Earlier this month, a meme shared across social media by accounts supporting Vice President Kamala Harris claimed Republican vice presidential candidate Ohio Sen. JD Vance owned financial interests in an app that allegedly sold American real estate to foreigners.
"Remember: JD Vance gets rich by owning an app (AcreTrader)," one of the posts claimed.
"[The app] helps investors outside of the United States snap up real estate deals (including many family farms and rental properties) that are then owned by people who have never and will never see those places and who ONLY own those places to obtain money and power in our country," it continued.
It is true that Vance personally invested up to $65,000 in AcreTrader, as reported by Fast Company, citing the senator's 2022 financial disclosure to the Senate Ethics Committee. He provided the funding through Narya Capital, a venture capital firm he founded in the same year that focused on funding technology startups outside of Silicon Valley. He left Narya Capital in December 2022.
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What Is AcreTrader?
AcreTrader is a farmland real estate investment company. It provides accredited investors with opportunities to invest in agricultural land in the US.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) defines a person as an accredited investor as an individual with enough money or experience to handle the potential risks of investments. The SEC has no citizen requirements, meaning foreign individuals can also invest with AcreTrader.
Does Vance Still Hold Financial Interest With AcreTrader?
It is unclear if Vance's investment in AcreTrader is ongoing despite leaving Narya.
Snopes noted that there was no indication that the senator had given up his financial interest in the company. His most recent financial disclosure listed several entities with the name "Narya." It is unclear what investments the "Narya" entities hold and what level of investment Vance holds in those.
Last month, the agricultural news outlet Civil Eats spoke with Lisa Graves, executive director of investigative research firm True North Research. She said Vance sold off his stock in "Narya Capital Management LLC." However, she noted that those were not the same "investment vehicles" the senator used to invest in AcreTrader.
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