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Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos spent weeks cruising the French Riviera aboard a luxury superyacht owned by Turkish energy billionaires while her father-in-law conducted sensitive oil negotiations in Libya as a U.S. diplomat.
The couple vacationed on the Phoenix 2, a 300-foot vessel owned by Turkish petrochemical moguls Ercument and Ruya Bayegan, during July while Massad Boulos worked as the State Department's senior Africa adviser on Libyan energy deals. The yacht, valued at over $1.4 million per week when last chartered, features two helipads, a swimming pool and an 18-foot bronze phoenix figurehead.
The overlapping timeline has intensified scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest as Tiffany Trump, the president's fourth child, enjoyed the hospitality of foreign business leaders who stand to benefit from American foreign policy decisions.
Ruya Bayegan's energy company BGN International would profit from any increase in Libyan oil production that her father-in-law was negotiating.
Digital evidence from ship-tracking websites and Tiffany Trump's social media posts indicates the family spent at least 10 days between July 17-27 aboard luxury vessels in the Mediterranean. The couple also used the Magna Grecia, owned by Greek billionaire Ioannis Papalekas, whose company has energy sector interests.
A spokesperson for BGN said Ruya Bayegan was not aboard the Phoenix 2 during the Trump family's stay, leaving unclear who extended the invitation. The company called inquiries about yacht guests "not relevant to BGN's business operations in Libya."
Weeks after stepping off the Turkish billionaire's yacht, Tiffany Trump and Michael Boulos joined President Trump aboard Air Force One for a state visit to Britain. The couple appeared as American dignitaries at Windsor Castle, with Michael Boulos entering the state dinner alongside Catherine, Princess of Wales, despite holding no government office.
The stark contrast between the private luxury vacation and official diplomatic events has highlighted questions about where government interests end and Trump family benefits begin. There is nothing necessarily illegal about a diplomat's family traveling aboard yachts of those who benefit from American foreign policy, but the arrangement echoes criticisms Trump previously leveled at Hunter Biden.
Massad Boulos, the Lebanese-American businessman who became Tiffany Trump's father-in-law through her marriage to Michael Boulos, has operated outside traditional diplomatic channels since joining the administration. Career diplomats and senior officials have privately expressed concerns about his approach in Lebanon, Libya and across Africa.
The businessman, who played a key role mobilizing Arab-American voters for Trump's 2024 campaign, has discussed unlocking tens of billions in Libyan assets frozen since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising. Such arrangements could violate UN Security Council sanctions and signal American support for one faction in Libya's divided government.
On July 23, Boulos dined privately with Libya's national security adviser Ibrahim Dbeibeh at a seaside villa after announcing oil deals in Tripoli. Initially denying the meeting, Boulos later acknowledged the dinner when confronted with details.
The yacht vacation occurred as Michael Boulos has expressed interest in Libya's oil industry, according to family associates and Tripoli business community sources. Any such ventures would require support from the Dbeibeh government that his father now negotiates with as a U.S. diplomat.
State Department officials took the unusual step of asking Lebanese counterparts to conduct diplomacy through the U.S. Embassy rather than directly with Boulos. The White House also quietly advised Morocco to decline his request for a meeting with King Mohammed VI this summer.
Despite criticism, Boulos has achieved diplomatic successes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised him as a "superstar" for helping broker a peace accord between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, though an accompanying mining deal remains unsettled amid questions about Boulos's role in the delay.
Libya remains split between an internationally recognized government in Tripoli and an eastern administration led by former general Khalifa Haftar, making American diplomatic engagement particularly sensitive to perceptions of favoritism.
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