Trump's FBI pick stands to make millions from Shein

Kash Patel is in line for Senate confirmation. Critics question potential conflicts of interest in owning shares of a foreign firm with China ties.

- Dave Michaels, Corrie Driebusch & Shen Lu

When the China-founded fashion company Shein goes public as soon as this year, it will mint billionaires and millionaires out of those fortunate enough to get shares early in the trendy retailer.

Among the winners will be Kash Patel, the confidant of President Trump, picked to run the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Patel consulted for Shein's parent company, Elite Depot, for nine months last year and was compensated with stock valued at between $1 million and $5 million, according to a financial disclosure report he filed this year. Patel has agreed to divest the shares he owns in public companies such as Meta and Apple if the Senate confirms him as FBI director, which is expected on Thursday. But Patel plans to retain his shares in Elite Depot, and the FBI allowed him to do so. Those shares will vest—or become his to trade—over the course of 2025, which effectively means he will have a continuing financial relationship with a foreign company, compensation experts said.

The arrangement highlights Patel's unconventional background to run the FBI. Past bureau leaders have been former judges or longtime Justice Department officials. Patel was a lawyer for much of his career, but pivoted to politically minded entrepreneurship in recent years. He has sold pro-Trump merchandise and obtained a seat on the board of directors of Trump's media company. More important, he opened a consulting firm in 2021 that has brought him more than $2 million in income. And his ties to clients including Shein have raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.

Shein, founded in China in 2012, relocated its headquarters to Singapore in 2021. It contracts with thousands of Chinese factories that churn out new styles every day, and has services such as warehousing and back offices there.

Patel's critics have questioned why the FBI director would maintain a financial stake in a foreign company with Chinese ties.