Erik Prince
Erik Prince | |
---|---|
Born | Erik Dean Prince 1969/06/06 Holland, Michigan, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | U.S. Naval Academy, Hillsdale College |
Religion | Christian, a convert to the |
Parents | • Edgar D. Prince • Elsa Prince-Broekhuizen |
Children | 7 |
Spouse | Joan Nicole Prince |
Founder of | Blackwater |
Member of | Association of Former Intelligence Officers, Blackwater |
Erik Prince is best known as the founder of Blackwater, a company renamed multiple times to try to escape its unenviable reputation. |
Erik Prince, billionaire founder of Academi, is brother of billionaire Betsy DeVos. During the active years as CEO of Blackwater (XE) and other companies that were related, he was reported to be "very tight with top agency officials", carrying a 'green badge' that allows contractors to access CIA installations and being in Langley regularly to meet with senior people in the Directorate of Operations (running covert operations).[1]
Early Background
Prince was accepted into the United States Naval Academy and attended for three semesters before leaving, explaining that he loved the Navy but disliked the Academy. He went on to receive his B.A. in economics from Hillsdale College in 1992. After college, Prince was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy via Officer Candidate School in 1992. He went on to become a Navy SEAL and deployed with SEAL Team 8 to Haiti, the Middle East, and the Balkans.
Ukraine
Prince was reported to be planning to establish a $10 billion PMC in Ukraine.[2]. Prince is reported to be "very tight with top agency officials" for over a decade, up to and including during the Trump administration, carrying a 'green badge' that allows contractors to access CIA installations and being in Langley regularly to meet with senior people in the Directorate of Operations (running covert operations). The plan was reported by Time magazine to be stonewalled by elements in the Joe Biden administrations and CIA officers arresting Prince his associates in Washington D.C.
Out of Afghanistan
On 26 August 2021, Lowkey tweeted:
Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater and other private military contractors that made millions out of the war, is now charging $6,500 per seat for Afghans hoping to fly out of Kabul airport.[3]