CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, 41, who was revealed to be in an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell also had a romantic relationship with California billionaire Tom Barrack.
The high profile nature of Gamble’s relationship with 76-year-old Barrack, a longtime billionaire friend and 2016 fundraiser to President Trump, led to an internal investigation by human-resources at the CNBC network.
The probe was sparked after she managed to secured a high-profile interview with Trump’s senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner in August 2020.
It was alleged that Barrack was instrumental in securing the interview between Kushner and Gamble which occurred while the pair were dating.
CNBC reporter Hadley Gamble, whose relationship with NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell led to his resignation ‘had a romantic relationship with Tom Barrack’
rSources alleged Barrack organized the interview although Gamble’s attorney says the network investigated allegations and cleared her of any wrongdoing
Gamble’s relationship with the California billionaire resulted in an internal investigation at CNBC after she was able to secure an interview with Jared Kushner
According to the New York Post, Gamble flew to Washington D.C. on Barrack’s private jet to interview Kushner in the capital and often broadcast her show ‘Capital Connection’ from his multimillion dollar penthouse in New York City.
Gamble’s London-based lawyer confirmed the investigation noting how although an HR probe was launched following the Kushner interview, Gamble was cleared of any wrongdoing.
The lawyer declared Barrack who is the founder of investment-management firm Colony Capital, ‘did not organize an interview’ between Gamble and Kushner, noting that she had already met Kushner at the Peace to Prosperity Summit in Bahrain in June 2019.
‘Hadley understands, although she was not party to the talks, that a Kushner representative approached the Middle East producer for CNBC to pitch a sit-down interview with Miss Gamble as the CNBC Middle East correspondent,’ her lawyer Suzanne McKie stated.
‘Tom Barrack, it’s great to see you on CNBC. Thanks so much for joining us.’ Gamble said as she introduced the Abu Dhabi-based sitdown.
The high profile nature of Gamble’s relationship with 76-year-old Barrack, a longtime billionaire friend and 2016 fundraiser to President Trump, led to an internal investigation by human-resources at the CNBC network
Some at the network demanded to know why Gamble’s relationship with Barrack had not been disclosed on air
Gamble’s London-based lawyer confirmed the investigation noting how although an HR probe was launched following the Kushner interview, Gamble was cleared of any wrongdoing
Gamble failed to ask Barrack about his own, headline-grabbing affairs, which at the time included charges of illegally lobbying for the United Arab Emirates.
‘We believe the claims to be the result of a deliberate smear campaign by bad actors. Miss Gamble has never had inappropriate relationships with journalistic sources and has always maintained the highest ethical standards in her reporting.’
But staffers at the network appeared to become dissatisfied after they learned of the relationship when video of the pair together inside a massive hotel suite was leaked across the global newsrooms.
The video, seen by DailyMail.com sees Barrack in a pair of swim shorts and a t-shirt standing close to the sliding door of a balcony just as Gamble, in a hot pink dress, prepares for a live broadcast from the suite – a hotel room in the Turkish resort of Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea.
Barrack appears in the background and Gamble turns around gesturing for him to move out of the way with a cheeky smile. Barrack eventually obliges but there appears to be chemistry between the pair.
The footage appears to have been obtained by a CNBC co-worker who was able to film video of the live feed before the on-air broadcast.
Some at the network demanded to know why her relationship with Barrack had not been disclosed on air.
Sources said CNBC staffers were also questioning whether Gamble had been dating Barrack at the time of her interview with him in February 2020, and why it hadn’t been disclosed on air.
Barrack is a longtime billionaire friend and 2016 fundraiser to President Trump
Barrack is the founder of the private equity firm Colony Capital, though stepped down as the company’s chief executive in 2020, and in April resigned as executive chairman. He is pictured at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic in 2014
Tom Barrack is pictured arriving at federal court in Brooklyn in July 2021. At the time, hecklers branded him a traitor before he pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including that he secretly lobbied the Trump administration on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. He was acquitted
Gamble is said to have disclosed the relationship to her manager in the summer of 2020 including her travel on the private jet and broadcast from Barrack’s penthouse. The relationship petered out by July 2021 just as the tycoon was arrested by the FBI
The 48-minute ‘soft ball’ interview covered the 2020 presidential race, Jared Kushner’s Middle East peace plan, and the likelihood of Lebanon solving its fiscal crisis.
‘Tom Barrack, it’s great to see you on CNBC. Thanks so much for joining us.’ Gamble said as she introduced the Abu Dhabi-based sitdown.
Yet Gamble failed to ask Barrack about his own, headline-grabbing affairs, which at the time included charges of illegally lobbying for the United Arab Emirates.
‘While the rest of us were fighting to get any opportunity, she would fly first class and brag about it on Instagram, wearing Louboutins, staying in five-star hotels,’ a jealous staffer told the Post.
‘We also hated how that reflected on the [CNBC] brand and our journalistic credibility by association but our complaints fell on deaf ears. Nobody could figure out why she was being protected. Any normal employee would be fired.’
Gamble’s lawyer charted the relationship as having begun shortly after the pair met for the ‘first time’ during the February 2020 interview.
Gamble is said to have disclosed the relationship to her manager in the summer of 2020 including her travel on the private jet and broadcast from Barrack’s penthouse.
The relationship petered out by July 2021 just as the tycoon was arrested by the FBI on charges of being a foreign-agent charges. Barrack was later acquitted of all charges in November 2021.
![Shell, who is married to Laura Fay Shell (left), admitted he had had an 'inappropriate relationship' with a member of staff, which he said he 'deeply regret[s]'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/04/24/20/70176709-12008055-Shell_who_is_married_to_Laura_Fay_Shell_left_admitted_he_had_had-m-14_1682365647444.jpg)
Shell, who is married to Laura Fay Shell (left), admitted he had had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a member of staff, which he said he ‘deeply regret[s]’
Gamble has generally been tight-lipped about her personal life but said she would be open to a relationship with a companion who shared her values
The investigation into Gamble’s relationship with Barrack came to light after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, which led to his departure from the network.
Shell left his role at the company after an investigation into his conduct was launched around a month ago.
NBCUniversal did not say who had made the complaint, but reports suggested it was Gamble following their on-off relationship that ended a few years ago.
Comcast disclosed in a filing on Friday: ‘Upon his termination, all unvested PSUs and RSUs and all vested and unvested stock options, which had an estimated fair value of $43.3 million as of the termination date, were forfeited and canceled.’
Gamble accused Shell of sexual harassment and sex discrimination in a complaint that led to his ousting as NBCUniversal CEO, her lawyer said previously.
Shell left his role at the company after an investigation into his conduct was launched, it was revealed earlier this month.
NBCUniversal did not say who had made the complaint, but media reports suggested it had been filed by Gamble after an on-off relationship between the pair had ended a few years’ ago.
Gamble’s lawyers subsequently confirmed this in a statement. ‘The investigation into Mr Shell arose from a complaint by my client of sexual harassment and sex discrimination,’ said Suzanne McKie, a managing partner of Farore Law, a UK-based firm.
‘Given these circumstances it is very disappointing that my client’s name has been released and her privacy violated.’
Shell, who is married to Laura Fay Shell, admitted he had had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a member of staff, which he said he ‘deeply regret[s]’.
The details of his affair with Gamble, 41, are not known publicly.
The CNBC anchor moved to front the channel’s Middle East coverage in 2018 after it began broadcasting Capital Connection from its new studio in Abu Dhabi.
She previously worked for ABC News and Fox News in Washington, DC and also presented CNBC’s Access show on the Middle East and Africa.
Harvard- and Berkeley-educated Shell, 57, from Michigan, has been at Comcast for more than 20 years, having joined the company from Fox
During her magazine interview last summer, Gamble made no mention of the on-off relationship between she is believed to have had with Shell which ended a few years’ ago
He and his wife hosted a fundraising event at their $10million Beverly Hills mansion for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in 2020
Harvard- and Berkeley-educated Shell, 57, from Michigan, has been at Comcast for more than 20 years, having joined the company from Fox.
He ran international operations out of London from 2011 to 2013 before moving to serve as chairman of NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment.
He took over as CEO in January 2020, and was responsible for overseeing a sprawling portfolio that ran from news and entertainment TV networks, to the film studio, theme parks and other divisions.
As NBCUniversal CEO, Shell was also charged with moving the company more heavily into streaming.
He and his wife hosted a fundraising event at their $10million Beverly Hills mansion for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in 2020, according to Variety.
Shell is the second senior executive to be forced out of NBCUniversal in recent years.
In April 2020, NBCUniversal said it had parted with vice president, Ron Meyer, after he failed to properly disclose he had paid a settlement to a woman with whom he had a consensual affair several years earlier.
Shell said at that time that Meyer ‘acted in a manner which we believe isn’t consistent with our company policies or values.’
CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble (pictured left), who was revealed to be in an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with CEO Jeff Shell before he was fired earlier this week, was also dating married Texas equity tycoon David Bonderman (pictured right)
CNBC’s Middle East anchor Hadley Gamble at the new Middle East Headquarters Abu Dhabi Global Market on April 15, 2018 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Gamble was also at the time of her relationship with Shell dating David Bonderman, the 80-year-old TPG chairman and billionaire co-owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken
Gamble was also at the time of her relationship with Shell dating David Bonderman, the 80-year-old TPG chairman and billionaire co-owner of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken.
Their relationship was outed in a whistleblower complaint against Bonderman at TPG in 2015, listing Gamble as a ‘female companion’ who was often on the firm’s private jet.
‘TPG’s founder, David Bonderman, is known within the company to have regular female companions on which he lavishes gifts or to whom he otherwise provides benefits,’ former TPG exec Adam Levine said in a complaint filed with the SEC on March 2, 2015, according to the New York Post.
‘Ms. Gamble, especially, is known to fly with him regularly on TPG’s planes,’ Levine said, adding that he believed Bonderman paid most, if not all, of the living expenses for Gamble and his other girlfriends.
Gamble was never the focus of Levine’s complaint, which accused TPG of violating securities law. The firm settled in 2017 for $13million without admitting any wrongdoing.
The CNBC anchor’s lawyer told the Post that ‘who a woman may or may not have dated in the past is relevant to her claims of sexual harassment and discrimination.’
