*By Michael Teich* American businesses withdrawing from Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative conference are hypocritical for boycotting the kingdom after the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said Axios business editor Dan Primack. "I'm not sure they all internalize or recognize \[that\]," Primack said Monday in an interview on Cheddar. "Where were they when the Saudis were basically encouraging or creating a famine in Yemen? Where were they when they were jailing activists? There's all this talk that women are now allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, which is great, but a lot of women who advocated for that in Saudi Arabia are still in jail," Primack said. "Yet everyone was willing to go to this conference two weeks ago." A number of high-profile names in business have already excused themselves from the conference, including Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, JPMorgan ($JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon, BlackRock ($BLK) CEO Larry Fink, and Mastercard ($MA) CEO Ajaypal Banga. But Primack said Wall Street and Silicon Valley shouldn't be leading the charge against Saudi Arabia. "The problem here is it should be the White House taking the lead here," he said. "If they put sanctions, it gives businesses some sort of, not only PR cover, but also structural cover. It can maybe even get out of deals because there are sanctions put on by the government." Canceling a trip to the finance conference in Riyadh is a necessary first step, but it will be crucial to examine the businesses' actual relationships to Saudi Arabia beyond this event, Primack said. The Blackstone Group's ($BX) founder and CEO Stephen Schwarzman, declared Monday he would no longer be attending the event, which is hosted by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund. But, as Primack noted, "Blackstone has gotten a commitment of about $20 billion from the Saudi government for a new global infrastructure fund it's raising." "Blackstone has earnings Thursday, and they're going to have to address this," he said. For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/wapo-journalist-disappearance-could-sever-business-ties-for-saudi-arabia-2).

Share:
More In Business
Michigan Judge Sentences Walmart Shoplifters to Wash Parking Lot Cars
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
State Department Halts Plan to buy $400M of Armored Tesla Vehicles
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
Goodyear Blimp at 100: ‘Floating Piece of Americana’ Still Thriving
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
Load More