Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund — which invested $375 million in Elon Musk’s Twitter buyout — says it hasn’t told the new CEO to tweet less

Huileng Tan

January 20, 2023

Composite of Qatar Investment Authority CEO Mansoor Al-Mahmoud (L) and Elon Musk (R)

Qatar Investment Authority CEO Mansoor Al-Mahmoud endorsed Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter.Business Wire, Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images

Qatar Investment Authority’s CEO told Bloomberg TV it hasn’t asked Elon Musk to tweet less.

QIA’s CEO said the fund trusts Musk’s leadership to turn the company around.

The sovereign wealth fund pumped $375 million into Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition.

The head of the Qatari sovereign wealth fund — which pumped $375 million into Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter — said it hasn’t asked the social media company’s new CEO to tweet less.

“Have you asked him to tweet less in the last eight months? There was so much volatility. Do you get involved in those calls?” Bloomberg TV’s Francine Lacqua asked Mansoor Al Mahmoud, the CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, or QIA, in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Not really, I mean we do not really involved to that extent in term of, again, he has our trust and we are sure that he would manage it very professionally,” Al Mahmoud responded, indicating the fund isn’t involved in Twitter’s day-to-day operations.

“We engage with the management, with Elon in terms of the plan that he has for the company, and we believe in this, and we trust his leadership in terms of turning around the company,” he further said.

Al Mahmoud told Insider in a separate statement on Wednesday that QIA is among a consortium of financial investors in Twitter, and that it places “very much trust in the leadership” of the social media company.

Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in late October, Musk has instituted sweeping changes at the company, including mass layoffs — which he said was necessary as the company was losing $4 million a day — and reinstating the account of former President Donald Trump after taking a poll.

Musk has also been commenting more about political issues since acquiring the platform, adding to controversies surrounding the company which have spilled over to Tesla, where Musk is also the CEO.

The Qatar Investment Fund is one of a group of high-profile investors who have provided funding for Musk’s Twitter deal. The list also including Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Binance, according to a regulatory filing.