Special envoy; co-founder, World Liberty Financial
17
dated entries
8
records
3
of our stories
The card
What the record shows
Steve WitkoffSpecial envoy; co-founder, World Liberty Financial
About $107 million in 2025 income from the holding company behind World Liberty Financial, per his own 2026 disclosure
The President's envoy to the Middle East and Ukraine co-founded the Trump family's crypto company with his son Zach, who runs it. His 2026 financial disclosure reported nearly $107 million in 2025 income from the WLF holding company while he negotiated with Gulf governments whose investors hold stakes in it.
Response: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Witkoff "fully divested from World Liberty Financial" and that his prior business is "completely unrelated" to his work.
Holding office, or a family name, is not a crime. This page says only what the sources say, and carries the response where one was given. Every story we have filed that names Steve Witkoff: Steve Witkoff in the news.
In the timeline
Every entry that names Steve Witkoff
17 dated entries from the Grift Files timeline, oldest first, each with its source.
World Liberty 'Gold Paper': Trump company gets 75% of net token revenue, no liability
The family
World Liberty Financial's 13-page 'Gold Paper' said a Delaware company tied to Donald Trump, DT Marks DEFI LLC, would receive 75% of the project's net protocol revenue, and that the Trump family would get 22.5 billion WLFI tokens. The document said Trump and his family were not directors, employees or operators of the company and assumed no liability. The remaining 25% went to a company owned by co-founders Chase Herro and Zachary Folkman, with half of that pledged to an affiliate of Trump ally Steve Witkoff.
The response: World Liberty Financial did not respond to CNBC's request for comment; the Trump campaign referred questions to the Trump Organization, which did not respond.
Don Jr. and partners open 'Executive Branch,' a $500,000 private club blocks from the White House
$500,000 membership feeThe family
Donald Trump Jr., Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk of 1789 Capital, and Alex and Zach Witkoff, sons of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, launched a members-only club in Georgetown called Executive Branch. The fee is $500,000 plus undisclosed annual dues, membership is by referral and screened by the founders, and some applicants reportedly offered $1 million. Founding members were said to include David Sacks, the Winklevoss twins and Chamath Palihapitiya.
The response: A person close to the club told CNBC the club does not want media or lobbyists as members so members can talk in privacy.
Trump Jr. and the Witkoff sons open a $500,000-a-head club blocks from the White House
$500,000 membership feeThe family
Donald Trump Jr., his 1789 Capital partners Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk, and Alex and Zach Witkoff, sons of Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, co-founded Executive Branch, a private members' club in Georgetown with a $500,000 initiation fee plus undisclosed annual dues. Founding members reportedly included White House crypto czar David Sacks and the Winklevoss twins; a launch party drew administration officials. CNBC reported a waiting list before it opened.
Abu Dhabi's MGX uses Trump family stablecoin USD1 for $2 billion Binance investment
$2BThe family
At a crypto conference in Dubai, World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff, on a panel with Eric Trump, said USD1 had been 'selected as the official stablecoin' to close MGX's $2 billion investment in Binance. MGX is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE national security adviser. USD1 is issued on Binance's blockchain, and Reuters found an anonymous wallet had received about $2 billion of USD1 between April 16 and 29. World Liberty earns interest on the Treasury bills backing every dollar of USD1 in circulation.
The response: Trump's company says he has handed asset management to his children and has no role in day-to-day decisions (Reuters).
Democrats call MGX deal a 'staggering' conflict; Waters walks out of crypto hearing
The public
Senators Jeff Merkley and Elizabeth Warren asked the Office of Government Ethics to investigate the MGX-Binance-USD1 deal, which they said could indirectly pay the Trump and Witkoff families hundreds of millions of dollars and might violate the Emoluments Clause. The next day Rep. Maxine Waters blocked a joint House hearing on crypto legislation, saying 'I object to this joint hearing because of the corruption of the President of the United States,' and Senate Democrats introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act to bar the President and his family from profiting from digital assets.
The response: White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly: 'President Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.'
Nasdaq firm ALT5 Sigma raises $1.5 billion to buy WLFI; Eric Trump joins its board
$1.5BThe family
ALT5 Sigma announced a $1.5 billion stock sale to build a treasury of World Liberty's WLFI tokens, with World Liberty as lead investor paying in tokens. Zach Witkoff became ALT5's chairman and Eric Trump was named a director, later downgraded to a non-voting board observer to satisfy Nasdaq rules. Securities filings showed World Liberty would receive ALT5 shares in exchange for $750 million of WLFI. ALT5's shares fell 8% on the news and later collapsed.
Witkoff family threatens to sue the Times over report on Qatar's money in their deals
$623MThe circle
A Sept. 26, 2025 New York Times investigation, "Where Mideast Envoy Pitched Peace, His Son Pitched Investors," reported that Qatar's sovereign wealth fund invested in several Witkoff projects, including buying the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South from the Witkoff Group and Mubadala for about $623 million in 2023, and that son Alex Witkoff pitched a real-estate fund to Qatar while his father negotiated with Qatar as Trump's envoy. A former Qatar lobbyist told the Times he suggested the investments as a way to reach Trump. The Witkoffs' lawyer, Timothy Parlatore, sent a letter Oct. 2 calling the article a "baseless narrative of impropriety" and demanding corrections.
The response: The Witkoffs' lawyer said the Park Lane loans were non-recourse, Qatar was a mezzanine investor that also lost money, and the fund was dropped for market reasons; the Times corrected one lender's name.
Pakistan signs a deal to explore USD1 as Zach Witkoff meets the prime minister and army chief
The circle
Pakistan's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority announced a memorandum of understanding with SC Financial Technologies, a Delaware company that co-owns the USD1 brand with World Liberty and is also run by Zach Witkoff, to explore bringing USD1 into Pakistan's regulated payments system. During the visit Witkoff, son of the U.S. special envoy, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the finance minister and Field Marshal Asim Munir. It followed an April 2025 letter of intent with the Pakistan Crypto Council and was described as World Liberty's first agreement with a sovereign state.
The response: Pakistan's regulator said the MoU does not commit the country to adopting USD1 and is exploratory. The Block said World Liberty had not responded to its request for comment.
WSJ: UAE 'spy sheikh' secretly bought 49% of World Liberty for $500 million before inauguration
$500MThe family
The Wall Street Journal reported that Aryam Investment 1, an Abu Dhabi entity backed by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, signed a deal to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, with Eric Trump signing four days before his father's inauguration. The stake was never disclosed; about $187 million went to Trump family entities and at least $31 million to Witkoff family entities, with half paid up front. Months later the administration approved sales of hundreds of thousands of advanced Nvidia chips to the UAE, a fifth of them to Tahnoon's company G42, whose executives took World Liberty board seats.
The response: White House counsel David Warrington said 'the President has no involvement in business deals that would implicate his constitutional responsibilities.' Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said there are no conflicts of interest and that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. World Liberty spokesman David Wachsman confirmed the deal but said 'neither President Trump nor Steve Witkoff had any involvement whatsoever in this transaction' and denied any link to the chip decision.
Congress asks Zach Witkoff about a UAE royal's secret $500 million stake in World Liberty
$500MThe circle
After The Wall Street Journal reported that aides to Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE's national security adviser, secretly signed a deal four days before the inauguration to buy 49% of World Liberty Financial for $500 million, paying half up front and "steering $187 million to Trump family entities," the ranking Democrat on the House Select Committee on China wrote to WLF co-founder Zach Witkoff demanding records. The letter notes WLF is majority-owned by the Trump family, which takes 75% of profits, with a significant stake held by affiliates of Zach Witkoff and his father, the President's Middle East envoy, and says the UAE later used WLF's USD1 stablecoin for a $2 billion investment in Binance.
The response: World Liberty Financial has repeatedly dismissed conflict-of-interest concerns (per ABC News); the letter records no response from WLF.
Senators question a Gaza reconstruction stablecoin that could benefit World Liberty
The circle
Senators Merkley, Warren, Van Hollen and Sanders wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio about reports that the Trump-backed 'Board of Peace,' whose members include Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, might create a dollar-backed stablecoin for Gaza's reconstruction. They asked whether World Liberty Financial, which sells its own stablecoin, would have a role, and requested answers by April 24, 2026.
Zach Witkoff: $4 billion of USD1 in circulation; 'I don't spend my time thinking about' conflicts
$4BThe circle
On CNBC's Squawk Box, World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff said more than $4 billion of USD1 was in circulation with over $1 billion in daily trading, and that this refuted the charge that the stablecoin is a vehicle to send money to the Trump family. CNBC noted Trump's disclosure showed about $515 million in income from World Liberty token sales and $65 million from equity sales in 2025, and that the family was reportedly entitled to roughly $500 million from the ALT5 Sigma deal, whose shares later plunged.
The response: Witkoff said he has 'never talked to' Trump about business, and on conflict-of-interest charges: 'I don't spend my time thinking about those things.'
Disclosures show envoy Steve Witkoff earned nearly $107 million from World Liberty in 2025
$107MThe circle
Financial disclosures obtained by a government watchdog showed that Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, received nearly $107 million in 2025 from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial, the firm he co-founded with Trump and their families. World Liberty had said in May 2025 that Witkoff was divesting and had no financial interest in its deals; a court filing says he retained an interest through at least August 2025.
The response: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News that Witkoff has 'fully divested from World Liberty Financial.'
Envoy Witkoff reports $107 million from the holding company behind the Trump crypto venture
$107MThe circle
Steve Witkoff's 2026 financial disclosure, obtained by a watchdog group, shows nearly $107 million in 2025 income (about $69 million cash and $38 million in crypto, per The Wall Street Journal) from a holding company tied to World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm he co-founded with Trump and both families; the same company paid him $34 million the year before. The filing also lists $120 million from selling a stake in the Witkoff Group as part of divestiture planning, more than $400 million in assets and more than $250 million in total 2025 income. WLF, run day to day by his son Zach and Trump's three sons, said in May 2025 that he was divesting; the disclosure does not say when that was completed. Trump himself reported $526 million from WLF token sales.
The response: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly: Witkoff "fully divested from World Liberty Financial" and his prior commercial activities are "completely unrelated" to his work ending global conflicts.
Federal lawsuit says UAE crypto deals worth $2.5 billion are illegal foreign emoluments
$2.5BThe President
J. Benjamin Greenberg, a Circle shareholder and former employee, sued Trump, World Liberty Financial, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and four related LLCs in U.S. District Court in Washington. The 70-page complaint says the $500 million sale of 49% of World Liberty to a Tahnoon-backed entity days before the inauguration, and the $2 billion USD1 purchase by a Tahnoon-chaired Abu Dhabi fund, violate the Constitution's Foreign Emoluments Clause; it asks the court to declare the profits unconstitutional, force disclosure of other foreign crypto payments and order the money returned. Circle says it did not initiate or join the suit.
The response: White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called it 'yet another frivolous lawsuit' and said 'There are no conflicts of interest.' World Liberty counsel Bill Burck: 'This sounds more like a partisan press release than a lawsuit.' World Liberty spokesperson David Wachsman: 'World Liberty Financial is compliant with all U.S. laws and regulations.'
First emoluments lawsuit of the second term: $2.5 billion in UAE crypto money
$2.5BThe President
A Circle Internet Group shareholder sued Trump, World Liberty Financial, envoy Steve Witkoff and four Trump LLCs in federal court in Washington (Case 1:26-cv-03686). The complaint says a UAE-linked entity bought 49% of World Liberty for $500 million days before the inauguration and an Abu Dhabi state fund bought $2 billion of the Trump stablecoin, both "illegal foreign emoluments" that flowed millions to Trump. It asks the court to declare the profits unconstitutional and order them returned.
The response: World Liberty counsel Bill Burck called the suit "more like a partisan press release than a lawsuit"; White House spokesperson Anna Kelly called it "yet another frivolous lawsuit" and said there are no conflicts of interest (CNBC).
Record $6.3 billion Binance hack; World Liberty freezes $27 million of USD1; Trump: 'it's a hack'
$6.3BA donor
Binance, whose pardoned founder Zhao remains a major shareholder, said about $6.3 billion was stolen from its hot wallets in the largest crypto heist ever, which analysts tied to North Korea. World Liberty co-founder Zach Witkoff confirmed about $27 million of USD1 was frozen and BitGo moved to freeze USD1 at an address that received stolen funds. At a Friday press conference Trump said he was looking into it and that Binance says customers will get their money back, adding 'But it's a hack.' The stalled CLARITY Act, held up partly over Trump's crypto holdings, returned to debate.
The response: Binance said it would 'cover all losses.' Zhao: 'As a shareholder, I expect all user funds will be fully covered.'
8 records you can open and read yourself: financial disclosures, securities filings, court dockets, budget-office estimates, Treasury figures and congressional reports. Every link goes to the official copy or the original report.
The Foreign Emoluments Clause lawsuit over the $500 million UAE stake and the $2 billion USD1 purchase; lays out the ownership chain from Abu Dhabi to Trump family LLCs.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (PDF hosted by CNBC) · 70 pages
Congressional demand for details of the UAE purchase of 49% of World Liberty, G42's board seats and the later AI-chip export approvals; its footnotes link the underlying reporting.
House Select Committee on the CCP, Democratic staff · 7 pages
Summarizes the Journal's findings: $500 million, Eric Trump's signature four days before inauguration, $187 million to Trump entities, $31 million to Witkoff entities, and the later chip approvals.
Lays out, with footnotes to the WSJ, the secret pre-inauguration deal by a UAE royal's company for 49% of WLF, the $187 million steered to Trump family entities, and the Witkoff family's stake.
House Select Committee on the CCP, Democratic staff
Summarizes Witkoff's 2026 OGE disclosure and the White House's statement that he has fully divested from WLF, alongside Trump's own $526 million in token sales.
