Topline
MGX, a state-backed Abu Dhabi fund, has surfaced in two of the most scrutinized deals in Donald Trump’s second term—it’s reportedly set to take a stake in TikTok’s U.S. business and used a Trump-linked stablecoin for a $2 billion transaction that may have benefited the president’s family financially.
The Abu Dhabi government created MGX in March 2024 as a technology investment company, tasked with “accelerat[ing] the development and adoption of AI and advanced technologies” through global partnerships, according to a launch announcement.
MGX was launched by Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, and G42, an artificial intelligence holding company, in which Microsoft has invested $1.5 billion.
The fund targets semiconductors, infrastructure, software, tech-enabled services, life sciences and automation services, with past investments in OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Databricks, Altera and Binance.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan chairs MGX’s board—he’s also the deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates’ National Security Adviser and chair of G42’s board as well as those of four other companies.
MGX’s CEO, Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi, studied at MIT, worked in investment banking and previously oversaw private equity investments at Mubadala.
Asked about the TikTok talks, MGX chief communications officer Noelle Camilleri told Forbes, “On TikTok, we don’t have anything to share at this time.”
In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill banning TikTok in the United States over privacy and data concerns, effective January 2025. The ban was never enforced, and on Sept. 25, Trump signed an executive order, “Saving TikTok While Protecting National Security,” that would allow the platform to remain available. The executive order paves the way for U.S. investors to take majority control, while the Chinese parent company ByteDance’s stake will drop to less than 20%. The new owners have not been confirmed but, citing unnamed sources, CNBC reported that MGX, Oracle and private-equity firm Silver Lake will be the main investors, owning a combined 45% of TikTok USA. Oracle and Silver Lake did not respond to inquiries. On Wednesday, MGX announced it was teaming with the Artificial Infrastructure Partnership and BlackRock to buy Aligned Data Centers in a deal that values the company, which has 50 facilities, at $40 billion.
The TikTok deal is not the first time MGX has been tied to Trump’s administration. The day after his second inauguration, Trump announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative backed by MGX, OpenAI, Oracle and Japan’s SoftBank. And earlier in September, MGX joined Silver Lake in buying a 51% stake in Altera, Intel’s programmable-chip unit. The U.S. government owns 9.9% of Intel, after taking the extraordinary step of purchasing an $8.9 billion stake as part of the Trump administration’s semiconductor strategy.
Final terms of the TikTok restructuring are not publicly known, including how large a stake MGX may take and what governance rights it could secure. Another open question is whether MGX will use the Trump-linked USD1 in future deals.
$100 billion: The amount MGX hopes to have under management within a few years, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
World Liberty Financial says it was “inspired by the vision of Donald J. Trump” and lists him as co-founder emeritus, alongside co-founders Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Barron Trump. According to the company’s website, an LLC affiliated with the Trump family owns about 38% of World Liberty Financial, which issues the USD1 stablecoin. Stablecoin issuers typically earn interest on the reserves backing their tokens, such as U.S. Treasurys and cash equivalents. In May, World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff said MGX would use $2 billion worth of USD1 to invest in the crypto exchange Binance. That choice effectively placed $2 billion of reserves with USD1’s custodian, potentially increasing the interest income for World Liberty Financial’s owners. The transaction also helped lift USD1’s market cap, aiding its scale and visibility. As of 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, USD1’s $2.7 billion market cap made it the sixth-largest stablecoin, according to CoinGecko, a crypto analytics firm. Also, two weeks after Witkoff announced the deal, the Trump administration agreed to allow the UAE to buy advanced computer chips from U.S. companies, the New York Times reported. One company set to benefit from the deal: G42, a founding partner of MGX, which Tahnoon chairs. (Although that deal is delayed, with some administration officials concerned about G42’s involvement, the Wall Street Journal recently reported. G42 did not respond to Forbes’ inquiry.)
An MGX spokesperson told Forbes that Binance asked to settle in cryptocurrency and both sides opted for a stablecoin to limit volatility. Binance’s said that while its client “did not control the payment method chosen by MGX,” it welcomed the use of a stablecoin. MGX said it evaluated stablecoins on business suitability, the jurisdiction and currency of the reserves, and compliance history, then chose USD1 because it is fully reserved in U.S. dollar-denominated assets held by an independent U.S. custodian and audited. MGX added that it did not invest in World Liberty Financial, paid no fees and doesn’t hold USD1 today.
MGX said it weighed “compliance history” in picking USD1, but that claim doesn’t match the timeline: MGX announced its $2 billion Binance investment on March 12, and World Liberty Financial didn’t unveil USD1 until March 25—leaving little track record to assess.
Another firm Tahnoon chairs, G42, already had owned a stake in ByteDance but divested it after in response to U.S. lawmakers concerns about his ties to China. In January 2024, a Republican-led House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party urged the Commerce Department to impose export controls on G42—an AI holding company that helped found MGX—after an investigation found G42 had ties to Huawei and other blacklisted Chinese companies. The probe also linked G42 affiliates to a scientist accused of stealing U.S. military-funded research from UCLA to establish a government lab in Beijing. The following month, G42 divested from Chinese companies—including what had been a $100 million stake in ByteDance, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the deal. In April, Microsoft announced its $1.5 billion investment in G42 and a partnership to accelerate AI in the UAE.
After MGX’s use of USD1 became public, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joined by 11 other Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., filed a resolution to enforce the Constitution’s foreign emoluments clause, which bars presidents from “accept[ing] of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” without Congress’ consent. Senate Republicans blocked the measure. Separately, Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., wrote to Binance and MGX, asking why they used USD1 instead of fiat or another cryptocurrency. Any responses have not been made public, and Binance’s attorney declined to share details on any response it sent beyond saying its client “conducted themselves entirely properly with regard to the MGX investment.” The senators also asked the Office of Government Ethics to weigh in, but it has not responded.
“You probably don’t have to scratch very deep to find an instance where the president has received an enormous infusion of cash to his crypto coin from a CEO or foreign oligarch who is then asking for a favor from Donald Trump,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told MSNBC in May.
Since 2008, MGX vice chair Khaldoon Al Mubarak also has chaired Manchester City Football Club. Forbes ranks the team no. 5 on its list of the world’s most valuable sports franchises, estimating it’s worth $5.3 billion.
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