Page 37 - Forbes - Asia (April 2019)
P. 37
Yet the issue surrounds him. The Williams left Tokyo with concerns
office he points across, in the histor- about the amount of control Softbank’s
ic Puck Building in Manhattan’s trendy Vision Fund wanted—but optimistic
Nolita district, is owned by the Kushner they could work something out. Cadre
Cos., run by Jared until he decamped to was about to hit the big time, and Wil-
the White House. Williams developed liams, already worth some $160 million
and incubated the Cadre concept with (Forbes pegs his stake in Cadre at about
Jared and his brother, Josh. Many of the 20%), was poised to become extreme-
big real estate players who adopted the ly wealthy. But within a month, Bloom-
Cadre funding platform came through berg News ran an article emphasizing
Jared’s introductions; Josh’s venture the potential link between Jared Kush-
fund, Thrive Capital, made the key ner, Cadre, Softbank and Saudi money.
early investment. Josh sits on Cadre’s Discussions fell apart soon after.
board—and works two floors above. “It has been a challenge because of
A lot has been written about the the association,” says Michael Fascitelli,
self-enrichment going on with the the head of Cadre’s investment commit-
Trump administration. Ryan Williams, tee and the former CEO of real estate
however, suffers from the opposite giant Vornado Realty—introduced to
problem. He’s the American Dream Williams, yes, by the Kushners. “Jared is
personified. (Mark Cuban, a Cadre not involved, but there is a perception
investor who emails with Williams he is, and that is mostly a negative be-
weekly, describes him thus: “Smart. cause people want to stay clear of that.”
Focused. Learns and reiterates contin- Williams has accumulated a diz-
uously.”) Yet Williams pushes his start- zying array of backers with ties to the
up forward, dragging along his rela- current Trump era. Besides Cuban,
tionship with the White House like a the president’s biggest business-world
two-ton anchor. heckler, there’s Peter Thiel, his biggest
Last April, Williams flew alone to Silicon Valley water carrier, and George
Tokyo to meet Masayoshi Son, the Soft- Soros, the poster boy for right-wing
bank billionaire who has flooded the conspiracy theorists.
startup market with the conglomerate’s But as a policymaker and presiden-
tankers full of Saudi government petro- tial whisperer, it’s Jared Kushner who
dollars. Williams has raised $133 mil- creates Williams’ headaches. “Ryan has
lion to date for Cadre, at a valuation, dealt with it by being transparent and
most recently, of $800 million. Over honest,” Fascitelli says, “and spending
dinner at Son’s palatial Tokyo home, more time than he should explaining it
with its indoor golf range, Son demon- to investors, sponsors and institutions.”
strated his knowledge of Cadre’s model This article marks the first time Wil-
and threw out a $500 million invest- liams has delved deep into the specif-
ment—a figure that would double Cad- ics of this unprecedented balancing act.
re’s current valuation. (Jared Kushner declined to comment.
Josh Kushner emailed an anodyne
statement about Williams and Cadre.)
As Ryan Williams strives for scale, the
Ryan Williams is one 30-year-old also races to ensure that
of the most successful he’s not one of the many brought down
because of their proximity to Trump.
30 Under 30 honorees
ever, a tech founder LIKE MANY YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS,
reinventing real Williams knows how to market him-
JAMEL TOPPIN FOR FORBES Cadre—and building a from Baton Rouge who went from cut-
self. His personal elevator pitch: a kid
estate investing via
ting up worms and selling them as bait
to a teen whose wildly successful em-
$160 million personal
broidered wrist- and headband busi-
fortune in the process.
ness won him top awards from the
APRIL 2019 FORBES ASIA | 33
