Saudi ties entangle Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective

“Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance has become a litmus test for business leaders,” Dylan Byers reports for NBC News. “The allegation that Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who wrote for The Washington Post, was brutally murdered at the hands of Saudi officials has forced executives to reckon with their ties to the Arab kingdom. Some, like Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, have suspended business dealings there. Several, including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, have backed out of the high-profile Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh.”
Laurene Powell Jobs“For others, like Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of the powerful philanthropic investment group Emerson Collective, which owns a majority stake in The Atlantic, the ties are more nuanced — and perhaps more complicated,” Byers reports. “Powell Jobs does not have business dealings with Saudi Arabia. She was never scheduled to attend the Future Investment Initiative. But one of her closest aides at Emerson, Michael Klein, is a highly influential power broker for the Saudi kingdom and its U.S. investments.”
“Klein, a Wall Street rainmaker and former Citigroup executive, is a managing partner at Emerson and helps manage the company’s business, which includes investments in a variety of media properties such as Axios and OZY Media in addition to its majority stake in The Atlantic,” Byers reports. “Powell Jobs has known Klein since college, even before she met her husband Steve Jobs, the late Apple co-founder and CEO. In addition to handling business affairs for Emerson, those familiar with Klein describe him as an informal adviser to Powell Jobs. ‘He’s kind of the final voice in Laurene’s ear,’ said one source with knowledge of their relationship. A spokesperson for Emerson declined to comment on the ties.”
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MacDailyNews Take: For some reason, we just got the urge to go watch some Bourne films.
Aidan McLaughlin reports for Mediate that, per two sources who spoke to CNN, “the Saudis are preparing a report admitting that they intended to abduct and bring Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia, but that he was inadvertently killed in the process. The report is intended, per CNN, to absolve the Saudi government of responsibility for the murder by claiming the operation was not cleared.”

Just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened “to our Saudi Arabian citizen.” He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer. I am immediately sending our Secretary of State to meet with King!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2018

“Earlier on Monday, President Donald Trump said he spoke with Saudi King Salman, who ‘firmly denied any knowledge’ of the murder of Khashoggi,” McLaughlin reports. “Trump also said Salman suggested those responsible for his death could be ‘rogue killers.'”
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