Trump's son-in-law bets on the Middle East, with a net worth exceeding $1 billion.

Thanks to several successful investments, new funds from Middle Eastern supporters, and the rising housing prices in southern Florida, USA, Ivanka Trump's husband has joined his brother and father-in-law in the "Billionaire Club."

Photo credit: John Lamparski/Getty Images

Original title: "Jared Kushner's Bold Bets in the Middle East Propel Him into the Billionaire Ranks"

To date, Jared Kushner's greatest success in the private equity field comes from an Israeli company he tried to invest in more than a decade ago.

In 2008, Kushner became the CEO of Kushner Companies, a real estate firm headquartered in New York, founded by his father and grandfather. In 2014, at the age of 33, in search of new investment directions, he set his sights on Phoenix, an Israeli insurance and financial services company. Subsequently, he reached a preliminary agreement to acquire a 47% stake in the company, with part of the transaction funds coming from a loan provided by the seller. At first, everything seemed promising, but soon, insurmountable regulatory obstacles emerged, and the deal ultimately fell through.

Ten years later, he got a second chance. In early 2021, Kushner founded the private equity firm Affinity Partners. Since July 2024, the company has spent approximately $250 million to acquire nearly a 10% stake in Phoenix. Kushner, now 44, said this is one of Affinity's largest investments to date and the company's "most successful investment," adding that the return on this investment has exceeded nine times.

Thanks to such investments and his ability to raise funds from well - known Middle Eastern supporters, Kushner has now become a billionaire.

Forbes estimates that his total wealth is just over $1 billion, up from at least $900 million a year ago. Thus, he has joined his brother Josh (worth $5.2 billion) and his father - in - law, former President Donald Trump (worth $7.3 billion), in the billionaire ranks. Josh's venture capital firm mainly focuses on the technology sector, and Trump's wealth now mostly comes from cryptocurrency investments. Kushner didn't follow in their footsteps but forged his own path.

01

In 2017, Kushner left the family real estate business and entered the White House, serving as a senior advisor during Trump's first term. This position brought him into contact with the Middle East and ultimately helped facilitate the Abraham Accords - a series of normalization agreements signed between Israel and countries such as the UAE and Bahrain.

In January 2021, the same month Trump left the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners in Sunny Isles Beach, a suburb of Miami. To date, the company has raised $4.6 billion, with $1.5 billion raised last year from two early supporters: the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund and Lunate, based in Abu Dhabi (affiliated with the Royal Group controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon, a member of the emirate's royal family).

Kushner holds 100% of Affinity's equity. Forbes estimates that the company is currently valued at $215 million, up from $170 million in October last year. This is Kushner's second - largest asset, after his 20% stake in the family business, Kushner Companies (worth $560 million, down from $580 million previously).

Another successful investment occurred in 2020: He spent $32 million to buy a property on Indian Creek Island, an enclave in Florida known as the "Billionaire Bunker," where Jeff Bezos and the Emir of Qatar also own properties. Now, the house he shares with his wife, Ivanka Trump, is valued at least $105 million (before deducting the mortgage), almost a three - fold increase. The rest of Kushner's wealth is distributed in cash, art, and other personal investments. (Unlike several in - laws, including the former US President himself, he doesn't seem to be involved in the cryptocurrency field.)

02

Although Kushner's investment portfolio spans multiple sectors, he now mainly focuses his energy on Affinity.

His previous professional background was mainly in the real estate industry, and private equity is a new field for him. Perhaps out of caution, he started slowly, investing less than $500 million in the whole of 2023, but now he has significantly increased his investment efforts: As of April, Affinity has publicly disclosed investments of over $2 billion, and it is expected to invest at least $1 billion this year alone. The company's latest financial disclosure filed in March shows that its assets under management amount to $4.8 billion. Currently, the company has made about 25 investments (including 22 portfolio companies) in at least eight countries and regions, covering multiple industries such as fitness technology and car rental.

Kushner told Forbes, "When the company was just founded, we were still trying to find our position in the industry, but now, we've become a trusted partner in the business."

Recent investment projects by Affinity include an undisclosed - amount acquisition of an 8% stake in the UK digital bank OakNorth in August. Recently, it also jumped on the artificial intelligence bandwagon by investing in the artificial intelligence infrastructure company Universal AI, which has raised $10 million from well - known investors such as Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, and Elad Gil, a prominent Israeli venture capitalist. In addition, Kushner and Gil recently launched a new artificial intelligence startup, Brain Co., in San Francisco. The company has raised $30 million from Affinity, Gil, and other investors, including Brian Armstrong of Coinbase, Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn, and Patrick Collison of Stripe.

Most of Affinity's investors come from the network Kushner built during his tenure at the White House. (When Trump started his second term, Kushner had officially left politics but still provides advice on some matters behind the scenes and occasionally appears in public with the president, such as at the US Open in early September.) These supporters need to pay about $60 million in fees to Affinity each year.

It will take a long time to determine whether the company's investment portfolio is successful: The standard lifespan of a private equity fund is about 10 years, and Affinity's first fund is 13 years. However, there are already some clear early success stories. One of them is the building products distribution company QXO, founded by Brad Jacobs - Jacobs has previously built eight companies worth $1 billion. From July 2024 to April this year, Affinity invested $350 million in QXO and has achieved a 98% return since the initial investment.

The London - based digital bank Revolut also shows great potential. Founded by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut was valued at $45 billion when Affinity invested in it in August 2024. It is reported that Revolut recently launched a secondary stock offering, and the company's valuation has risen to $75 billion - which means that in just over a year, the return on this investment has reached 67%. In addition, the company Dubizzle Group, in which Kushner made an early investment, is reportedly planning to go public. This company is a classified advertising platform headquartered in Dubai.

Let's talk about Phoenix again. It is one of the first Israeli insurance companies to expand into private credit and asset management. Kushner considered investing in it again in 2022, but the attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, disrupted the situation in the region. At that time, Kushner believed that the stock market underestimated Phoenix's value - because the market still regarded it as a pure insurance company (the valuation of such companies is usually based on book value), ignoring that it had transformed into a company with fee - earning as its core business (the valuation of such companies is usually based on earnings).

Affinity first invested in Phoenix in July 2024. Kushner said, "At that time, due to the uncertainties brought by the war, most investors were afraid to invest in Israel. But we thought Phoenix was a misunderstood core asset, so we decided, 'Let's make a big bet on Israel.'"

Phoenix currently manages about $170 billion in assets, and Kushner calls it "the JPMorgan Chase of Israel." Now, the market has gradually recognized his judgment. Phoenix's stock price has almost tripled, and Kushner has further magnified his gains through leverage, with the value of his stake exceeding nine times the initial investment.

Kushner doesn't hold an official position at Phoenix, but he says he maintains "very close communication" with the company. He meets with the company's management every few weeks (more frequently than other investors) to discuss the company's latest developments, market trends, and how to connect investors with asset management institutions.

"He is a minority shareholder, but an influential one," joked Eyal Ben Simon, the CEO of Phoenix. David Alexander, the deputy CEO, added, "We have experience working with many top - tier global private equity funds. Kushner has built an excellent team with strong professional capabilities. Working with them is like working with the best private equity funds. They have profound insights and can ask valuable questions."

03

However, not all of Kushner's investments have been successful.

In 2022, Affinity invested in Mosaic, a residential solar project lender in California, USA, but the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June this year. In addition, he planned to invest $500 million in a luxury development project at the former headquarters of the Yugoslav army in Belgrade, Serbia - including a Trump - branded hotel and three luxury towers built in cooperation with Dubai billionaire developer Mohamed Alabbar - but the project hit a snag in May this year. (The site was bombed by NATO in 1999, and its ruins were listed as a cultural heritage. Local prosecutors said that a cultural department official forged key documents, causing the government to revoke the cultural heritage status of the site.)

Kushner said, "We could have built a beautiful hotel that would create jobs and increase tax revenue, instead of leaving a bombed - out building as an eyesore. We already have a well - developed design plan and will continue to advance the planning and various work to make this project a reality." He remains confident that the project will eventually move forward.

Affinity is still constantly looking for investment opportunities. For example, Kushner plans to invest in an unnamed Mexican infrastructure company, but the action was postponed due to the Trump administration's tariff policies. He is pushing the company to purchase more US equipment before he makes the investment.

After nearly five years at the helm of Affinity, Kushner is still a "newcomer" in the private equity industry. Although he has made several successful investments, it's still too early to judge the success of his investment portfolio in an industry where returns are measured in decades. However, this hasn't stopped wealthy Middle Eastern investors from injecting more funds into his fund. If this trend continues, regardless of the investment performance, his ultimate earnings may not be significantly affected.

This article is translated from:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicahunter-hart/2025/09/16/how-jared-kushners-bold-bets-in-the-middle-east-made-him-a-billionaire/

This article is from the WeChat official account "Forbes" (ID: forbes_china), author: Monica Hunter - Hart, Giacomo Tognini, translated by Lemin, published by 36Kr with authorization.