Washington DC - US Special Envoy to the Middle East and Special Envoy for Peace Missions Steve Witkoff reportedly pocketed more than $250 million last year despite his highly influential government role.
According to newly released financial disclosures for 2025, Witkoff made $120 million for selling a stake in his real estate business, and collected $107 million from Witkoff Holdings LLC, a holding company heavily invested in President Donald Trump's cryptocurrency.
Witkoff and Trump had founded World Liberty Financial (WLF), a cryptocurrency business, shortly before the 2024 election. While he says he was not involved in the business while holding his government position, he continued to own a financial stake in it until early 2026.
The amount he made from divesting in WLF was not explicitly disclosed, but it is expected that money was contained within his holdings sale.
Shockingly, despite holding a role that has direct influence over US policy in the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates last year bought approximately 50% of WLF, enriching both Trump and Witkoff.
In a statement to the New York Times, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly pointed to Witkoff's divestment as evidence that no conflict of interest exists.
Witkoff "fully divested from [WLF]," Kelly said. "His prior commercial activities are completely unrelated to his efforts to end global conflicts on the president's behalf."
Democracy Defenders Fund's Christopher Swartz, however, begs to differ, telling the NYT that Witkoff's huge profits from WLF "really defies the norms."
In particular, Swartz pointed to the fact that Witkoff failed to break down from where exactly the $107 million came from, as Witkoff Holdings LLC contains dozens of entities.
Seeing as senior White House officials like Witkoff "really need to be above reproach," Swartz said that it is on him to break down how much he earned from WLF.