:Erik Prince

Prince was born on June 6, 1969, in Holland, Michigan, the son of Edgar D. Prince and his wife, Elsa (Zwiep),{{efn| At the time of their marriage, she was known by her maiden name, Elsa Zwiep. Following her marriage to Prince, she was known as Elsa Prince. After Prince's death in 1995 she married, in 2000, a minister, Ren Broekhuizen, and was known as Elsa Prince-Broekhuizen.}} and the youngest of four children.{{cite news|url= http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/NEWS06/710070665|title= Ready for battle|author1= Jim Schaefer|author2= M.L. Elrick|author3= Todd Spangler|newspaper= The Detroit Free Press|date= October 7, 2007|access-date= October 7, 2007|archive-date= November 26, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151126053013/http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/NEWS06/710070665|url-status= dead}} He graduated from Holland Christian High School.{{Cite news|url=http://europe.newsweek.com/profile-blackwaters-erik-prince-103877|title=Profile: Blackwater's Restless Erik Prince|newspaper=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=February 1, 2017}} Prince and his father toured the world together, visiting the Dachau concentration camp, divided Berlin, and the battlefields of Normandy. According to his mother, these trips "made a big impression" on the young Prince.{{harvnb|Simons|2009 |pp=11–2}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_princeqa_071408w/|title=Erik Prince exclusive interview|work=Army Times|date=July 2008|access-date=June 8, 2023|archive-date=January 17, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117093017/http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_princeqa_071408w/|url-status=bot: unknown}}{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14659780|title=Blackwater's Prince Has GOP, Christian Group Ties|publisher=NPR|date=September 25, 2007|first=Corey|last=Flintoff}}{{cite news|url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/04/08/blackwater-founder-erik-prince/100161630/|title=Betsy DeVos' brother, Blackwater founder Erik Prince, sparks headlines|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=April 8, 2017|first=John|last=Wisely}}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/washington/08prince.html|title=Blackwater Chief at Nexus of Military and Business|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 8, 2007|first=James|last=Risen}}{{cite journal|url=http://www.newsweek.com/profile-blackwaters-erik-prince-103877|title=Profile: Blackwater's Erik Prince|journal=Newsweek|date=October 31, 2017|first=Evan|last=Thomas}} During his time at Hillsdale, he served as a volunteer firefighter and as a cold-water diver for the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Department.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hillsdale.net/stories/111207/news_20071112013.shtml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090817185852/http://www.hillsdale.net/stories/111207/news_20071112013.shtml |url-status=dead|title=Hillsdale.net – Hillsdale, MI |access-date=December 30, 2007|archive-date=August 17, 2009}} Prince eventually became an emergency medical technician.{{harvnb|Simons|2009 |p=19}}

In 1990, Prince secured an internship in the White House under George H. W. Bush,[http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,509264,00.html White-Collar Mercenary Under Fire] by Marc Pitzke, Der Spiegel, October 3, 2007, but soon left to intern for California congressman Dana Rohrabacher, President Ronald Reagan's former speechwriter. Rohrabacher described Prince as "a bright, driven young man." At the age of 21, Prince volunteered to search for a mass grave in Nicaragua, to expose killings that had taken place under President Daniel Ortega and later said that he had found the mass grave.{{cite web|url=http://archive.mensjournal.com/an-american-commando-in-exile/2|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120903214004/http://archive.mensjournal.com/an-american-commando-in-exile/2|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 3, 2012|title=An American Commando in Exile|last=Pelton|first=Robert Young|work=Men's Journal|access-date=June 3, 2011}}

After college, Prince was commissioned as an officer in the United States Navy via Officer Candidate School in 1992. Prince then received orders to Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S) at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. After six months of training, Prince graduated with BUD/S class 188 in 1993.{{Cite book |title=Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror |last=Prince |first=Erik|publisher=The Penguin Group|year=2013 |isbn=978-1591847212}} Following SEAL Tactical Training (STT) and completion of six month probationary period, he received the 1130 designator as a Naval Special Warfare Officer, entitled to wear the Special Warfare insignia. He deployed with SEAL Team 8 to Haiti, the Middle East, and the Balkans. He credits the SEALs for being an outlet for his entrepreneurial spirit. In his autobiography he states that during the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s, he realized that there was a need for private training facilities for special operations. Following his father's death in 1995, Prince ended his U.S. Navy service prematurely.{{Cite magazine |title=Erik Prince's Private Wars|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/erik-prince-libya-blackwater-roger-stone-trump-2020-election-1077089/ |access-date=2023-09-21 | date=2020-10-25|magazine=Rolling Stone}} A year later, Prince helped facilitate the sale of his father's auto parts company to Johnson Controls for US$1.35 billion.{{cite news|title=Another Deal In Auto Parts Consolidation|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/19/business/another-deal-in-auto-parts-consolidation.html|access-date=May 16, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 19, 1996}}

Prince moved to Virginia Beach and personally financed the formation of Blackwater Worldwide in 1997.The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, [http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=108028&ran=144012 "Blackwater's top brass"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829031125/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=108028&ran=144012 |date=August 29, 2007 }} July 24, 2006. He bought {{convert|6000|acre|km2}} of the Great Dismal Swamp of North Carolina and set up a school for special operations."The Man Behind Blackwater". Newsweek. October 23, 2007, pp. 36–39. The name "Blackwater" comes from the peat-colored bogs in which the school is located.{{harvnb|Simons|2009}}

Prince credits the 1994 Rwandan genocide with his decision to found Blackwater. He later said, "It really bothered me. It made me realize you can't sit back and pontificate. You have to act."{{cite web|author=Photos by Mark Copier|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2010/05/protests_outside_cheers_inside.html |title=Protests outside, cheers inside as Blackwater founder Erik Prince speaks in Holland |publisher=MLive.com |date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=August 25, 2013}}

From 1997 to 2010, Blackwater was awarded $2 billion in government security contracts,Nissenbaum, Dion (November 18, 2013). "Blackwater founder works on next chapter". The Wall Street Journal. p. B4. more than $1.6 billion of which were unclassified federal contracts and an unknown amount of classified work. From 2001 to 2010, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) awarded up to $600 million in classified contracts to Blackwater and its affiliates.{{cite web|title=Prince's business covertly won U.S.contracts|publisher=Grand Rapids Gazette|date= April 9, 2010|url= http://www.mlive.com/grpress/frontpage/pdfs/A1_Saturday.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183150/http://www.mlive.com/grpress/frontpage/pdfs/A1_Saturday.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2016}} It became the largest of the State Department's three private security companies, providing 987 guards for embassies and bases abroad.{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/blackwater-founder-to-sell-up-as-criticism-takes-its-toll-1994967.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610231223/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/blackwater-founder-to-sell-up-as-criticism-takes-its-toll-1994967.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 10, 2010 | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Kim | last=Sengupta | title=Blackwater founder to sell up as criticism takes its toll | date=June 9, 2010}} Prince built a shooting range on his rural Virginia land to serve as a nearby training facility to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

Blackwater came under increasing criticism after the Nisour Square massacre in September 2007, in which Blackwater employees opened fire in a crowded square in Baghdad, killing 17 Iraqi civilians and seriously wounding 20 more. Three guards were convicted in October 2014 of 14 manslaughter charges, and another of murder, in a U.S. court in 2019.[https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/oct/22/us-jury-convicts-blackwater-security-guards-iraq U.S. Jury convicts Blackwater guards in 2007 killings of Iraqi civilians], The Guardian. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/blackwater-nicholas-slatten-prison_n_5d54707be4b08ed26723d9d9|title=Ex-Blackwater Contractor Sentenced To Life For Deaths Of 14 Iraqi Civilians|date=August 14, 2019|website=HuffPost}}

The criticism continued after president Barack Obama took office in 2009. Prince said he believes that much of this criticism stems from politics. "I put myself and my company at the CIA's disposal for some very risky missions", Prince told Vanity Fair for its January 2010 issue. "But when it became politically expedient to do so, someone threw me under the bus."{{cite magazine|last=Ciralsky |first=Adam |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001 |title=January 2010: Adam Ciralsky on Blackwater |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=August 25, 2013}} Blackwater lost a $1 billion contract with the State Department to protect American diplomatic personnel in 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to renew the company's operating license.{{cite web |last1=Sciutto |first1=Jim |last2=Cohen |first2=Zachary |title=US Official: Erik Prince Proposed Private Spy Network To Trump Administration |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/05/politics/erik-prince-private-spy-network-trump-administration/index.html|website=CNN |access-date=December 5, 2017 |date=December 5, 2017}} Nevertheless, in 2010 the Obama administration awarded the company a $120 million State Department security contract and about $100 million in new CIA work.{{cite news| url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10179/1068767-84.stm | work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | first=Warren P. | last=Strobel | title=Obama spares Blackwater on Sudan violations | date=June 28, 2010}}

In 2012 Blackwater's successor company, Academi, paid a combined $49.5 million to settle charges of arms trafficking violations dating back to the period Prince was CEO and chairman of the company.{{cite web |title=Firm Formerly Known As Blackwater Fined $7.5 Million |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/firm-formerly-known-as-blackwater-fined-75-million/ |work=CBS News|date=August 7, 2012 |access-date=August 7, 2012}} In 2020 Prince again became the focus of an FBI investigation into arms trafficking violations related to the conversion of crop dusters into military aircraft.{{cite web |last1=Mindock |first1=Clark |title= Trump Ally Erik Prince Reportedly Under Investigation By FBI For 'Converting Crop Dusters Into Military Aircraft'|url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/erik-prince-trump-crop-dusting-plane-military-fbi-investigation-a9348696.html|website=The Independent |access-date=February 21, 2020 |date=March 7, 2020}} According to a UN report, Prince also violated a UN arms embargo by aiding a plot to arm a Libyan warlord attempting to overthrow the US and UN backed government in Libya.{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan |title= Erik Prince, Trump Ally, Violated Libya Arms Embargo, U.N. Report Says|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/world/middleeast/erik-prince-libya-embargo.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=February 19, 2021 |date=February 19, 2021}}

Prince has defended Blackwater's work, pointing to the fact that during the course of 40,000 personal security missions, only 200 involved guards firing their weapons. He has said, "No one under our care was ever killed or injured. We kept them safe, all the while we had 30 of our men killed."

Prince, according to author Robert Young Pelton, reportedly thinks of Blackwater's relationship to the military as something similar to FedEx's relationship to the U.S. Post Office: "an efficient, privatized solution to sclerotic and wasteful government bureaucracy."{{harvnb|Pelton|2006| p=2}} He credits his father's competitive streak in the automotive business with the inspiration to design a lighter, faster army.{{harvnb|Pelton|2006| p=3}}

Prince resigned as CEO of Blackwater on March 2, 2009, and remained chairman of the board until he sold the company in late 2010 to a group of investors.{{cite news| url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/blackwater-founder-in-deal-to-sell-company/ | work=The New York Times | title=Blackwater Founder in Deal to Sell Company | date=December 16, 2010}}

As Americans and others were being evacuated following the August 2021 collapse of the Afghan government, Prince said he was offering seats on a chartered flight for $6,500 per person.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-kabul-private-rescue-efforts-grow-desperate-as-time-to-evacuate-afghans-runs-out-11629875097|title=In Kabul, Private Rescue Efforts Grow Desperate as Time to Evacuate Afghans Runs Out|first=Dion|last=Nissenbaum|date=August 25, 2021|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=August 26, 2021|url-access=subscription}}

Prince was part of a CIA task force created to engage in targeted killings of suspected terrorists. Prince alleged that the House intelligence congressional committee leaked his name to the press.{{cite magazine|last=Ciralsky |first=Adam |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001?currentPage=1 |title=January 2010: Adam Ciralsky on Blackwater |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=August 25, 2013}} Prince has said that he is convinced that former CIA director Leon Panetta revealed him as a CIA asset, after shutting down the covert CIA training operation in 2009.

After Blackwater faced mounting legal problems in the United States, Prince was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and moved to Abu Dhabi in 2010. His task was to assemble an 800-member group of foreign troops for the U.A.E., which was planned months before the Arab Spring.{{cite news|title=Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater's Founder. Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, has a new project|author1=Mazzetti, Mark|author2=Hager, Emily B.|work=The New York Times |date= May 14, 2011 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/world/middleeast/15prince.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=all| access-date=November 18, 2013}} He helped the UAE found a new company named Reflex Responses, or R2, with 51 percent local ownership, carefully avoiding his name on corporate documents. He worked to oversee the effort and recruit troops, among others from Executive Outcomes, a former South African mercenary firm hired by several African governments during the 1990s to defeat violent rebellions in addition to protecting oil and diamond reserves.

As of January 2011, Prince was training a force of 2,000 Somalis for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The program was funded by several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and backed by the United States. Prince's spokesman, Mark Corallo, said Prince had "no financial role" in the project and declined to answer any questions about Prince's involvement. John Burnett of Maritime Underwater Security Consultants said, "There are 34 nations with naval assets trying to stop piracy and it can only be stopped on land. With Prince's background and rather illustrious reputation, I think it's quite possible that it might work."{{cite news|title=Blackwater founder trains Somalis|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hAHZ9HxuT6KA1abfLIClhXK_ajuQ?docId=bdc6713a3eee4b46803879f8d75639dc|agency=Associated Press|date=January 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124104252/https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hAHZ9HxuT6KA1abfLIClhXK_ajuQ?docId=bdc6713a3eee4b46803879f8d75639dc|archive-date=January 24, 2011}}

In 2011, Prince was invited to Moscow by the Russian Federation. The Russian Federation requested that Prince build "a Blackwater capability" in Russia. Prince trained and drank with Alpha Group, the special forces unit of the Federal Security Service (FSB).{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwK_XLFOm_I&t=7933s |title=Erik Prince - The Rise and Fall of Blackwater {{!}} SRS #029 |date=2022-07-04 |last=Shawn Ryan Show |access-date=2025-01-25 |via=YouTube}}

Prince leads a private equity firm called Frontier Resource Group, and until April 13, 2021, he was also chairman of Frontier Services Group Ltd, a Bermuda-incorporated logistics and transport company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.{{cite news |last=Gridneff |first=Ilya |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-22/south-sudan-chaos-puts-ex-blackwater-ceo-s-refinery-plan-on-hold.html |title=South Sudan Chaos Halts Prince's Plan for Oil Refinery |work=Bloomberg News |date=May 28, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817070705/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-22/south-sudan-chaos-puts-ex-blackwater-ceo-s-refinery-plan-on-hold.html |archive-date=August 17, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }}{{Cite web|last=MarketScreener|title=Frontier Services : RESIGNATION OF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY CHAIRMAN {{!}} MarketScreener|url=https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/FRONTIER-SERVICES-GROUP-L-6165919/news/Frontier-Services-nbsp-RESIGNATION-OF-EXECUTIVE-DIRECTOR-AND-DEPUTY-CHAIRMAN-32967589/|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=www.marketscreener.com|date=April 14, 2021 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Erik Prince, le fondateur de l'ex-Blackwater, a démissionné de Frontier Services Group Limited|url=http://lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr/archive/2021/04/16/erik-prince-le-fondateur-de-l-ex-blackwater-a-demissionne-de-22051.html|access-date=April 17, 2021|website=lignesdedefense.blogs.ouest-france.fr|language=fr}} Frontier Services Group is backed by China's state-owned CITIC Group and Hong Kong-based investor {{ill|Johnson Chun Shun Ko|zh|高振順}},{{cite news |last=Ng |first=Eric |url=http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1404994/dvn-shares-surge-former-blackwater-owner-named-chairman |title=DVN shares surge as former Blackwater owner named chairman |work=South China Morning Post |date=January 14, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805201721/http://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1404994/dvn-shares-surge-former-blackwater-owner-named-chairman |archive-date=August 5, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Eisenhammer |first=Stephen |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-blackwater-prince-idUKBREA1107720140202 |title= Beyond Blackwater: Prince looks to resources in Africa |work=Reuters |date=February 2, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110073958/https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/02/uk-blackwater-prince-idUKBREA1107720140202 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }} with the Chinese government listed as the largest investor. Prince's ventures advise and support Chinese investment in oil and gas in Africa.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/video/lessons-learned-from-the-business-of-war-gkPovJFETgq5tRlPFW9e4w.html |title=Blackwater Founder Prince Now Working With China |work=Bloomberg Television |date=January 31, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }}

In May 2014, it was reported that Prince's plan to build a diesel refinery in South Sudan, in which $10 million had already been invested, was suspended. The halted refinery project was reported to be supported personally by the country's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit. Frontier Services Group was reported to be paid $23.3 million by South Sudan's Ministry of Petroleum to transport supplies and perform maintenance on oil production facilities.{{cite news |last=Gridneff |first=Ilya |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/south-sudan-hires-ex-blackwater-chief-to-restore-war-hit-oil.html |title=South Sudan Hires Ex-Blackwater Chief to Restore War-Damaged Oil Facilities |work=Bloomberg News |date=December 18, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218194607/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-18/south-sudan-hires-ex-blackwater-chief-to-restore-war-hit-oil.html |archive-date=December 18, 2014 |access-date=January 11, 2015 }} To the government of South Sudan, Prince sold three Mi-24 attack helicopters, two L-39 jets, and the services of Hungarian mercenary pilots to operate the aircraft, all for the sum of $43 million.{{sfn|Martell|2019|p=235}} One of the Hungarian pilots attracted some infamy by using his Facebook page to boast about his daily killings.{{sfn|Martell|2019|p=235}}

As part of Prince's Africa-focused investment strategy, Frontier Services Group purchased stakes in two Kenyan aviation companies, Kijipwa Aviation and Phoenix Aviation, to provide logistics services for the country's oil and gas industry. In October 2014, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority denied Kijipwa Aviation an aviation license renewal.{{cite news |last=Herbling |first=David |url=http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Kenya-denies-US-company-aviation-licence/-/539550/2501642/-/dc7ccd/-/index.html |title=State denies American company aviation licence |work=Business Daily Africa |date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028074301/http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Kenya-denies-US-company-aviation-licence/-/539550/2501642/-/dc7ccd/-/index.html |archive-date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=December 6, 2014 }}{{cite news |last=Lamothe |first=Dan |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/10/28/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-combative-secretive-and-expanding-in-africa/ |title=Blackwater founder Erik Prince: Combative, secretive and expanding in Africa |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/32355-kenya-refuses-to-renew-blackwater-founders-kijipwa-aviation-asl |title=Kenya refuses to renew Blackwater founder's Kijipwa Aviation ASL |work=ch-aviation |date=November 6, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107042118/http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/32355-kenya-refuses-to-renew-blackwater-founders-kijipwa-aviation-asl |archive-date=November 7, 2014 |access-date=November 10, 2014 }}

Prince also purchased a 25% stake in Austrian aviation company Airborne Technologies. In 2014, Prince commissioned the company to modify Thrush 510G crop-dusters with surveillance equipment, machine guns, armor, and other weapons, including custom pylons that could mount either NATO or Russian ballistics.{{cite news|last1=Cole|first1=Matthew|title=Report: Blackwater CEO Tried to Sell Armed Planes to South Sudan|url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/blackwater-ceo-erik-prince-tried-sell-aircraft-south-sudan/|access-date=January 27, 2017|work=The Takeaway|publisher=WNYC|date=April 12, 2016}} One of the modified crop-dusters was delivered to Salva Kiir Mayardit's forces in South Sudan shortly before a contract with Frontier Services Group was cancelled. Frontier Services Group owns two of the modified Thrush 510Gs, but since executives learned the craft had been weaponized by Prince, the company has declined to sell or use the aircraft to avoid violating U.S. export controls.{{cite web|last1=Scahill|first1=Jeremy|last2=Cole|first2=Matthew|title=Echo Papa Exposed: Inside Erik Prince's Treacherous Drive to Build a Private Air Force|url=https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-drive-to-build-private-air-force |website=The Intercept|date=April 11, 2016 |access-date=January 27, 2017}}

The New York Times reported in May 2018 that Prince arranged an August 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, attended by himself, Donald Trump Jr., George Nader, and Joel Zamel, during which Nader reportedly told Trump Jr. the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE were eager to help his father win the election, and Zamel pitched a social media manipulation campaign from his Israeli company Psy-Group.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html |title=Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election |last1=Mazzetti|first1=Mark |date=May 19, 2018 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 23, 2019|last2=Bergman|first2=Ronen|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|last3=Kirkpatrick|first3=David D.}} Prince had stated in his November 2017 testimony to the House Intelligence Committee that he had no formal communications or contact, nor any unofficial role, with the Trump campaign.{{Cite web|url=https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/20171130/106661/HHRG-115-IG00-Transcript-20171130.pdf|title=Testimony of Erik Prince|last=U.S. House of Representatives|first=Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence|date=November 30, 2017|website=U.S. House of Representatives |access-date=July 23, 2019}} Asked about this contradiction in March 2019, Prince replied, "I don't know if [the Committee] got the transcript wrong" and "not all the discussion that day was transcribed, and that's a fact."{{Cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2019/03/08/erik-prince-trump-mehdi-hasan/|title=Did Blackwater's Erik Prince Lie to Congress About a Trump Tower Meeting? I Asked Him.|first=Mehdi|last=Hasan|date=March 8, 2019}} Prince acknowledged for the first time in March 2019 that he had attended the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, asserting he was there to "talk about Iran policy".{{cite web|url=https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/433311-erik-prince-acknowledges-attending-2016-trump-tower-meeting-to-talk|title=Erik Prince acknowledges attending 2016 Trump Tower meeting 'to talk about Iran policy'|first=Brooke|last=Seipel|date=March 8, 2019|website=TheHill}}

Special Counsel investigators have examined a meeting around January 11, 2017, in the Seychelles that was convened by the UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (known as "MBZ"), which Prince attended. Also present at that meeting were Nader and Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, who is close to Vladimir Putin. UAE officials reportedly believed that Prince was representing the Trump transition and Dmitriev was representing Putin. The Washington Post had reported on April 3, 2017, that American, European and Arab officials said the Seychelles meeting was "part of an apparent effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between Moscow and President-elect Donald Trump." Prince denied in his November 2017 House Intelligence Committee testimony that he had represented the Trump transition or that the meeting involved any back-channel.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/politics/george-nader-special-counsel-mueller-cooperating-seychelles.html|title=Adviser to Emirates With Ties to Trump Aides Is Cooperating With Special Counsel|first1=Mark|last1=Mazzetti|first2=David D.|last2=Kirkpatrick|first3=Adam|last3=Goldman|date=March 6, 2018|work=The New York Times}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html|title=Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel|first1=Adam|last1=Entous|first2=Greg|last2=Miller|first3=Kevin|last3=Sieff|first4=Karen|last4=DeYoung|date=April 3, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403235610/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html|archive-date=April 3, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=December 1, 2017 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/30/politics/erik-prince-testimony-details-seychelles-meeting-russian-banker/index.html|title=Prince details meeting with Russian banker|first1=Manu|last1=Raju|first2=Jeremy|last2=Herb|first3=Marshall|last3=Cohen|publisher=CNN|access-date=March 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306105409/https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/30/politics/erik-prince-testimony-details-seychelles-meeting-russian-banker/index.html|archive-date=March 6, 2018|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/mueller-exposes-erik-princes-lies-about-his-seychelles-rendezvous-with-top-russian-kirill-dmitriev|title=Mueller Exposes Erik Prince's Lies About Russian Rendezvous|last=Banco|first=Erin|date=April 18, 2019|work=Daily Beast|access-date=July 23, 2019|language=en}} The Washington Post reported on March 7, 2018, that the Special Counsel had gathered evidence that contradicts Prince,{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-gathers-evidence-that-2016-seychelles-meeting-was-effort-to-establish-back-channel-to-kremlin/2018/03/07/b6a5fb8c-224b-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html|title=Mueller gathers evidence that 2017 Seychelles meeting was effort to establish back channel to Kremlin|first1=Sari|last1=Horwitz|first2=Devlin|last2=Barrett|date=March 7, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=March 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308004833/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/mueller-gathers-evidence-that-2016-seychelles-meeting-was-effort-to-establish-back-channel-to-kremlin/2018/03/07/b6a5fb8c-224b-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html|archive-date=March 8, 2018|url-status=live}} and ABC News reported on April 6, 2018, that Nader had met with Prince at a Manhattan hotel days before the Seychelles meeting and later provided him with biographical information about Dmitriev.{{cite news|first1=Pierre |last1=Thomas |first2=James Gordon |last2=Meek |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mueller-evidence-raising-questions-prince-testimony-meeting-russian/story?id=54277090|title=Trump supporter, Putin ally meeting may not have been by chance: Sources|date=April 6, 2018|work=ABC News|access-date=April 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406114500/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mueller-evidence-raising-questions-prince-testimony-meeting-russian/story?id=54277090|archive-date=April 6, 2018|url-status=live}}

The Mueller report later found that Nader had represented Prince to Dmitriev as "designated by Steve [Bannon] to meet you! I know him and he is very very well connected and trusted by the New Team", while Prince "acknowledged that it was fair for Nader to think that Prince would pass information on to the Transition Team", although Bannon told investigators that Prince had not informed him of the Dmitriev meeting in advance. Prince testified to the House Intelligence Committee that "I didn't fly there to meet any Russian guy", although the Mueller report found that he and Nader made significant preparations to meet Dmitriev. Although Prince characterized a second meeting between him and Dmitriev in a hotel bar as a chance encounter of no consequence, the meeting was actually pre-arranged after Prince had learned from calls back home that Russia had moved an aircraft carrier off Libya and he wanted to convey that the United States would not accept any Russian involvement in Libya.[https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf Mueller report], vol. 1, p. 151{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/putin-ally-seychelles-meeting-erik-prince-chance-encounter/story?id=55408942|title=Putin ally suggests Seychelles meeting more than chance encounter|website=ABC News}}

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff announced on April 30, 2019, that he was sending a criminal referral to the Justice Department alleging Prince had provided false testimony to the committee.{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schiff-says-hell-send-a-criminal-referral-to-doj-for-erik-prince-over-alleged-false-statements-to-congress|title=Schiff says he'll send a criminal referral to DOJ for Erik Prince over alleged false statements to Congress|first=Brooke|last=Singman|date=April 30, 2019|website=Fox News}}{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/schiff-says-house-will-make-a-criminal-referral-of-trump-ally-erik-prince-for-possible-perjury/2019/04/30/fca8a4de-6b49-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html?noredirect=on |title=Democrats accuse Trump ally Erik Prince of lying to Congress, refer case to Justice Dept. for possible prosecution |author1=John Wagner |author2=Karoun Demirjian |date=April 30, 2019 |website=WashingtonPost.com |access-date=April 30, 2019 }} United States Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd confirmed on February 4, 2020, that the Department of Justice was opening an investigation into Prince.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/05/erik-prince-doj-russia-110955 |title=DOJ reviews allegation that Erik Prince misled Congress in Russia probe |work=Politico |date=February 5, 2020 |first=Kyle |last=Cheney}}{{cite letter |first=Stephen Elliott |last=Boyd |recipient=Adam Schiff |date=February 4, 2020 |url=https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000170-1702-d8de-a579-b7d746710000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205234247/https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000170-1702-d8de-a579-b7d746710000 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 5, 2020 |access-date=February 5, 2020 |title=Dear Chairman Schiff}}

On December 30, 2019, it was reported that Prince had traveled to Venezuela to meet with a top aide of Nicolas Maduro.{{Cite web|date=December 30, 2019|title=AP Exclusive: Trump ally may have broken Venezuela sanctions|url=https://apnews.com/article/0641c2b37886a08240d0ba64c9319699|access-date=November 1, 2020|website=AP NEWS}} Prince has been referred to the United States Treasury Department for possible violations of sanctions against the Maduro government.

The New York Times reported in March 2020 that in recent years Prince had recruited former intelligence agents to infiltrate "Democratic congressional campaigns, labor organizations and other groups considered hostile to the Trump agenda."{{cite web |last1=Mazzetti |first1=Mark |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |title=Erik Prince Recruits Ex-Spies to Help Infiltrate Liberal Groups |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/us/politics/erik-prince-project-veritas.html|website=The New York Times |access-date=March 7, 2020 |date=March 7, 2020}} Prince's efforts were reportedly conducted to assist Project Veritas, a widely discredited{{Cite web|date=November 29, 2017|title=Project Veritas: how fake news prize went to rightwing group beloved by Trump|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/29/project-veritas-how-fake-news-prize-went-to-rightwing-group-beloved-by-trump|access-date=April 26, 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Blackman|first=Jeremy|date=January 13, 2021|title=San Antonio woman arrested on election fraud charges based on Project Veritas video|url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/San-Antonio-woman-arrested-on-election-fraud-15867489.php|access-date=April 26, 2021|website=San Antonio Express-News|language=en-US}} conservative organization that was described as disseminating "coordinated disinformation"{{cite web |last1=Astor |first1=Maggie |title= Project Veritas Video Was A 'Coordinated Disinformation Campaign,' Researchers Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/project-veritas-ilhan-omar.html|website=The New York Times |access-date=September 29, 2020 |date=September 29, 2020}} due to its repeated use of deceptively edited videos in attempts to discredit Democrats, the media, and liberal groups.{{Cite web|url=https://www.salon.com/2020/03/09/erik-prince-recruited-former-spies-to-infiltrate-democratic-campaigns-and-liberal-groups-report/|title=Erik Prince recruited former spies to infiltrate Democratic campaigns and liberal groups: report|date=March 9, 2020|website=Salon|language=en|access-date=March 9, 2020}} Until mid-2018, Richard Seddon, a former British spy, headed the field operations for the plots and trained operatives in Wyoming at the Prince ranch.{{Cite web|url=https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/05/13/breaking-news/activists-and-ex-spy-said-to-have-plotted-to-discredit-trump-enemies-in-government/|title=Activists and ex-spy said to have plotted to discredit Trump 'enemies' in government|first1=Adam |last1=Goldman |first2=Mark |last2=Mazzetti |agency=The New York Times |date=May 13, 2021 |website=Honolulu Star-Advertiser}} Prince also reportedly arranged for Project Veritas employees to receive intelligence training, which ended when the trainer quit because the group "wasn't capable of learning".{{cite web |last1=Messer |first1=Olivia |title=Erik Prince Set Up Intel Training For Project Veritas, James O'Keefe Report |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/erik-prince-set-up-intel-training-for-project-veritas-james-okeefe-report|website=The Daily Beast |access-date=May 3, 2019 |date=May 3, 2019}} Prince continued to support Project Veritas after the organization's failure to disclose to state regulators the criminal conviction of its founder, James O'Keefe, resulted in the revocation of their charitable organization status in multiple states, and caused other donors to withdraw their financial support.{{cite web |last1=Markay |first1=Lachlan |title=James O'Keefe Donor Flees Over Failure To Disclose Criminal Record |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/james-okeefe-donor-flees-over-failure-to-disclose-criminal-record |website=Daily Beast |access-date=December 11, 2017 |date=December 11, 2017}}

In May 2021, The New York Times reported that Project Veritas, with the assistance of a former British spy and Erik Prince, secretly surveilled government employees during the Trump administration with the goal of discrediting perceived critics of former President Trump. Tactics included arranging dates for FBI employees with the intent to record them. The operation failed to record a single official disparaging Trump despite extensive expenditures including rental of an expensive Georgetown home.{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Thomas |title= Project Veritas surveilled government officials to expose anti-Trump sentiments |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/553489-project-veritas-ex-british-spy-surveilled-government-employees-to-expose-anti |website=The Hill |access-date=May 13, 2021 |date=May 13, 2021}}

In April 2020, The Intercept reported that Prince has offered his services as a subcontractor to Russian Wagner group's activities in Mozambique and Libya, suggesting to provide aerial surveillance platforms and a ground force.{{Cite news|last1=Cole|first1=Matthew|last2=Emmons|first2=Alex|url=https://theintercept.com/2020/04/13/erik-prince-russia-mercenary-wagner-libya-mozambique/|title=Erik Prince Offered Lethal Services to Sanctioned Russian Mercenary Firm Wagner|date=April 13, 2020|work=The Intercept}} Investigations by Rolling Stone and The New York Times, based on an internal United Nations report, have since revealed a number of connections between Prince and the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar's attempts in 2019 to overthrow the U.N.-backed government of Libya.{{Cite magazine|last1=Hettena|first1=Seth|date=October 25, 2020|title=Erik Prince's Private Wars|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/erik-prince-libya-blackwater-roger-stone-trump-2020-election-1077089/|access-date=November 1, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone}}{{Cite news|last=Walsh|first=Declan|date=February 19, 2021|title=Erik Prince, Trump Ally, Violated Libya Arms Embargo, U.N. Report Says|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/world/middleeast/erik-prince-libya-embargo.html|access-date=April 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}

On April 14, 2019, Erik Prince made a proposal of an $80 million deal to Libya's militia leader Khalifa Haftar to supply aircraft and other military equipment. Called the Project Opus, it involved purchase of surplus military helicopters from Jordan. The plan was designed to supply intelligence surveillance aircraft, drones, armed assault helicopters, maritime interdiction, and cyber intelligence and targeting capabilities to Haftar's forces. The project was, however, aborted in June 2019.{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2021/02/26/erik-prince-jordan-libya-weapons-opus/|title=Project Opus: Erik Prince and the Failed Plot to Arm a CIA Asset-Turned-Warlord in Libya|access-date=February 26, 2021|website=The Intercept|date=February 26, 2021 }} The planning, management and financing of the Prince's project was done using three firms from the United Arab Emirates, including Lancaster 6 DMCC, L-6 FZE and Opus Capital Asset Limited FZE, which were using a web of shell companies.{{cite web|url=https://undocs.org/S/2021/229|title=Final Report of the Panel of Experts on Libya established pursuant to Security Council resolution|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=United Nations Security Council}}{{cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2021/05/20/serviced-in-serbia-the-lethal-crop-duster-destined-for-war-in-libya/|title=Serviced in Serbia: The Lethal Crop Duster Destined for War in Libya|access-date=May 20, 2021|website=Balkan Insight|date=May 20, 2021 }}

Two of these Emirati firms, Lancaster 6 and Opus Capital Asset were linked to a team of private mercenaries and the unique Pilatus PC-6 ISR aircraft deployed to Libya to support Haftar.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-14/western-mercenaries-went-to-libya-to-help-moscow-s-man-un-finds|title=Western Team Went to Help Moscow's Man in Libya, UN Finds|access-date=May 14, 2020|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|date=May 14, 2020 }} Besides, UAE's L-6 FZE owned a crop duster, LASA T-Bird, which was part of Erik Prince's Project Opus. A UN report in March 2021 revealed that the Light, Attack and Surveillance Aircraft (LASA), which debuted at the Paris Air Show in 2017, flew to Serbia for maintenance in August 2018. The UN stated that the 'agricultural' plane was modified to carry some deadly rockets, including a 32-57mm Rocket Pod, a 16-57mm Rocket Pod and a gun pod fitted with twin 23mm cannon under the aircraft's wings.

Erik Prince was under an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for his alleged involvement in the attempted sale of Jordanian arms to the UAE-backed Khalifa Haftar, as part of the 2019 plan. Previous investigations had revealed that Prince and others breached the Libyan arms embargo. As per the reports, Prince worked with a Jordanian royal, Faisal ibn al-Hussein, to organize the sale and transfer of aircraft and other materiel from Jordan to Libya.{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2021/10/30/fbi-libya-erik-prince-weapons-trafficking/|title=FBI Investigation of Failed Mercenary Plot Delves Into Role of Erik Prince|access-date=October 30, 2021|website=The Intercept|date=October 30, 2021 }} Prince's associate and an Australian pilot, Christiaan Durrant attempted to assure the Jordanian officials that he had “clearances from everywhere” and that the work was approved “at the highest level”.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/19/world/middleeast/erik-prince-libya-embargo.html|title=Erik Prince, Trump Ally, Violated Libya Arms Embargo, U.N. Report Says|accessdate=February 19, 2021|website=The New York Times|date=February 19, 2021 |last1=Walsh |first1=Declan }} However, after Jordan rejected the deal, a meeting was called by Prince at the Army and Navy Club in the US. Also attended by Durrant and a member of Donald Trump’s National Security Council, the meeting had an agenda where Durrant explained the NSC official about Prince's Libyan campaign to support Haftar and asked for the US’ support.{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2021/02/26/erik-prince-jordan-libya-weapons-opus/|title=Project Opus: Erik Prince and the Failed Plot to Arm a CIA Asset-Turned-Warlord in Libya|accessdate=February 26, 2021|website=The Intercept|date=February 26, 2021 }} The United Nations had also tracked transfer of three aircraft owned by Erik Prince to a close associate for use in Libya. It was also reported that the planes were transferred from Prince's companies to a mercenary firm connected to him and based in the United Arab Emirates. Apart from the investigations, Prince was not charged with a crime.

In 2023, the United Nations (UN) linked Prince to a deal in North Kivu, a province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The UN Group of Experts claimed Prince intended to broker a deal that involved the deployment of over two thousand mercenaries from Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina into North Kivu, a region known for its richness in minerals. The mercenaries would have been tasked with halting troop advancement and securing mining areas. The deal stemmed from an agreement between the UAE and DRC. Three South African mercenaries had already scouted the region beforehand.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-29 |title=An American Mercenary Resurfaces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |url=https://inkstickmedia.com/an-american-mercenary-resurfaces-in-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=Inkstick |language=en}}

In March 2025, Prince and Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced a deal to support government security forces in the Ecuadorian conflict.{{cite news|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/12/ecuador-president-blackwater-alliance|title=Ecuador enlists founder of Blackwater private army as ally in 'war' on crime|date=March 12, 2025}}{{cite news|work=CNN|title=Ecuador's president invites foreign armies to fight gangs in the country|date=March 19, 2025|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/19/americas/ecuador-foreign-armies-gangs-intl-latam/index.html}}{{cite news|work=Reuters|title=Blackwater founder to help Ecuador 'do what it takes' on gangs, minister says|date=March 14, 2025|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/blackwater-founder-help-ecuador-do-what-it-takes-gangs-minister-says-2025-03-14/}}

The visit was overshadowed by a controversial security operation in which 63 people were detained and released shortly after, as no crimes were confirmed. Critics labeled it a political stunt. Additionally, Prince made claims against presidential candidate Luisa González, drawing accusations of foreign interference in national politics.[https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2025/04/08/latinoamerica/video/ecuador-seguridad-narcotrafico-estrategia-noboa-erik-prince-conclusiones-tv Erik Prince's visit to Ecuador is just "political marketing," says security expert.] CNN. April 8, 2025

In 2025, Politico reported that a group, led by Prince, had pitched the Trump administration on a proposal for deportations with the support of the private sector.{{Cite web |date=2025-02-25 |title=Trump allies circulate mass deportation plan calling for 'processing camps' and a private citizen 'army' |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/25/documents-military-contractors-mass-deportations-022648 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Danny |date=2025-02-26 |title=Erik Prince: Government needs private sector help for deportations |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/26/trump-deportations-private-sector-00002679 |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}

Prince lives in both Middleburg, Virginia,{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-goes-to-war-against-a-former-business-partner/2015/01/01/23385e8a-6f39-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Ian |last=Shapira |title=Blackwater founder Erik Prince goes to war against a former business partner |date=January 1, 2015}} and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/18blackwater.html |work=The New York Times |first=James |last=Risen |title=Blackwater's Erik Prince Moves to Abu Dhabi |date=August 17, 2010}} He converted to Catholicism in 1992{{cite journal|url=http://www.newsweek.com/profile-blackwaters-erik-prince-103877|title=Profile: Blackwater's Erik Prince|journal=Newsweek|date=October 13, 2007|first=Evan|last=Thomas}} and describes himself as a practicing member of the church.

Prince describes himself as a libertarian. Prince said, "I'm a very free market guy. I'm not a huge believer that government provides a whole lot of solutions. Some think that government can solve society's problems. I tend to think private charities and private organizations are better solutions."Simons, 20

Prince credits his time as a White House intern with some of his political views. He said that "having that White House internship responsibility and badges, I walked around some of these other cavernous federal agencies, and you want to talk about depressing? Walk through HHS or HUD or Commerce, you name it. Leviathan realized." Speaking of his internship, Prince said, "I saw a lot of things I didn't agree with—homosexual groups being invited in, the budget agreement, the Clean Air Act." Disenchanted, Prince became a backer of presidential candidate Pat Buchanan.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpo5E5JagJEC&pg=PA77|title=Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army|last=Scahill|first=Jeremy|year=2011|publisher=Profile Books|isbn=978-1847654786|language=en}}

In a 2024 episode of his podcast Prince said, "If so many of these countries around the world are incapable of governing themselves, it’s time for us to just put the imperial hat back on, to say, we’re going to govern those countries (…) ’cause enough is enough, we’re done being invaded. (…) You can say that about pretty much all of Africa, they’re incapable of governing themselves."{{Cite web |last=Schwarz |first=Jon |date=2024-02-10 |title=Erik Prince Calls for U.S. to Colonize Africa and Latin America |url=https://theintercept.com/2024/02/10/erik-prince-off-leash-imperialism-colonialism/ |access-date=2025-03-16 |website=The Intercept |language=en-US}}

Between 1998 and 2007, Prince donated more than $200,000 to Republican and third-party causes.Mike Barker, AP, [https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3680520 "Testimony Lifts Veil on Blackwater Boss"], October 2, 2007.{{cite news|title=Grilled Blackwater chairman a major GOP donor|url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/grilled_blackwater_chairman_a.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011190228/http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2007/10/grilled_blackwater_chairman_a.html|archive-date=October 11, 2007|author=Malcolm, Andrew|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=October 4, 2007}} In 2006, Prince contributed money to the Green Party of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, as part of a failed effort to help Republican Rick Santorum defeat Democrat Bob Casey. He has donated to the Family Research Council,{{cite book|last=Scahill|first=Jeremy|author-link=Jeremy Scahill|title=Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vpo5E5JagJEC&q=erik+prince+philanthropist&pg=PA81|year=2007|publisher=Nation Books|isbn=978-1846686528|pages=79–83}} a beneficiary of the Prince and DeVos families since the 1980s,{{cite news|title=History of Family Research Council: Rolling Up the Sleeves|url=http://www.frc.org/historymission|publisher=Family Research Council|access-date=November 7, 2017}}

In 2016 Prince contributed $250,000 to Donald Trump's presidential campaign and $100,000 to Make America Number 1, a Trump-aligned super PAC helmed by Rebekah Mercer.{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 3, 2017 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/blackwater-founder-held-secret-seychelles-meeting-to-establish-trump-putin-back-channel/2017/04/03/95908a08-1648-11e7-ada0-1489b735b3a3_story.html |title=Blackwater founder held secret Seychelles meeting to establish Trump-Putin back channel |first1=Adam |last1=Entous |first2=Greg |last2=Miller |author-link3=Kevin Sieff |first3=Kevin |last3=Sieff |author-link4=Karen DeYoung |first4=Karen |last4=DeYoung |access-date=April 4, 2017}}

Other Republican politicians to whom Prince has contributed include Ron Paul, Walter Jones, Joe Miller, Todd Tiarht, Mike Pence, Dana Rohrabacher, Oliver North, Pat Buchanan, Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn, Duncan L. Hunter, Ted Poe, Jon Kyl, Pete Hoekstra, and Mitt Romney.{{cite news|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Blackwater Founder Steps Aside|date=February 3, 2009|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2009/03/resignation_of_blackwaters_pri.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910103957/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2009/03/resignation_of_blackwaters_pri.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 10, 2015}}{{cite web|work=FEC|url=http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/qind/|title=Individual Contributions Arranged By Type, Giver, Then Recipient|access-date=March 26, 2019}}

Prince serves as vice president of the Prince Foundation, an organization his parents founded in 1979.{{cite web|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/22/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-loves-anti-iraq-war-donald-trump0.html|title=Blackwater Founder Erik Prince, Who Got Rich Off Of Iraq, Now Backs 'Anti-War' Donald Trump|website=The Daily Beast|date=October 22, 2016|first=Betsy|last=Woodruff}} In the 1990s Prince founded the Freiheit ("Liberty") Foundation, a nonprofit charity that funded a number of conservative causes. Publicly available tax records indicate the foundation has been largely inactive since 2008 after claiming a $1.8 million loss in 2007 (more than 50 percent of the foundation's assets) related to its investment in Seligman New Technologies Fund,{{Cite web|url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/382902413|title=Freiheit Foundation – Nonprofit Explorer|first=Mike Tigas, Sisi Wei, Ken Schwencke, Brandon Roberts, Alec Glassford|last=ProPublica|website=ProPublica|date=May 9, 2013 }} whose manager was accused of engaging in illegal market timing activity.{{cite web |last1=Trubey |first1=Todd |title=Seligman Funds: Proceed With Caution |url=https://www.morningstar.com/articles/162729/seligman-funds-proceed-with-caution |website=Morningstar |access-date=April 28, 2006 |date=April 26, 2006 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200010/https://www.morningstar.com/articles/162729/seligman-funds-proceed-with-caution |url-status=dead }}

Prince has frequently donated to conservative Christian organizations, including the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty and the Prison Fellowship, and conservative political groups such as the Council for National Policy, of which his father was vice president at the time of his death. After the Nisour Square massacre in which Blackwater employees opened fire in a crowded square in Baghdad, killing seventeen Iraqi civilians and seriously wounding twenty more, Prince supported a Muslim orphanage in Afghanistan and built mosques at Blackwater bases.

Prince is the younger brother of former United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/us/politics/betsy-devos-education-secretary-confirmed.html|title=Betsy DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary; Pence Breaks Tie|first1=Emmarie|last1=Huetteman|first2=Yamiche|last2=Alcindor|date=February 7, 2017|work=The New York Times}}{{cite web|title='Blackwater Air' Is Back, and Flying for U.S. Special Forces|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/blackwater-air-is-back-and-flying-for-us-special-forces|author=Axe, David|date=February 13, 2017|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=November 7, 2017}} and the brother-in-law of former Alticor (Amway) president Dick DeVos.The Virginian-Pilot, Hampton Roads, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070829031125/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=108028&ran=144012 "Blackwater's top brass"], July 24, 2006. Retrieved from the Internet Archive March 27, 2016.{{efn|The DeVos family is one of the richest families in the United States and are strong financial supporters of archconservatives.{{cite news |last=Confessore |first=Nicholas |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/us/politics/father-of-koch-brothers-helped-build-nazi-oil-refinery-book-says.html |title=Father of Koch Brothers Helped Build Nazi Oil Refinery, Book Says |work=The New York Times |date=January 11, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-date=January 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160112010455/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/12/us/politics/father-of-koch-brothers-helped-build-nazi-oil-refinery-book-says.html?_r=0}}{{cite book |last=Mayer |first=Jane |author-link=Jane Mayer |title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |year=2016 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0385535595}}}}

Prince's first wife, Joan Nicole,Erik Prince, Civilian Warriors, the Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror (2013).{{Cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2009/07/blackwater-behind-the-brass-025140|title=Blackwater, behind the brass|newspaper=Politico |access-date=February 1, 2017}} died of cancer in 2003 at the age of 36.{{cite magazine|last=Ciralsky|first=Adam|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2010/01/blackwater-201001?currentPage=1|title=Scandal: Tycoon, Contractor, Soldier, Spy|magazine=Vanity Fair|publisher=Condé Nast|date=January 2010|access-date=April 30, 2013}} She introduced Prince to Catholicism. They had four children.{{cite news| title=Blackwater's Prince Has GOP, Christian Group Ties|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14659780|author=Flintoff, Corey|date=September 25, 2007|publisher=npr.org|access-date=November 7, 2017|author-link = Corey Flintoff}} He later wrote that he had an affair with Joanna Ruth Houck, his children's nanny, while his wife was dying.{{cite news|last1=Sizemore|first1=Bill|title=Blackwater founder takes aim at his critics in memoir|url=http://www.pilotonline.com/news/military/blackwater-founder-takes-aim-at-his-critics-in-memoir/article_021b4464-0586-5825-ba3b-67a4d6e2b371.html|access-date=December 22, 2015|newspaper=The Virginian-Pilot|date=November 18, 2013|archive-date=June 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160626182523/http://pilotonline.com/news/military/blackwater-founder-takes-aim-at-his-critics-in-memoir/article_021b4464-0586-5825-ba3b-67a4d6e2b371.html|url-status=dead}} Prince and Houck married in 2004.{{cite news|last1=Dimascio|first1=Jen|title=Blackwater, behind the brass|url=http://www.politico.com/story/2009/07/blackwater-behind-the-brass-025140|access-date=December 22, 2015|work=Politico|date=July 20, 2009}} He is now married to Stacy DeLuke,{{cite web|title=Notorious Mercenary Erik Prince Is Advising Trump from the Shadows|url=https://theintercept.com/2017/01/17/notorious-mercenary-erik-prince-is-advising-trump-from-the-shadows/|author=Scahill, Jeremy|date=January 17, 2017|website=The Intercept|access-date=November 7, 2017|author-link=Jeremy Scahill}} a former Blackwater spokesperson.{{cite news|title=Blackwater founder cutting ties with company|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-blackwater-founder-cutting-ties-with-company-2009dec02-story.html|author=Baker, Mike|newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=December 2, 2009|access-date=November 7, 2017}}

Prince has twelve children. He had four children with each wife.{{Citation |title=Erik Prince - The Rise and Fall of Blackwater {{!}} SRS #029 | date=July 4, 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwK_XLFOm_I |access-date=2023-09-26 |language=en}} (timestamp 6:43)

{{Portal|Biography}}

• Links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies
• Report On the Investigation Into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election
• Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016 – election day)
• Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia

{{Library resources box|by=yes|viaf=102677031}}

• {{cite book|last=Pelton|first=Robert Young|author-link=Robert Young Pelton|year=2006|title=Licensed to Kill: Hired Guns in the War on Terror|location=New York|publisher=Three Rivers Press|url=https://archive.org/details/licensedtokillhi00pelt|url-access=registration|quote=Prince.|isbn=1400097819}}
• {{cite book|last=Simons|first=Suzanne|year=2009|title=Master of War: Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War|location=New York|publisher=Harper|isbn=978-0061651359|url=https://archive.org/details/masterofwarblack00simo}}
• {{cite book |last=Martell |first=Peter |title=First Raise a Flag: How South Sudan Won the Longest War but Lost the Peace |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |isbn=978-0190083380}}
• {{cite journal|title=An American Commando In Exile|last=Pelton|first=Robert Young|author-link=Robert Young Pelton|date=November 2010|journal=Men's Journal}} – Prince spends his last two days in America with Pelton.
• {{cite book|title=Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army|author-link=Jeremy Scahill|first=Jeremy|last=Scahill|year=2007|publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=978-1-56025-979-4|url=https://archive.org/details/blackwaterriseof00scah}}
• {{cite book|title=Inside Blackwater: The True Story of the World's Most Controversial Company by the Man Who Founded It|last=Prince|first=Erik|author-link=Erik Prince|year=2008|publisher=Regnery Publishing|isbn=978-1596985575}} Hardcover, 256 pages.
• {{cite book|title=Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror|last=Prince|first=Erik|author-link=Erik Prince|year=2013|publisher= Portfolio/Penguin| isbn= 978-1591847212}} Hardcover, 416 pages.

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071004233332/http://www.newsmeat.com/ceo_political_donations/Erik_Prince.php Detailed public records of Prince's campaign contributions]
• {{C-SPAN|1025820}}
• Fletcher, Dan (August 6, 2009). [https://web.archive.org/web/20090818145358/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1914822,00.html "Former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince"]. Time.

{{BlackwaterUSA}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Erik}}

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