The Most Powerful Arab Ruler Isn’t M.B.S. It’s M.B.Z. (Published 2019)

After the WSJ's blockbuster scoop about the UAE's $187 million pre-inauguration payment to Trump, let me re-post this article I wrote a few years ago for the NYT about the UAE, its ruler, and his influence in DC: www.nytimes.com/2019/06/02/w...

Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion In August, I reported that the President and his family had made $3.4 billion by leveraging his position. After his first year back in office, the number has ballooned.

I updated our tally for The New Yorker of Trump’s profits from the presidency: Trump’s Profiteering Hits $4 Billion www.newyorker.com/news/a-repor...

How much money President Trump and his family have made : Planet Money Before President Donald Trump’s first term, he was in a “tight spot” financially, according to New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick. At the start of his second term, David says, Trump was in an “even t...

NPR's Planet Money interviewed me about how much the Trump family is making off of the presidency: www.npr.org/2026/01/14/n...

After the MBS visit to the White House, this is a good Thanksgiving to remember Jamal Khashoggi, who participated in the American holiday not long before he was killed. He said he was thankful "because I have become free and can write freely."

x.com/NYTBen/statu...

Among other things, this article allows the prosecutor to lay out his defense but also offers new evidence (not reported before) of his culpability. What is clear is that his guilt or innocence has nothing to do with the merits of the charges over the Israeli assault on Gaza.

The Hague on Trial The chief prosecutor has obtained warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes—but faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

I wrote about a scandal at the International Criminal Court that has tied together allegations of sexual abuse by the chief prosecutor and allegations that Netanyahu directed war crimes in Gaza:
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

The Hague on Trial The chief prosecutor has obtained warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes—but faces allegations of sexual misconduct.

Published this week in @newyorker: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Jennifer Wilson on Susan Orlean’s “Orchid Fever” The writer worried that the story was “too niche, too odd,” the crime of flower theft “too minor.” To think, I had loved it for precisely those qualities.

Susan Orlean’s profile of an orchid poacher, published in this magazine in 1995, inspired Charlie Kaufman’s movie “Adaptation.” Jennifer Wilson reflects on Orlean’s stormy, sensual prose. #NewYorker100

Yep, that’s definitely Trump’s signature!

Does Trump's alleged letter to Epstein "sound like" Trump? An investigation. On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report about President Trump's relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

And there is this excellent reporting: popular.info/p/does-trump...

The White House is saying that Trump's signature on the drawing for Epstein does not match, but it does look very much like the signature of just his first name- Donald qz.com/891546/donal... - such as one might sign a card to a friend rather than an act of Congress.
x.com/OversightDem...

Trump Family Profits Even With Tepid Launch of Crypto Tokens

An update, as for today, it looks like they have made another $1.1 billion, bringing the running total to $4.5 billion: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/u... (by the great bsky.app/profile/eric...)

How Much Is Trump Profiting Off the Presidency? A comprehensive estimate of how much Trump and his family are making, from hotel mega-deals to crypto schemes, has been elusive—until now.

A few weeks ago, I wrote this for The New Yorker, about how much money the Trump family has made off the presidency: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...