Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former White House advisor, is reportedly in advanced talks through his investment fund Affinity Partners to acquire Electronic Arts (EA), the $50 billion gaming giant behind FIFA, The Sims, and other cultural staples. The deal, said to be structured with backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and heavyweight private-equity players, is already being framed as one of the largest leveraged buyouts in the history of entertainment. On its surface, the transaction looks like a bold diversification from Kushner’s roots in real estate and politics into digital entertainment. Yet beneath the financial architecture lies a set of political currents that could carry consequences far beyond Wall Street or Silicon Valley.
At the core is EA’s FIFA franchise, one of the most successful video game series of all time, selling hundreds of millions of copies and embedding itself in global youth culture. For decades, EA held exclusive licensing rights from FIFA, the world’s governing body of football, allowing it to use real players, clubs, leagues, and tournaments. Though the formal partnership ended in 2022 and the series is now branded EA Sports FC, most of the public still associates the franchise with “FIFA.” This cultural overlap creates a unique soft-power channel: EA’s games shape the perception of global football every bit as much as FIFA itself.
This is where geopolitics enters. FIFA has long been an arena for political disputes, with repeated attempts by Arab and Muslim member associations to sanction or suspend Israel. Proposals have included banning Israeli clubs in West Bank settlements or even expelling Israel outright. While FIFA leadership has resisted these moves, the possibility of a future boycott remains a looming threat. If such a boycott were to occur, it could severely damage Israel’s visibility in the world’s most popular sport. But if Kushner were to control EA, his company would hold the digital keys to football’s cultural presence. Even if FIFA took punitive measures, EA could continue to feature Israeli teams, leagues, and players in its globally consumed games, effectively insulating Israel from cultural erasure. In this way, the deal could serve as a soft-power hedge against FIFA politics, keeping Israel visible in the sport’s digital imagination regardless of official sanction.
The financing structure deepens the intrigue. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a rumored partner in the deal, has historically supported pro-Palestinian initiatives in FIFA. Yet Riyadh has recently shifted course, pursuing normalization with Israel and using massive sports investments—from golf to football—to project global influence. Backing Kushner in acquiring EA would represent a dual-track strategy: maintain political balancing acts in FIFA diplomacy while quietly placing a culturally dominant product in the hands of a figure aligned with Israel. That alignment could protect Israel from exclusion in football’s entertainment ecosystem, even as political disputes continue in Zurich.
Critics, however, will argue that such an acquisition blurs dangerous lines between politics, business, and media control. Kushner has already faced scrutiny for his ties to Gulf sovereign wealth funds after leaving government service. Acquiring EA with Saudi backing invites questions about foreign influence over data, content, and cultural narratives. It also risks backlash from FIFA itself, which may see such maneuvers as interference or as an attempt to undermine the organization’s authority. For Kushner personally, the optics of leveraging family political connections, Middle Eastern sovereign capital, and cultural franchises to influence international disputes will almost certainly ignite opposition in Washington and beyond.
Still, the potential symbolism is hard to ignore. In a moment when digital platforms, games, and entertainment increasingly intersect with global politics, Kushner’s bid for EA is not just a mega-deal in private equity terms. It is a reminder that control over culture—be it through FIFA, The Sims, or other global brands—can serve as a strategic counterweight to geopolitical isolation. If successful, the acquisition would mark the first time a politically connected U.S. figure, backed by a foreign sovereign wealth fund, takes control of a global sports franchise in digital form. That convergence of money, politics, and culture makes this story about far more than gaming—it is about the future of influence itself.