--- title: Sean Hannity Faces Conservative Criticism on Real Estate description: Sean Hannity decried the nation's high foreclosure rate under President Barack Obama, but he also invested in foreclosed homes. canonical: https://time.com/5250496/sean-hannity-real-estate/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-23T19:27:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:07:15.523Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sean Hannity Faces Conservative Criticism Over Real Estate Deals og:description: Some of the deals were financed with HUD backing. og:url: https://time.com/5250496/sean-hannity-real-estate/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bfaa0a8088ee664/69892dc5e76ad273f8631b2d/sean-hannity-michael-cohen-news.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4538 og:image:height: 2553 og:image:alt: US-POLTICS-TRUMP-HANNITY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sean Hannity Faces Conservative Criticism Over Real Estate Deals twitter:description: Some of the deals were financed with HUD backing. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5bfaa0a8088ee664/69892dc5e76ad273f8631b2d/sean-hannity-michael-cohen-news.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sean Hannity Faces Conservative Criticism Over Real Estate Deals > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=4550a5de-6a4c-4512-854a-173a170e8243&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What We Know About Sean Hannity's Shell Companies and Why It Matters [Watch (HLS stream): What We Know About Sean Hannity's Shell Companies and Why It Matters](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4A0a6uJ0.m3u8) (1:14)  _Published 2018-04-23. A closer examination into the relationship between Fox News host Sean Hannity and longtime Trump-fixer Michael Cohen reveal an extensive real estate empire through a group of shell companies._  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 23, 2018 7:27 PM UTC  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Apr 23, 2018 7:27 PM UTC As a pundit on Fox News, Sean Hannity decried the nation’s high foreclosure rate under President Barack Obama. As an investor, he saw it as an opportunity to make money. According to [a report Monday in the _Guardian_](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/apr/22/michael-cohen-sean-hannity-property-real-estate-ben-carson-hud?CMP=share%5Fbtn%5Ftw), the TV anchor has spent over $90 million investing in over 870 homes across seven states, using more than 20 shell companies to keep the transactions private. He also used loans backed by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to buy two lower-income apartment complexes in Georgia for $22.27 million, according to the report. The revelation brought some criticism from conservative corners for Hannity. “I think its funny that Sean Hannity turns out to be a welfare queen for HUD, having taken advantage of guarantees that were put forward by none other than the Obama Administration,” New York _Times_ conservative columnist Bret Stephens said on MSNBC Monday morning. Hannity has been under fire recently for [not disclosing his dealings](http://time.com/5242919/sean-hannity-alan-dershowitz-donald-trump-lawyer/) with President Donald Trump’s private attorney, Michael Cohen, even while decrying federal investigations involving him. Hannity responded by arguing that he had solicited Cohen’s legal advice almost “exclusively” on real estate. > [](https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/985979632229941248) > [](https://twitter.com/seanhannity/status/985979659648159744) He is now facing renewed criticism on this front, this time for not disclosing that he was a beneficiary of the HUD loans — which were increased by $5 million during HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s tenure — when Carson was a guest on on his show. “Hannity has said over and over again he is not a journalist; he proves it every single day,” said Stephens. “The question for Fox News is whether they want to consider themselves a journalistic institution and continue to employ as an anchor a guy who is clearly better at real estate than reporting.” He said in a [statement](https://www.hannity.com/media-room/sean-hannity-responds-to-latest-fake-news-attack/) Monday morning that it was “ironic” he was being attacked for what he characterized were altruistic investments designed to empower the economically less fortunate and he argued that they were essentially a private matter. “I have never discussed with anybody at HUD the original loans that were obtained in the Obama years, nor the subsequent refinance of such loans, as they are a private matter. I had no role in, or responsibility for, any HUD involvement in any of these investments. I can say that every rigorous process and strict standard of improvement requirements were followed; all were met, fulfilled and inspected,” he said. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5250496/sean-hannity-real-estate/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5250496/sean-hannity-real-estate/"},"headline":"Sean Hannity Faces Conservative Criticism Over Real Estate Deals","datePublished":"2018-04-23T19:27:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:07:15.523Z","description":"Some of his deals were financed with HUD backing","url":"https://time.com/5250496/sean-hannity-real-estate/","keywords":["Dr. Benjamin S. 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