Steven Mnuchin, who served as Treasury Secretary in the Trump administration, is in talks to acquire 25% of Phoenix Agencies, one of the largest insurance groups operating in Israel, according to reporting by Calcalist.
While a firm owned by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also made a bid for the same 25%, that offer has been frozen since the war began. Mnuchin recently visited the country last week to talk with Phoenix Group CEO Eyal Ben Simon, together for David Friedman, himself Ambassador to Israel under Trump.
Veteran Wall Street operative Mnuchin expressed confidence and optimism regarding the opportunities for investment in Israel despite the war, saying "The initial reaction at the beginning of the war was: stop, and you saw the stock market drop significantly as well as the shekel...We have a long-term view, positive views on the economy here and we're looking at some very large significant investment opportunities."
