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Thank you for posting this. Upon reading it, it appears to be a double edged sword where the optics are both good and bad? It would appear that a lot of good will come to the area that Kushner is investing in but that he also is making a lot of money along the way. My question is whether or not, he’s depriving other investors from getting the deal because of who he is? If not, I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing? What do you think?

The program has been praised as a smart way to attract money into high-poverty areas long neglected by private investors. But critics say it includes too many gentrifying neighborhoods already attracting investment and is a giveaway to wealthy developers.

The AP investigation uncovered no evidence that Jared Kushner or Ivanka Trump influenced the choice of the zones. In the end, 8,700 zones were approved by the Treasury Department earlier this year from a list submitted by state governors.

But ethics experts say the couple’s push for the program in Washington raises conflict-of-interest issues nonetheless. Property values have been rising in zones since the law was passed, a possible benefit to the Kushners even if they do not take advantage of the tax breaks.

Jared Kushner also could benefit from an ownership stake in Cadre, a real estate investment company that he co-founded. It recently announced it is launching a series of funds to invest in Opportunity Zones projects.