Jake Sullivan spent his final 15 months as President Biden’s national security adviser defending the continued flow of American weapons to Israel as it carried out a military assault on Gaza that human rights organizations and a United Nations commission have concluded amount to genocide. After leaving the White House, Sullivan turned the experience into a business opportunity.
In 2025, Sullivan collected more than half a million dollars in speaking fees from private equity firms, a global consulting giant, a multinational corporation, an exclusive network of corporate executives, and a Dubai investing conference. After commissions, he took home approximately $437,000, according to an annual financial disclosure filed by his wife, Democratic Rep. Maggie Goodlander (N.H.). Sullivan also consulted for an investment firm and a geopolitical advisory company, though the amounts he earned from those arrangements were not disclosed.
His largest speaking fee, $120,000, came from AIM Summit FZ LLC, which organizes an invitation-only alternative investment conference in Dubai for hedge fund managers, private equity executives, family offices, sovereign wealth funds, and financial associations. The summit markets itself as a bridge between the West and East, offering attendees networking opportunities and confidential private roundtables where participants can exchange information unavailable to the public. Sullivan appeared at its October 2025 conference at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers.
The organizations paying Sullivan included firms with interests in defense policy and government contracting, as Goodlander serves on the House Armed Services Committee. Private equity firm CVC, which paid him $100,000 for a speech, is the majority owner of Ontic, a supplier of parts and repair services for military and civilian aircraft. McKinsey, which paid Sullivan $75,000, operates a global defense and security practice that advises defense ministries and other government agencies, and has a history of consulting for Israel’s Defense Ministry.
The German multinational corporation Siemens AG paid Sullivan $40,000. Its subsidiary Siemens Government Technology sells cybersecurity, infrastructure, and digitalization services to the Pentagon and holds contracts with the Army, Navy and Air Force. Private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, which paid him $35,000, owns GovCIO, a major technology contractor that works with the Defense Department and other federal agencies.
World 50, which paid Sullivan $180,000 for three appearances, operates as a private, invitation-only network for corporate executives, including from defense firms like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing.
