Larry Fink’s BlackRock, Marc Rowan’s Apollo Global Management, and Henry Kravis’s KKR are in talks to manage a US investment fund to bankroll postwar reconstruction in Ukraine, The Post has learned.
Sources familiar with the matter said Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, was in New York City on Wednesday for exploratory discussions with the top asset managers in Manhattan’s swanky Hudson Yards development.
“Kushner is looking for a US-based asset manager who will administer and officiate over the Ukraine reconstruction fund,” said one insider.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink halted his firm’s own multi-billion-dollar Ukraine Development Fund in July amid uncertainty over how President Trump would try to end the war.
Fink and Kushner, who runs the Saudi-backed Affinity Partners fund, took part in a call with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday.
“BlackRock is considered the most neutral. If you look in the past — which firm the government has been the most comfortable with — it was BlackRock. They are the clear frontrunners,” one source said.
“This is not a huge money maker for whoever does it. They are not going to charge incentive fees. It’s a public service,” the person briefed on the situation added.
“You are going to ingratiate yourself with the president and Mr Kushner. Anyone who gets this mandate is going to be considered No. 1 with this administration — and they are going to f–k the Europeans.”
Indeed, the move could raise fears amongst Ukraine’s allies in Europe that they will be cut out of any lucrative contracts to rebuild the war-torn country.
The Trump administration, via the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), in September pledged $75 million in equity intended to jumpstart the fund’s investment in critical minerals, hydrocarbons, defense, and related infrastructure in Ukraine.
That investment is set to be matched by Kyiv to bring it to an initial combined total of $150 million, but DFC stressed that much of the work would be done by “aligned private sector partners.”
The talks come as Ukrainian government officials, including Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, are set to hold what one source described as “marathon talks” about the US-backed peace proposal.
They will also focus on how to rebuild the nation that has been subjected to a brutal four-year attempt to wipe Ukraine off the map by Russian invaders.
Kushner, who is not formally part of the administration, has emerged as a central figure in the process of negotiating a peace settlement between Ukraine and Russia.
Alongside Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, he attended five hours of Kremlin talks last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then later discussions with a Ukrainian delegation in Florida.
The 44-year-old, married to the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, previously played a major role in negotiating a ceasefire agreement in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and has also put forward proposals for reconstruction in Gaza.
A key point in plans for the reconstruction of Ukraine has been the establishment of an investment fund for sectors including rare metals – sought by the United States, with Svyrydenko playing a key role in setting it up.
Kyiv sent its own revised draft of the now 20-point plan to the White House on Wednesday, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
It reportedly includes the creation of a demilitarized zone along the line of contact, security guarantees for Ukraine in line with NATO’s Article 5, and membership for Ukraine in the European Union by 2027.
It removes language barring Ukraine from ever joining NATO, but does not mention if the country will ever join the military alliance – a key Kremlin talking point.
