King Abdullah’s secret splurges
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 5 October 2021
⏱️ ? minutes
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Summary
While billions of dollars in American aid poured into Jordan over the past decade, a secret stream of money was flowing in the opposite direction as the country’s ruler, King Abdullah II, spent millions on extravagant homes in the United States.
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In the past decade, King Abdullah II of Jordan used an extensive network of offshore accounts to disguise multimillion-dollar purchases of lavish homes in the United States and Britain. Reporter Greg Miller on how the lavish purchases sit in stark contrast to Jordan’s recent economic and political struggles.
These findings are revealed in a new investigation, the Pandora Papers, that exposes a hidden world that has allowed government leaders, a monarch, billionaires and criminals to shield their assets.
The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists gained unprecedented insight into the money flowing into U.S. trusts through a trove of more than 11.9 million documents — among the largest of its kind — maintained by financial services providers around the world.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | If you go to Cliffside Drive in Malibu as we have, you'll find three enormous compounds there. |
| 0:08.0 | They're behind huge walls. |
| 0:10.0 | Their multi-story residences are set on two to three acres on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. |
| 0:20.0 | This is investigative reporter Greg Miller. |
| 0:23.0 | For years, almost no one in this celebrity enclave knew who owned these luxury properties. |
| 0:29.0 | Until our stories published and revealed that they've been owned by King Abdullah of Jordan. |
| 0:37.0 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 0:41.0 | I'm Martin Powers. It's Tuesday, October 5. |
| 0:45.0 | Today, we're continuing our deep dive into the Pandora papers, a global investigation from the post and ICIJ |
| 0:53.0 | into 11.9 million newly obtained documents. They reveal a secret financial universe for the wealthiest and most powerful people. |
| 1:03.0 | The Pandora papers are a collection of financial documents that are drawn from different financial services firms all over the world. |
| 1:13.0 | Greg has been looking at how these firms set up shell companies, trusts, and other entities to help wealthy people shield their money. |
| 1:21.0 | One of those people is the King of Jordan. |
| 1:24.0 | And he doesn't just own three fancy houses in Malibu. |
| 1:28.0 | It's luxury properties in Washington, London, more than $100 million in real estate in total, all purchased in secret. |
| 1:37.0 | And that is calling into question where he got all this money from and what we really know about this world leader. |
| 1:44.0 | Mr. President, honorable members, your excellencies, my friends, thank you all. |
| 1:54.0 | It is an honor to speak before the European Parliament once again. |
| 2:01.0 | King Abdullah is the monarch ruler of Jordan. |
| 2:05.0 | And he has been in that position now for several decades. |
| 2:09.0 | He's regarded as a pillar of stability in the Middle East. His country is an ally of the United States. |
| 2:16.0 | He is an ally of the United States. They have worked with the United States and counterterrorism missions, have been at the United States side during wars. |
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