Who Is Erik Prince? Contractor Slammed Over $6,500 Flight Out Of Afghanistan

Defense contractor Erik Prince is under fire following a report he is offering people flights out of Afghanistan on a chartered plane for $6,500 per person.

Prince, who is the brother of former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the son of businessman Edgar Prince, founded the private military company Blackwater USA. However, he is currently the head of the private equity firm Frontier Services Group.

In February, a U.N. report accused Prince of violating the organization’s arms embargo on Libya by shipping weapons to a militia commander who was trying to topple the U.N. backed government.

While his business deals have earned him an estimated $2 billion net worth, his name became a trending topic on Twitter for his latest venture.

On Wednesday, Prince faced backlash for charging people desperate to leave Kabul a hefty price for a flight to safety. He has also offered to help those who are trapped in their homes and need assistance to the airport, but they would be required to pay an additional cost.

Nonetheless, the $6,500 flight caused an uproar on Twitter, with people slamming Prince for not offering free flights to people in need.

“There should be a special place in hades for people opting to get rich off Afghanistan evacuees - Erik Prince sees a crisis for his fellow Americans and allies, and the billionaire uses it to charge $6,500 per person for a plane seat out. PATHETIC,” one person wrote.

Another person suggested Prince should face consequences for taking advantage of people desperate to escape Afghanistan.

“Erik Prince, alongside everyone else charging insane fees to help people evacuate, should be charged as war profiteers. Hiking prices and doing things like this is a crime in almost every country including the U.S. He should be locked up for this, what a monster,” the individual wrote.

As the Aug. 31 deadline nears for American troops to leave Afghanistan, House lawmakers have urged President Biden’s advisers to convince him to extend the date so more people can be rescued.

“A major theme, a major comment, a major point that we all tried to make: urging them to do more to advocate with the president to extend the deadline,” said Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin.

However, on Tuesday, a senior Biden administration official told The Washington Post the White House intends to stick to the original deadline.