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Undated: Thomas J. "Tom" Barrack Jr. (born April 28, 1947) is an American private equity real estate investor and the founder and executive chairman [1][2] of Colony Capital Inc.[3][4][5][6] Barrack is a close friend and ally of President Donald Trump and has represented Trump on television news segments. He also served as the chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee and was senior adviser to Trump's presidential campaign.[14][15]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Barrack_Jr.
-- 2017 --
October 11: Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a billionaire who is one of President Trump's oldest friends, had spent weeks trying to smooth the way for a May presidential meeting in Saudi Arabia with Arab leaders of the Persian Gulf.
All initially went well. Trump praised Qatar — where Barrack, who is Arab American, has deep business ties — as a "crucial strategic partner." Then Trump reversed course a few weeks later and attacked Qatar as "a funder of terrorism at a very high level."
Barrack was taken aback that the president was intervening in a regional dispute. So he did what few others in Trump's orbit have done: He told the president, in effect, that he was wrong.
"You don't need to get involved," Barrack said he told Trump. The president heeded his friend's advice, met with the emir of Qatar and in September offered to mediate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hes-better-than-this-says-thomas-barrack-trumps-loyal-whisperer/2017/10/10/067fc776-a215-11e7-8cfe-d5b912fabc99_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9fdd6cdd38f3
October 11: Barrack, in interviews with The Washington Post, said he has been "shocked" and "stunned" by some of the president's rhetoric and inflammatory tweets. He disagrees with some of Trump's proposals, including his efforts to ban immigrants from certain Muslim countries and his push for a border wall with Mexico. He wonders why his longtime friend spends so much of his time appealing to the fringes of American politics.
"He thinks he has to be loyal to his base," Barrack said. "I keep on saying, 'But who is your base? You don't have a natural base. Your base now is the world and America, so you have all these constituencies; show them who you really are.' In my opinion, he's better than this."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/hes-better-than-this-says-thomas-barrack-trumps-loyal-whisperer/2017/10/10/067fc776-a215-11e7-8cfe-d5b912fabc99_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.9fdd6cdd38f3
-- 2018 --
May 5: Mueller team questions longtime Trump friend Tom Barrack
Barrack was interviewed as part of the federal investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in 2016, according to AP sources.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/mueller-team-questions-longtime-trump-friend-tom-barrack-n871621
May 5: The Associated Press reported Saturday that President Donald Trump‘s longtime billionaire friend and adviser Thomas Barrack, Jr. had been questioned by Robert Mueller’s team as part of the Russiagate investigation. Here are five key facts about the former Miramax chair and part-owner of Michael Jackson‘s Neverland Ranch.
1. Trump’s People View Barrack With Suspicion Over Manfort Ties
2. Barrack Suggested Kanye West Wasn’t ‘Traditionally American’
3. His Pro-Trump Super PAC Hasn’t Lived Up to Expectations
4. He Wanted to Save the Weinstein Company (Until He Didn’t)
5. His Time in Government Was Quick and Controversial
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/here-are-5-key-facts-about-thomas-barrack-including-a-kanye-west-connection/
June 13: Who Is Behind Trump’s Links to Arab Princes? A Billionaire Friend
The billionaire financier Tom Barrack was caught in a bind.
In April 2016, his close friend Donald J. Trump was about to clinch the Republican presidential nomination. But Mr. Trump’s outspoken hostility to Muslims — epitomized by his call for a ban on Muslim immigrants — was offending the Persian Gulf princes Mr. Barrack had depended on for decades as investors and buyers.
“Confusion about your friend Donald Trump is VERY high,” Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba of the United Arab Emirates emailed back when Mr. Barrack tried to introduce the candidate, in a message not previously reported. Mr. Trump’s image, the ambassador warned, “has many people extremely worried.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/13/world/middleeast/trump-tom-barrack-saudi.html
July 9: Disastrous Deal Staggers Trump Ally Thomas Barrack
Thomas Barrack has been one of the most prominent money men of the Donald Trump era. In the past two years, Barrack has been in the public eye like never before—fundraising for Trump’s presidential campaign, delivering a prime-time television address at the Republican National Convention and serving as chairman of Trump’s inaugural committee. Barrack introduced Trump to his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and facilitated conversations that strengthened Trump’s ties to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, helping to realign the Middle East.
But during the exact time Barrack was busy helping his friend Trump, he was also in the midst of the biggest deal of his business career, merging the real estate investment firm he spent his life building, Colony Capital, with another firm to form a $58 billion real estate colossus. The deal he struck in June 2016 has been nothing short of a disaster, decimating Barrack’s net worth and sending him scrambling to find a fix.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesdigitalcovers/2018/07/09/disastrous-deal-staggers-trump-ally-thomas-barrack/#a875e8e191af
October 19: Investor and Trump friend Tom Barrack not going to Saudi conference
Billionaire investor and one of President Donald Trump's closest allies Tom Barrack will not be attending the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia, CNBC has learned.
Barrack will no longer be attending as his speaking session was cancelled by the conference hosts after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pulled out of attending on Thursday, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Mnuchin and Barrack were slated to be on a panel together next Tuesday in Riyadh.
Barrack is the latest prominent business figure who have dropped out of taking part in the conference, also known as "Davos in the Desert," following the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/19/investor-and-trump-friend-tom-barrack-not-going-to-saudi-conference.html
October 26: Tom Barrack Got Trump Right, Then Things Went Wrong
The financier’s Colony Capital is struggling. His royal allies in the Middle East are boxed out. And his old friend Paul Manafort is behind bars.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-26/tom-barrack-got-trump-right-then-things-went-wrong
November 7: Tom Barrack Returns to CEO Role at Colony Capital After Shares Fall
Colony Capital’s shares have plummeted 49% this year
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-07/barrack-returns-to-ceo-role-at-colony-capital-after-shares-fall
November 28: Monetizing the Celebrity Meltdown
Tom Barrack, a billionaire investor who made his fortune in real estate, has discovered a market in distressed celebrities. With Neverland Ranch and Miramax under his belt, he’s now on a shopping spree—and bringing along his buddy Rob Lowe.
http://nymag.com/news/business/69782/
-- 2019 --
January 22: ABC News reported that congressional investigators are looking into Robert Foresman, now deputy chairman of UBS Investment Bank.
With [Robert] Burnett’s help, Foresman “found his way onto the daily calendar of Thomas Barrack,” who at the time was chairing what would become Trump’s inaugural fund, ABC News reported, citing internal emails. Burnett is the guy who was brought in to oversee entertainment for the inauguration festivities.
Foresman had lived for years in Moscow, where he led a $3 billion Russian investment fund; he had been touted as someone who maintains connections to Putin’s inner circle, the news division reported.
Foresman wound up not meeting Barrack, nor did he get the role he sought with the fledgling Trump administration, ABC News reported. All parties involved, including Burnett, declined comment to the news org.
Burnett, meanwhile, has not shied away from talking about his flights into Putin’s orbit.
https://deadline.com/2019/01/mark-burnett-vladimir-putin-donald-trump-banker-transition-abc-news-1202539349/
February 14: Tom Barrack, a key donor and friend of President Donald Trump attempted to justify the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi Tuesday, arguing that the US does not have the moral authority to criticize Saudi Arabia due to its own record of "atrocities."
"Whatever happened in Saudi Arabia, the atrocities in America are equal or worse than the atrocities in Saudi Arabia. The atrocities in any autocratic country are dictated by the rule of law," he said.
"So for us to dictate what we think is the moral code there when we have a young man in a regime that's trying to push themselves into 2030, I think is a mistake," Barrack added.
Barrack released a statement ... saying he apologized "for not making it clear at the time that I consider the killing reprehensible."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/politics/tom-barrack-trump-donor-khashoggi/index.html
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