The PGA Tour is planning to eliminate the cut at some of its events beginning in 2024, a shift that LIV has openly relished. Newcastle United takeover: What is PIF, the main owner of the club? - BBC OVERVIEW: The other companies owned by Newcastle's buyers. For its part, the wealth fund has insisted it is nothing more than an investor in LIV. Tiger Woods, who rebuffed a nine-figure offer from LIV, has denigrated the league's approach to competition and complained that its players turned their back on what has allowed them to get to this position. Rory McIlroy has been a fearsome critic, and Jon Rahm, who won the 2023 Masters, said earlier this year that he thought the PGA Tour was making the necessary changes to adapt to the new age, and I think its better for everybody.. But many know the leagues commissioner: Greg Norman, the two-time major tournament winner who spent years fuming over the PGA Tours structure. Saudi's Public Investment Fund already owns about 60% of Lucid after first investingin 2018. Saudi Arabia, through the PIF and other funds it invests in, like Japan's SoftBank, has also put billions into the US tech scene. The schedule includes three events at courses controlled by former President Donald J. Trumps family keeping the league close to one of its greatest political patrons as well as a tournament at Real Club Valderrama, the Spanish course that hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund that is, its state-owned investment fund now holds shares inof all of the following companies: Amazon, Google, Visa, Microsoft, Disney, Nintendo, Uber, PayPal and Zoom, among many others. ", India's Modi: 'No stone unturned' in train crash probe, India: More than 280 dead in massive train crash, Search for India train accident survivors winds down, Fighting gold smuggling with transparency in DR Congo, How China is erasing Hong Kong's Tiananmen Square memories. Some of the players who have signed up for LIV, and even many who have not, believe the PGA Tour offers many golfers a raw deal. Tracking the rise of Russias missile strikes on Kyiv, A rare insight into Hitler's private life. However, over the course of its work, it learned that the Public Investment Fund the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that finances LIV occasionally oversaw its public relations activities., The firm also cited recent court filings in which representatives for the Public Investment Fund called the fund inextricably intertwined with the [Saudi] government such that the Public Investment Funds objectives may be indistinguishable from Saudi Arabias interests. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. https://www.nytimes.com/article/liv-golf-saudi-arabia-pga.html, Montana Pritchard/LIV Golf/LIVGO, via Associated Press. No player, the arbitrators noted, suggested that he had given up his independence by signing up to onerous (albeit remunerative) obligations to LIV.. Thomas Pieters, left, Talor Gooch, Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III after a team event in Singapore in April. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) has established five regional investment companies in Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan, Iraq and Oman, the sovereign wealth fund said on Wednesday, following a . Six years later, Saudi Arabia has transformed itself into a global hub for sports events. Anyone can read what you share. A federal magistrate judge also wrote in a ruling in February that PIF is not a mere investor in LIV; it is the moving force behind the founding, funding, oversight and operation of LIV.. Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman? Championship (which is run by an organization that is distinct from the PGA Tour) and the U.S. Open. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider ", On the other hand, she added, "every investment is also the pursuit of some kind of interest on the part of the investor. Their far wealthier neighbors from the Gulf have taken to shopping for bargains to invest in, part of what the UK's Financial Times describes as a "shopping spree.". However, over the course of its work, it learned that the Public Investment Fund the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia that finances LIV "occasionally oversaw its public relations . The Saudi documents obtained by The Times say that in return for its investment, the Saudi fund would receive a stake of at least 28 percent in Mr. Kushners main investment vehicle. 15 March 2022. In late March Lucid announced plans to lay off hundreds of workers amid production problems. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, as well as on docuseries such as HBO's "Real Sports.". In LIVs first year tournaments were shown online and on lesser-watched streaming services in much of the world. Mr. Kushner and Crown Prince Mohammed in 2020. Several of the series enlisted golfers have already begun to spin the sportswashing event as an opportunity for the kingdom to reform. Dustin Johnson of the U.S. shakes hands with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund and Newcastle United Chairman, during the the LIV Golf Invitational Series at the Centurion Club in London on Thursday. Read more: Saudi Aramco appoints presidents for upstream and downstream businesses, Iturrioz leads at Saudi PIF-funded ladies golf tournament in Florida, Saudi Arabia moves closer to another Aramco stock offering. Most countries have sovereign wealth funds and Saudi Arabia is no exception. PIF's chair is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of Saudi Arabia's king. LIV Golf organizers scheduled 14 events for 2023. A spokesman for Liberty Strategic Capital said the firm has a diverse investor base including U.S. insurance companies, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional investors.. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here. Mr. Kushner, whose fund has not publicly disclosed a theme or focus, has little experience or track record in private equity. Phil Mickelson was the biggest name to join LIV Golf, but his comments about its Saudi backers raised eyebrows, and pushed him to at least one apology. Can sci-fi films teach us anything about an AI threat? The Premier League approved takeover of Newcastle after receiving "legally binding assurances" that the Saudi state would not control the club. She is the author of three books, including "The Education of Brett Kavanaugh." According to the fund's publicity materials, theultimate goal is for the PIF to become the largest and "most impactful" sovereign wealth fund in the world by 2030, with assets worth $2 trillion. "And it is important to note that one of the most common motivations for these funds is still maximizing [financial] returns. @ddknyt Facebook, Kate Kelly covers money, influence, and policy as a correspondent in the Washington bureau of the Times. close panel. The minutes record that all four panel members attending the meeting stated that they are not in favor of Project Astro. The panels rules require the votes of a majority of those present to pass a resolution, the minutes note. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. The firm revealed that it drafted marketing materials, conducted media training for players, and advised the golf league on its corporate social responsibility strategy, according to a new Foreign Agents Registration Act filing. When someone essentially asked Johnson ahead of the Masters this spring to compare Orange County National Golf Center, where LIV had just held a tournament, to Augusta National, he replied: I dont think you could have those in the same sentence, other than I played there last week and Im playing here this week.. The Saudi-financed, controversy-trailed LIV Golf series has been the talk of mens golf since its launch last year. LIV Golfs roster is a mix of star and largely unknown players. Moreover, LIV players routinely argue that they should be viewed as independent contractors and free to play whenever and wherever they choose. State resources are directed to feed the PIF, According to the fund's publicity materials, UK's Financial Times describes as a "shopping spree. Brenton Edwards/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at CPAC 2023, Friday, March 3, 2023, at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md. Saudi Press Agency, via Agence France-Presse Getty Images. But days later the full board of the $620 billion Public Investment Fund led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and a beneficiary of Mr. Kushner's support . In a press announcement, Lucid said its majority owner, Public Investment Fund (PIF), would buy another 265 million shares for about $1.8 billion. And it signals a concerning escalation in Saudis tactics. The biggest stars contend their earnings should be more commensurate with their status in the game, and they have pointed out how the best players in other sports earn far more than golfers do. The Saudi-Iraqi Investment Company will invest in infrastructure, mining, agriculture, real estate development and financial services, among other areas, acting CEO Muteb Alshathri added during the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council held in the Kingdom. The panel members did not respond to requests for comment or could not be reached. Saudi Arabia is the largest producer in the oil cartel Opec and has the spare capacity to help lower prices by increasing supplies. According to a 2021 FARA filing, the CEO advisory firm Teneo reported working on Project Wedge, which ultimately became LIV, for the Saudi wealth fund. Ethics experts say that the investment deal creates the appearance of potential payback. 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The Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced on Thursday the establishment of 'Badael,' a company that aims to develop, manufacture, and distribute tobacco-free products to help reduce the . Russian wineries maintain production despite EU sanctions. please click OK, I Accept. The Public Investment Fund raised its holding in the maker of popular games like World of Warcraft by 13% to 37.9 million shares, with a market value of $3.6 billion, according to a. Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Cameron Smith are among the players who appear to have received multimillion-dollar inducements to surrender their PGA Tour careers. The Public Investment Fund ( PIF; Arabic: ) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. Its investigation is continuing. In 2018, Saudi authorities arrested 13 women's rights activists who had led a campaign to lift a ban on women driving. If any additional discussions about the deal took place, they were not reflected in the documents and correspondence obtained by The New York Times. One of LIVs marketing slogans is Golf But Louder. Fans cheering Cameron Smith in Adelaide, Australia in April. Who is playing it? The takeover of Newcastle United in a 300m deal has been nearly universally welcomed by the club's supporters. It has also led human rights activists and organizations to accuse the Saudi-backed event of sportswashing a term used to describe the practice of investing in sports events to polish a controversial countrys image on the international stage and to distract from accusations of human rights violations. MBS made the PIF central to his plans to modernize the country and diversify its economy away from oil. It is worth about $430bn (315bn), underscoring how little the. Ari Emanuel Compares CAA To Walmart, Talks LIV Golf, Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia golf helps Greg Norman sportswash We became aware of this when you (the press) made us aware, McLaughlin said in a text. We all know that Saudi Arabia's royals are not exactly model citizens when it comes to human rights. LIV (rhymes with give) Golf chose Roman numerals for its name. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. In July 2020, a court sentenced a Yemeni blogger to 10 months in prison and then deportation for posting a video calling for equal rights, including for gay people. The kingdom has even zeroed in on the burgeoning eSports market, spending billionsto stake its claim in the booming industry. There have been regular calls to boycott Saudi Arabia because of the country's well-documented history of human rights abuses. UK keeps views on Newcastle takeover secret, LGBTQ+ fans hope Saudi deal is a sign for change, Modi vows punishments over deadly India rail crash, Twenty injured after Russian strike on Dnipro. It makes the bulk of its money from oil, which Saudi Arabia has sold all over the world. PIF, which has more than $620 billion in assets under management, said it signed a share subscription agreement to invest in Tamimi Markets. Confidence in Saudi giga-projects is rising and so are its challenges - PwC A guide to the entangled and far-reaching power structure of the Saudi-financed golf tour. "What's very interesting is that the Reuben brothers [another part of the Newcastle takeover group] are also investing very heavily in renewable resources," he says. In February, though, a federal judge in the United States said she had concluded that the fund was the moving force behind the founding, funding, oversight and operation of LIV., Not always well. Donald Trump praises LIV Golf: 'Great publicity for Saudi Arabia' Questions were also asked about whether the PIF a large, albeit indirect, investor in Twitter (it owns shares via another Saudi company) had any influence on the way the social media company handled a 2015 Saudi spying scandal. IE 11 is not supported. Critics have said the same about the LIV Golf tournaments, and recent Formula One motor races in Saudi Arabia. Former President Donald J. Trump, left, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund in Bedminster, N.J. in July 2022. Yasir al-Rumayyan, chairman of Saudi Aramco, led the panel screening the Kushner investment. One of LIVs biggest signings, Mickelson, provoked outrage when he praised the series as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity even as he called Saudi Arabias record on human rights horrible and used an expletive to emphasize a description of the countrys leaders as scary. Norman made things worse soon after later when he dismissed Saudi Arabias murder and dismemberment of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi by saying, Look, weve all made mistakes.. Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Mr. al-Rumayyan, the panel chairman and top executive of the Saudi fund, appeared to concur, according to the minutes. Vivek Ramaswamy has fired one of the firms consulting for his presidential campaign after it was revealed that the firm had simultaneously been doing public relations work for a major Saudi-backed entity. Loujain al-Hathloul was released in February after after almost three years in detention, Areej al-Sadhan said her brother Abdul Rahman was tortured before being jailed for 20 years for writing satirical tweets that criticised authorities, The war in Yemen has triggered what the UN says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis. What Is LIV Golf? It Depends Whom You Ask. - The New York Times "Should the PIF expand its investment activities in Europe, a political impact assessment could become necessary in view of the close link between the fund and the Saudi government," the 2019 SWP report cautioned. Saudi's PIF founds Saudi-Iraqi investment company with $3 bln capital Also, many, though not all, exemptions that grant automatic entries are based on relatively recent performances in sanctioned events, so many LIV players could ultimately find themselves excluded from the majors. Cox was a top adviser to the super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Will Saudi Arabia use global investments for political gain? The debate within the Saudi fund over investing with Mr. Kushner was a stark contrast to the easy approval of the proposal by Mr. Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner who invested in numerous Hollywood films, including The Lego Movie, and helped resurrect a failing California bank before entering government. The companies will target investments of up to $24 billion, in sectors including infrastructure, real estate, mining, healthcare, food and agriculture, manufacturing, and tech, the PIF said in October.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Gitcho Goodwin, the firm led by longtime political operatives and top Ramaswamy advisers Gail Gitcho and Henry Goodwin, registered retroactively over the weekend as foreign agents for the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league. Share. Who is playing it? But Prince Mohammed took control of the fund when he rose to power in 2015 and he is its paramount decision maker. He is also a co-author of Footballs Secret Trade, an expos on soccers multibillion-dollar player trading industry. Scott Taetsch/LIV Golf/LIVGO, via Associated Press. In March, Saudi authorities executed 81 men in a single day, marking the largest mass execution in recent years. The PIF set up the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) in 2022, which took minority stakes worth $1.3 billion in four listed Egyptian companies in August of last year. 2023 BBC. Trump and the Saudis: Is Jack Smith finally looking at this clear-cut May 22, 2023 The Saudi-financed, controversy-trailed LIV Golf series has been the talk of men's golf since its launch last year. In 2019, the PIF didn't appear to have major direct investments in Europe, or Germany, a research paper from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, or SWP, reported. Karim Zidan is an investigative journalist covering the intersection of sports and politics. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF has created a new unit to invest in industries across Iraq, with a capital of $3 billion and headquarters in Saudi Arabia, the new unit's acting CEO . An anti-cybercrime law criminalises online activity that goes against public order and religious morals. PIF, which owns more than 6o% of Lucid, first invested in the California-based EV maker in 2018. Henry Goodwin previously advised Bobby Jindals 2016 presidential campaign. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Winning UK show would mean bigger house - Ghetto Kids, Utah schools ban Bible for 'vulgarity and violence', Holly's 'speech on Phil' and PM 'wants tax cut', British Vogue editor Edward Enninful steps down, Parents clash in Pride protest at US primary school, Three Israeli soldiers killed near Egypt border. In 2016, the fund first made global headlines for investing $3.5 billion (3.1 billion) into ride-sharing company, Uber. Saudi officials say that the kingdoms Public Investment Fund, which also holds stakes in the ride-sharing company Uber and the Newcastle United Football Club in Britain, operates autonomously, with an elaborate governance structure that includes the investment panel. "This investment aims to enable Tamimi Markets to realise its full potential, transforming it from one of the leading national grocery chains to a major regional chain," PIF said in an emailed statement. But as the PIF, and the authoritarian leader behind it, become ever more powerful, some observers are getting worried. Perhaps emboldened by previous sportswashing achievements, Saudi Arabia now appears to be attempting to usurp control of an entire sport. "It is really a domestic tool for local investment and transformation of the Saudi economy. Saudi crown prince turns to 'state capitalism' after change in the Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Lucid: Saudi Arabia Strikes Back - Seeking Alpha a report for the Washington-based Project on Middle East Political Science. The Saudi bet on Lucid follows a challenging few months for the company as it grapples with macroeconomic headwinds and a Tesla-triggered price war. @katekelly, A version of this article appears in print on, Before Giving Billions to Jared Kushner, Saudi Investment Fund Had Big Doubts, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Not exactly. UN-appointed human rights expert Agnes Callamard said Saudi agents had "used state means to execute Mr Khashoggi" at its Istanbul consulate. If Saudi Arabia wants to use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be, and they have the resources to accelerate that experience, former U.S. Open champion and recent LIV signing Graeme McDowell said at the pre-event press conference this week, I think were proud to help them on that journey.. Modi vows punishments over deadly India rail crash, Twenty injured after Russian strike on Dnipro. In 2020, that deal collapsed. @alanblinder, Tariq Panja covers some of the darker corners of the global sports industry.
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