Talk:Massad Boulos

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Was he CEO? Is he worth a lot of money?

TLDR, a lot of sources casually claimed he was the president of an important company. For instance, New York Times, October 2024, original version:

Mr. Boulos, a Lebanese American businessman who is the chief executive of a multibillion-dollar automotive manufacturing and distribution company in Nigeria

And ABC AU:

Now Dr Boulos, who heads the billion-dollar SCOA Nigeria conglomerate

Then in December 2024, New York Times published "Trump’s Middle East Adviser Pick Is a Small-Time Truck Salesman":

In fact, records show that Mr. Boulos has spent the past two decades selling trucks and heavy machinery in Nigeria for a company his father-in-law controls. He is chief executive of the company, SCOA Nigeria PLC, which made a profit of less than $66,000 last year, corporate filings show.

There is no indication in corporate documents that Mr. Boulos, a Lebanese-American whose son is married to Mr. Trump’s daughter Tiffany, is a man of significant wealth as a result of his businesses. The truck dealership is valued at about $865,000 at its current share price. Mr. Boulos’s stake, according to securities filings, is worth $1.53.

New York Times then went back and changed the first article and removed "multibillion-dollar" from the sentence.

Business Insider does a good job of stepping back and noting what has been said and what appears to actually be true:

Claims of the Boulos family's wealth first started circulating in English-language media in 2018, when Tiffany Trump's relationship with Michael Boulos became public. The New York Post said his family "owns a multibillion-dollar conglomerate" and later mentioned Boulos Enterprises. Vanity Fair echoed the description of the Boulos businesses as "worth billions," a description that was picked up by the Times.

On December 2, the New York Times said Massad Boulos built "his wealth in West Africa" and runs two companies, SCOA Nigeria and Boulos Enterprises. The Financial Times called him an "auto tycoon" who leads both companies, while ABC called him a "billionaire businessman" who "runs Boulos Enterprises."

But Massad Boulos doesn't run Boulos Enterprises, according to several former employees and its actual boss, Boulos Boulos. Boulos Enterprises is part of the Boulos Group, a holding company owned by a different group of Lebanese Nigerians with the same last name.

So, it appears Massad is/was definitely a CEO, but it's hard to say confidently if it's a small-time thing or a big thing. How do we communicate this correctly? In my mind it's important to pair the "small-time company" phrase with mentions of CEO/SCOA. tedder (talk) 18:00, 18 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

These are insightful comments. I am trying to understand what is the issue here and why there are several different explanations of the company's size, honestly. Business Insider indeed offers a good explanation and makes it a little bit clearer. Gladiator79 (talk) 10:36, 19 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I believe the most important part here is: most good sources managed to dispel the confusion regarding Boulos Enterprises. This is obviously a major issue and misattributing his ties to it made it quite confusing. However, I am also not 100% sure about his own company. While most Western sources mention the size of the company (clearly from repeating the NYT report), there are plenty others from Nigeria and Lebanon saying otherwise. The Fadoul Groupe apparently is worth some $1 billion. There is a real gap in information here. Gladiator79 (talk) 06:56, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Boris Epshteyn

Someone recently added Boris Epshteyn as a Senior Advisor working alongside Boulos - there is no official announcement (unlike Boulos and Musk). He indeed worked as Senior Advisor to his campaign but was never nominated as a Senior Advisor for the current administration - see here , here and quotes below:

"Epshteyn himself was indicted on charges in Arizona related to alleged efforts by Trump allies to subvert that election; he has pleaded not guilty. His titles are senior counsel and senior advisor to Trump, but even before the review he was not expected to take a role in the incoming administration."

"The firms were reportedly wary of negotiating with Epshteyn since he doesn’t work for the government—especially since the White House would need to sign off on any agreements."

I believe there is no confirmation of his position and removed it from the page. I will reproduce this comment on Boris Epshteyn's Talk page. Gladiator79 (talk) 11:34, 22 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

"Bishara Bahbah" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Bishara Bahbah has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 May 22 § Bishara Bahbah until a consensus is reached. Liu1126 (talk) 22:56, 22 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Adding serving with Elon Musk (2025) caption

Is this needed, after Elon Musk stepped down? Ongoing dispute here Freedoxm (talk · contribs) 17:59, 31 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]