Mormon Adviser Ousted Ex-Gambler From Musk Inner Circle: WSJ
Jared Birchall was in charge of Elon’s fortune until Ivan Kurganov, a pot-smoking poker player, arrived on the scene.
Joe Skipper/Reuters
The Wall Street Journal has published a fascinating look at a tug-of-war over control of Elon Musk’s fortune that pitted his strait-laced Mormon fixer against a groovy pot-smoking ex-gambler. The article details how Russian-born Ivan Kurganov, who racked up $18 million in winnings at poker tables, went from being a Musk friend to an adviser in charge of $5.7 billion the Tesla founder had earmarked for charity. That rankled Jared Birchall, a teetotaling wealth manager who heads Musk’s family office. The Journal reports that the situation came to a head when Birchall discovered the FBI was sniffing around Kurganov, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Birchall then won a battle to push the Russian out of the Musk foundation in May.
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