Brookfield? Unlike some reports suggest, Mark Carney was not involved in Brookfield when the Kushner deal was closed. He joined Brookfield Asset Management as vice chair and head of ESG Transition Investing in August of 2020 after leaving the Bank of England. Then in April 2022, Carney became Chairman of the Brookfield Asset Management board.

Now, if you're looking for a recent move by Carney that might have garnered favour with Trump, we can just look to Brookfield officially moving their Headquarters out of Canada to New York. The board, chaired by Carney, unanimously approved the move in late 2024. Carney then signed a letter to shareholders on December 1, 2024, urging them to vote for the reorganization. Now, for some unknown reason, he lied about this, but this was exposed by the Conservative Party shortly after.

Carney resigned from Brookfield on January 15, 2025, before the shareholder vote finalized the process, though the operational shift was already underway, and of course it passed. However, despite Carney exiting the company, it’s crucial to note that he maintains as much as $50 million in deferred shares and stock options in Brookfield.

The Big Question: Is Trump Backing Carney for Business?

So now for the big question: Is it feasible that Trump is supporting Carney because of past and potentially future business?

Let’s do a quick recap to assess the feasibility:

The 2018 Kushner bailout tied Brookfield to Trump’s inner circle during his presidency. As a result, Trump likely views Brookfield—and by extension, Carney—as having supported his family’s interests…because they did.

The decision to move Brookfield's headquarters to New York in 2024, shortly after Trump’s re-election, aligns with his calls for companies to relocate to the US. This move could easily be seen as a win for Trump’s economic agenda, making Carney more appealing in Trump’s eyes.

Brookfield’s substantial US investments, particularly in infrastructure and energy, resonate with Trump’s policy goals. As prime minister, Carney could facilitate cross-border deals that benefit both Brookfield and US interests, such as joint energy projects or trade agreements designed to soften the impact of tariffs.

On the topic of tariffs, a Carney-led government, viewed as business-friendly to the US, would be more appealing to Trump than an adversarial leader like Poilievre. This might explain why some independent media outlets are now suggesting that Carney could "quietly fold" to Trump's tariff demands once in office.

And of course, Trump values loyalty and deal-making, and Carney’s leadership at Brookfield may signal to Trump that Carney is a pragmatic leader who prioritizes economic ties over nationalist resistance—Carney is a globalist, after all.

Trump also recently praised Mark Carney as Canada’s prime minister, not governor of the 51st state. So, yes, it’s very feasible — perhaps even likely — that Trump supports Carney as Canada’s next prime minister. This could also explain why he praised him as a “class act” and described their first call as “extremely productive.”

So now the question is—will Canadians reward Carney for his ties to Trump and his even deeper ties to China, or will they stick with the script that ‘Canada is not for sale’ and vote for Poilievre? Clearly the only leader who will put Canada first.