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82-448: The roots of Endeavor can be traced to ICM Partners , where founders Emanuel, Rosen, Strickler, and Greenblatt were all top television agents. In early 1995, they formed a plan to start their own agency, which was ultimately discovered by ICM Chairman Jeff Berg. On March 29, the four agents were fired from ICM and immediately formed Endeavor. The agency began operations on March 30, working mainly with television clients from an office above

164-617: A handful of newspapers to officially endorse United States presidential candidate Donald Trump in the Republican primary, but the paper ended the campaign period by choosing not to back any presidential candidate at all. Kushner stepped down from his newspaper role in January 2017 to pursue a role in President Donald Trump's administration. He was replaced by his brother-in-law, Joseph Meyer. Jared Kushner had been

246-527: A tweet from the Trump campaign containing allegedly anti-Semitic imagery. He was responding to his own paper's editorial by Dana Schwartz criticizing Kushner's involvement with the Trump campaign. In the letter, Kushner wrote, "In my opinion, accusations like 'racist' and 'anti-Semite' are being thrown around with a carelessness that risks rendering these words meaningless." His estranged cousin Marc responded to

328-568: A "secret and secure communications channel" with the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities. Kislyak reportedly was "taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate – a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team". Also in December 2016, Kushner met with Sergey N. Gorkov , a trained Russian spy who then headed Vnesheconombank (VEB),

410-620: A 10-year lease. The same year, Kushner co-founded WiredScore, a global organization that provides a digital connectivity certification rating the quality and resilience of digital infrastructure in buildings. Throughout 2013 to 2014, Kushner and his company acquired more than 11,000 units throughout New York, New Jersey, and the Baltimore area. In August 2014, Kushner acquired a three-building apartment portfolio in Middle River, Maryland , for $ 38 million with Aion Partners, later selling

492-625: A Palestinian state, the latter arguing it is too biased in favor of Israel. Reaction was muted among the Arab states, although Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon issued statements expressing appreciation for the effort. The proposal gave American approval for Israel to annex its settlements in the West Bank, contingent on Israel and the United States agreeing to a concrete map for

574-630: A Russian state-owned bank. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that Kushner met with Gorkov briefly as part of his role in the transition, and as a diplomatic conduit to the State Department . However, VEB has stated that Gorkov met with Kushner on a private matter concerning his family's real estate corporation, Kushner Companies, even though VEB has been under international sanctions since July 2014 . The Mueller investigation examined this meeting and could not confirm VEB's account. The Mueller report did state, however, that it

656-603: A White House press conference alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 28, 2020; while representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Oman attended the event. Palestinian representatives were not invited. In an interview, Kushner said he had "been studying this now for three years", and that he had "read 25 books on it, I've spoken to every leader in the region, I've spoken to everyone who's been involved in this." The plan, which

738-473: A bid by Trifecta Enterprises, a group headed by Robert De Niro . To make the bid, Kushner used money he says he earned during his college years by closing deals on residential buildings he purchased in Somerville, Massachusetts, with family members providing the backing for his investments. The buildings, which he purchased for $ 8.3 million in 2000, sold four years later for $ 13 million. After purchasing

820-540: A consultant to Republican political candidates in New Jersey. According to Vanity Fair , under Kushner, the " Observer has lost virtually all of its cultural currency among New York's elite, but the paper is now profitable and reporting traffic growth ... [it] boasts 6 million unique visitors per month, up from 1.3 million in January 2013". In April 2016, the New York Observer became one of only

902-596: A division dedicated to production professionals such as cinematographers, editors, second unit directors, composers, production designers, costume designers and visual effects supervisors. The television department also represented on-air and creative talent. ICM Partners represented writers and editors including Patricia Cornwell , Thomas Friedman , Anna Quindlen , E.L. Doctorow , Walter Isaacson , Carl Hiaasen , Tom Bissell , Anthony Swofford , Chris Cleave , Candace Bushnell , John Feinstein , Ann Patchett , Carol Higgins Clark and Steve Martin . In addition,

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984-593: A lifelong Democrat prior to his father-in-law Donald Trump entering politics. He had donated over $ 10,000 to Democratic campaigns starting at the age of 11. In 2008, he donated to the campaign for Hillary Clinton and his newspaper the New York Observer endorsed Barack Obama over John McCain in the 2008 United States presidential election . After expressing disappointment with Obama, however, he registered as an independent in 2009 and endorsed Republican U.S. presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 via

1066-418: A number of years) were racist, Kushner did not answer, saying instead twice, "Look, I wasn't really involved in that." In the interview, Kushner, whose grandparents survived the holocaust and later immigrated to America, spoke of his own family's immigration history: "It's a great reminder of how great this country is." In the same interview, he defended the Trump administration's decision to drastically reduce

1148-607: A one-third equity stake in the company to Crestview Partners, with the expressed goal to grow the company within the representation business with an emphasis on International growth. In March 2020, ICM partnered with Primary Talent International, a London-based music touring agency with over 700 touring clients. In August, they bought a significant minority interest in Albatros, a literary agency based in Stockholm and moved partner Pete Stone to Sweden to run ICM Europe. In October,

1230-465: A partnership with the new name, ICM Partners . In March 2018, ICM acquired the Just For Laughs comedy festival, as part of a partnership with Howie Mandel . A 51% majority was later sold to Bell Media and Groupe CH to maintain a primarily-Canadian ownership. In June that year, ICM formed a partnership with esports-focused talent agency Evolved. In December 2019, ICM Partners sold

1312-534: A security review by an unnamed intelligence agency. The transcript was released on February 3, redacted nearly in its entirety. In June 2019, Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Community made a criminal referral of Kushner to federal prosecutors on concerns that his testimony was contradicted by Richard Gates, a former Trump campaign aides, although the referral did not accuse Kushner of making false statements. Kushner

1394-542: A significant role in the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign , and was at one point seen as its de facto campaign manager. Around Trump's election, Kushner was frequently accused of conflicts of interest , profiting from policy proposals for which he personally advocated within the Trump administration . He became Senior Advisor to Trump in 2017, and held the position until Trump left office in 2021. His appointment

1476-653: A vice president of Somerville Building Associates (a division of Kushner Companies), returning a profit of $ 20 million by its dissolution in 2005. Kushner graduated from Harvard with honors in 2003, with a B.A. degree in government . Kushner then enrolled in the JD/MBA dual degree program at the New York University School of Law and New York University Stern School of Business , and graduated with both degrees in 2007. He interned at Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau 's office, and with

1558-507: Is now the current headquarters of WME. The Wilshire office was designed by UCLA professor and architect Neil Denari with wall graphics by 2x4 of New York City . For this project, NMDA Inc. , the company of Neil Denari, and associate architect Interior Architects received the 2007 Institute Honor Award for Interior Architecture from the American Institute of Architects (AIA). In 2006, agent Nancy Josephson left ICM after

1640-533: Is the son-in-law of president-elect Donald Trump through his marriage to Ivanka Trump , and served as a senior advisor to Trump from 2017 to 2021. He was also Director of the Office of American Innovation . For much of his career, Kushner worked as a real-estate investor in New York City , especially through the family business Kushner Companies . He took over the company after his father Charles Kushner

1722-535: The Wall Street Journal reported that he had failed to disclose all required financial information in his security clearance applications, including that he owes $ 1 billion in loans. While noting that “it is difficult to calculate net worth” using financial disclosure forms, the Washington Post estimated that during 2017, Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump made $ 82 million in outside income at

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1804-637: The Frisch School , a Modern Orthodox yeshiva high school , in 1999 and enrolled at Harvard University in the same year. According to journalist Daniel Golden , Kushner's father made a donation of $ 2.5 million to the university in 1998, not long before Jared was admitted. At Harvard, Kushner was elected into the Fly Club , supported the campus Chabad house led by Hirschy Zarchi , and bought and sold real estate in Somerville, Massachusetts , as

1886-517: The New York law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison . Following his father's conviction and subsequent incarceration between March 4, 2005, and August 25, 2006, Kushner took a much bigger role in the family real estate business. He set about expanding the business and acquired almost $ 7 billion in property over the next ten years, much of it in New York City. Kushner

1968-401: The New York Observer . In 2014 he continued to donate to Democratic groups, but joined his father-in-law Donald Trump's nascent US presidential campaign in the field of the Republican candidates in 2015. Kushner had no prior involvement in campaign politics or in government before Trump's campaign. From the outset of the presidential campaign of his father-in-law Donald Trump, Kushner was

2050-570: The Observer , Kushner published it in tabloid format. Since then, he has been credited with increasing the Observer ' s online presence and expanding the Observer Media Group. With no substantial experience in journalism, Kushner could not establish a good relationship with the newspaper's veteran editor-in-chief, Peter W. Kaplan . "This guy doesn't know what he doesn't know", Kaplan remarked about Kushner, to colleagues, at

2132-467: The Office of American Innovation . The office, created by President Trump in March 2017, was to draw on the lessons of the private sector to solving problems in government, such as the federal government's IT spend, economic activity, and the opioid crisis . Kushner was reportedly an influential factor behind the firing of New Jersey governor Chris Christie as head of the transition team, as well as

2214-544: The Trump administration's COVID-19 response . Despite initially advising Trump that the media was exaggerating the threat of the disease, he eventually became a leader in the federal effort to procure medical supplies and develop a vaccine as a founding board member on Operation Warp Speed . He was a leading broker in the US–Mexico–Canada agreement, for which he was awarded honors by the Mexican government. Since leaving

2296-616: The United Arab Emirates and Israel, normalizing what had long been informal relations between the two countries and ultimately becoming the first Abraham Accord , which was the first normalization agreement between Israel and an Arab country since it normalized relations with Jordan in 1994. As part of the agreement, Netanyahu suspended the annexation of West Bank settlements, which the Kushner peace plan had approved months earlier. The first commercial flight from Israel to

2378-549: The 2016 campaign and presidential transition , and that none of those Russian contacts were improper. In June 2016, an agent of Emin Agalarov reportedly offered Donald Trump Jr. , Kushner's brother-in-law, compromising information on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government if he met with a lawyer connected to the Kremlin. A meeting took place on June 9, 2016 , and included Kushner, Trump Jr., and Paul Manafort , who

2460-488: The 2016 campaign cycle, called it the “single best digital ad campaign I’ve ever seen from any advertiser.” Kushner, together with Paul Manafort and Brad Parscale , hired Steve Bannon 's firm Cambridge Analytica to support the Trump campaign. Kushner has also helped as a speechwriter, and was tasked with working to establish a plan for Trump's White House transition team. He was for a time seen as Trump's de facto campaign manager , succeeding Corey Lewandowski , who

2542-465: The 2016 election was its biggest surprise. Schmidt told Forbes , "Best I can tell, he actually ran the campaign and did it with essentially no resources." Federal Election Commission filings indicate the Trump campaign spent $ 343 million, about 59 percent as much as the Clinton campaign. On July 5, 2016, Kushner wrote an open letter in the New York Observer addressing the controversy around

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2624-556: The FBI, as part of a plea bargain. Bloomberg reported that Kushner is most likely the "senior member of the Trump transition team," mentioned in Flynn's plea documents, who is said to have ordered Flynn to contact Russia. Mueller investigated meetings between Trump associates including Kushner and George Nader , an emissary representing the crown princes of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. In August 2016, Nader offered help to

2706-539: The Middle East. On August 24, 2017, Kushner traveled to Israel to talk to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (with whom Kushner has longstanding personal links and family ties, causing Palestinians to distrust him ). He then traveled to Palestine to meet President Mahmoud Abbas in an attempt to restart a peace process in the Middle East . Donald Trump formally unveiled a plan authored by Kushner in

2788-521: The Mueller Report, Kushner arrived at the meeting and quickly grew aggravated, texting Paul Manafort that it was a “waste of time,” and emailing two different assistants to call him so he would have an excuse to leave the meeting. Investigators did not identify any follow up from the meeting. The Democratic National Committee cyber attacks were revealed later that week. Between April and November 2016, Kushner had two undisclosed phone calls with

2870-668: The Royce Carlton name. On October 16, 2019, the division rebranded to ICM Speakers and relocated to the Washington, D.C., office. ICM Speakers' division services included the management and representation of professional public speakers. A few notable clients included author Mitch Albom , author Jon Meacham , TV host Karamo Brown , and activist Nadia Murad . ICM Partners' global branded entertainment division's services ranged from celebrity endorsements, product placement, and music tour sponsorship to brand integration, such as

2952-414: The Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak . (In May 2017, Kushner's attorney Jamie Gorelick told Reuters that Kushner had participated in "thousands of calls in this time period" and did not recall any with Kislyak.) In December 2016, Kushner met with Kislyak. That month, U.S. intelligence officials who were monitoring Kislyak reportedly overheard him relaying to Moscow a request from Kushner to establish

3034-527: The Trump presidential campaign. In December 2016, Nader attended a New York meeting between the United Arab Emirates officials and Kushner, Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon. Mueller also investigated Kushner's possible ties to Qatar , Israel and China . Two months after the Mueller report was released, Kushner's top secret security clearance was permanently restored. Since the electoral defeat of his father-in-law, Donald J. Trump, Kushner has stayed active in

3116-511: The UAE later arrived in Abu Dhabi with a U.S.-Israeli delegation led by Kushner. Hours after the August 13 announcement of the U.S.-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, senior Bahraini officials called Kushner with a message: "We want to be next". Over the next 29 days Kushner and aide Avi Berkowitz negotiated, and traveled to Bahrain, before closing

3198-565: The White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners , a private equity firm that derives most of its funds from Saudi government's sovereign wealth fund . Jared Corey Kushner was born on January 10, 1981, in Livingston, New Jersey , to Seryl (née Stadtmauer) and Charles Kushner , a real-estate developer and convicted felon. His father was friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton and attended several dinners with them. Morris Stadtmauer

3280-466: The Year" list. Following the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi on 2 October 2018, and reports that a Saudi hit squad had assassinated him , Endeavor vowed to sever its ties with Saudi Arabia. Emanuel reportedly called White House senior adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to relay his frustration and discuss withdrawing the agency from a $ 400 million financial deal with

3362-518: The agency purchased Stellar Group, the largest football/soccer agency in the world and rebranded it ICM Stellar Sports. (Stellar Group CEO Jonathan Barnett was listed by Forbes as the No. 1 sports agent in the world by Forbes magazine in 2019.) In July 2021, ICM Partners and ICM Stellar Sports purchased one of the leading NFL representation agencies, Select Sports Group, a Texas based company headed up by Jeff Nalley and Erik Burkhardt. In September 2021, it

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3444-415: The agency represents the estates of Theodor Geisel ( Dr. Seuss ), Arthur Miller , E.B. White , and Tennessee Williams , among others. ICM Partners' concert and live appearances department represented artists in music and comedy as well as lecturers. ICM Partners acquired New York City speakers agency Royce Carlton, Inc. in 2017. From the acquisition until late 2019, the lecture division still went by

3526-542: The agency's comedy department. In 2008, Emanuel and Whitesell began preliminary discussions with the William Morris Agency about a company merger. By April 2009, the announcement was made and William Morris Endeavor was formed. WMA ultimately relocated to Endeavor's Beverly Hills office and Emanuel and Whitesell retained the titles of Co-CEOs. Their successful partnership ultimately led Fortune to name Emanuel and Whitesell on their 2010 "Businessperson of

3608-409: The architect of Trump's digital, online, and social media campaigns, enlisting talent from Silicon Valley to run a 100-person social-media team dubbed " Project Alamo ." The digital team tested more than one hundred thousand ad combinations a week, raising more than $ 250 million in small-dollar donations in the closing months of the campaign. Andrew Bosworth , Facebook's top advertising executive during

3690-563: The bill, Trump argued that it would “make our communities safer and give former inmates a second chance at life. According to reporting by Axios in 2020, Trump expressed regrets in private about having followed Jared Kushner's lead in going through with the First Step Act. Trump put Kushner in charge of brokering peace in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict , despite the fact that Kushner had no foreign experience or experience in

3772-588: The blockade and to bring the conflict to a peaceful outcome, and pressured President Donald Trump to back the Emiratis and Saudis in the dispute, which the President did, according to the NYTimes . In a statement, Abbe Lowell, Kushner's lawyer, admitted that Kushner had intermittently used private e-mail for official White House business. No classified or privileged information was used on this account. During

3854-543: The campaign for the 2016 presidential election, Trump repeatedly criticized his opponent Hillary Clinton for her use of personal e-mail in her role as Secretary of State , which involved the transmission of classified information over a server Clinton had set up in her basement. In an HBO/Axios interview released in June 2019, Kushner denied that President Trump was a racist. When asked whether birther conspiracy theories about President Obama (which Trump pushed extensively for

3936-483: The clearance prior to his resignation. On January 9, 2017, Kushner was named Senior Advisor to the President (formally, "Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor"). He consequently resigned as CEO of Kushner Companies, and as publisher of the Observer . After Donald Trump became President-elect, Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump met with the Japanese prime minister and other Japanese officials, while Ivanka

4018-428: The committee many documents on November 3, but the committee followed up on November 16 with a request for many additional documents it said had not been produced. In early November 2017, Kushner was interviewed by investigators from Special Counsel Robert Mueller 's office. Reportedly the interview focused on former national security advisor Michael Flynn . On December 1, Flynn pleaded guilty to one count of lying to

4100-744: The company went through an ownership change. Endeavor quickly brought in Josephson and her clients – Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, Craig Ferguson , Tyra Banks , and director David Frankel. Soon after, ICM agents Matt Solo and Robert Newman joined as well. Solo's roster included The Shield creator Shawn Ryan, while Newman's brought esteemed film directors Guillermo del Toro , Baz Luhrmann , Danny Boyle and Robert Rodriguez . 2008 brought four key additions from UTA , including talent agents Sharon Jackson and Nick Stevens. Their clients, Will Arnett , Jack Black , Jonah Hill , Amy Poehler , and Ben Stiller , bolstered

4182-543: The complex for $ 68 million. In May 2015, he acquired a 50.1% stake of the Times Square Building from Africa Israel Investments Ltd. for $ 295 million. In 2014, Kushner, with his brother Joshua and Ryan Williams , co-founded Cadre (now RealCadre LLC), an online real-estate investment platform. His business partners included Goldman Sachs and billionaire George Soros , a top Democratic Party donor. In early 2015, Soros Fund Management financed

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4264-437: The contested areas within the West Bank and Jerusalem. After Yousef Al Otaiba , the UAE ambassador to the United States, wrote a June 2020 opinion piece warning that annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank would threaten better relations between Israel and the Arab world, Kushner saw an opportunity and stepped in to facilitate talks. The talks led to the August establishment of diplomatic ties between

4346-412: The creation and packaging of original branded films and television shows. The agency's celebrity endorsements department serviced all ICM Partners' film and television talent for on-camera, print and voiceover commercial work as well as for paid media campaigns. Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman, investor, and former government official. He

4428-603: The deal. In 2011, Kushner purchased a 130,000 square foot office tower at 200 Lafayette Street in Manhattan for $ 50 million, selling it two years later for $ 150 million. In 2013, his company led a transaction to purchase the Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters in Brooklyn Heights for $ 375 million and invested $ 100 million into the site, transforming it into a sprawling office park, and signing online retailer Etsy to

4510-595: The development of the agency's list of feature film headliners, with a talent pool that included Ben Affleck , Christian Bale , Matt Damon , Hugh Jackman , and Jude Law . The group also signed several comedy stars during that period, including Sacha Baron Cohen , Kevin James , and Charlie Sheen . By 2003, Endeavor had become one of the industry's fastest-growing talent agencies. In June of that year, they relocated to 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, which

4592-533: The dismissal from the Donald Trump transition team of anyone connected to Christie. An anonymous source familiar with the transition told Politico , "Jared doesn't like Christie... He's always held [the prosecution of his father] against Christie." Kushner told Forbes that the reports that he was involved in Christie's dismissal were false: "Six months ago, Governor Christie and I decided this election

4674-442: The feature directors that Endeavor needed to solidify its standing as a full service agency. Robinson and Venit were the first actors' agents and had a client list that included Hank Azaria , Adam Sandler , and David Spade (all of whom are now represented by WME). The Endeavor talent department grew dramatically during the next eight years, mainly with the 2001 addition of former CAA talent head, Patrick Whitesell . Whitesell led

4756-632: The former Islands Restaurant in South Beverly Hills. Co-founder Ari Emanuel and the Endeavor Agency were the basis for the character Ari Gold , and his Miller Gold Agency, on HBO 's Entourage . In 1996, Endeavor moved to a new high-rise building at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills . Three new partners from CAA quickly joined the company: David Lonner, Doug Robinson, and Adam Venit. Lonner's clientele included

4838-517: The larger federal investigation into Russian interference in the election . Before meeting with the Senate and House intelligence committees, Kushner delivered an 11-page document describing his contacts with Russian figures during the campaign and after the election. The Wall Street Journal called it "comprehensive disclosure" and said it "introduced a useful precedent to the Trump presidency" Kushner has said he had four meetings with Russians during

4920-485: The merged company. "In 1992, Josephson passed control of ICM onto Jeff Berg, Sam Cohn , and Jim Wiatt, though Josephson maintained a leadership role and continued to represent personal clients." In 2005, the company raised a financing round of $ 75 million from Rizvi Traverse . In 2006, ICM acquired the literary agency Broder Webb Chervin Silbermann. In 2012, the agency completed a management buyout and formed

5002-575: The number of refugees accepted by the United States (the lowest level in 40 years). In March 2020, the Associated Press reported that Kushner had sold stakes in a firm that had benefitted from the same Opportunity Zone tax breaks—incentives for new investment in low-income communities—that Kushner pushed for as a senior White House advisor. From 2017 until the end of the Trump Administration in January 2021, Kushner directed

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5084-502: The op-ed on Facebook that his lesson from the story of his grandparents was to renounce hate. During the presidential transition , Kushner was said to be his father-in-law's "confidant," and one of Donald Trump's closest advisors, even more so than Trump's four adult children. Trump was reported to have requested the top-secret security clearance for him to attend the presidential daily intelligence briefings as his staff-level companion, along with General Mike Flynn , who already had

5166-567: The property was insufficient to cover its debt service, and the Kushners were forced to sell a controlling stake in the retail footage to The Carlyle Group and Stanley Chera and bring in Vornado Realty Trust as a 50% equity partner in the ownership of the building. By that time, Kushner Companies had lost more than $ 90 million on its investment. He was the face of the deal but his father Charles Kushner pushed him to do

5248-773: The regime in Saudi Arabia. ICM Partners ICM Partners was a talent and literary agency with offices in Los Angeles , New York City , Washington, D.C. , and London . The company represented clients in the fields of motion pictures, television, music, publishing, live performance, branded entertainment and new media. Its corporate headquarters were in Constellation Place in Century City , Los Angeles. In 2022, ICM became part of Creative Artists Agency . International Creative Management

5330-556: The region through a nonprofit organization he established. He took a special interest in the petroleum-rich monarchies of the Persian Gulf. Kushner attempted to raise money from the Persian Gulf states for a new investment firm he has founded. The transcript of Kushner's interview with FBI investigators was not publicly released in January 2020 as ordered by a federal judge, as the Justice Department stated it required

5412-613: The sale of $ 100+ billion of arms to Saudi Arabia , and during a meeting with Saudi officials at the White House to finalize the deal, he called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson to ask for a lower price on a radar system to detect ballistic missiles. Kushner's business activities in China drew press scrutiny for mixing government with business. Kushner's investments in real estate and financial services have also drawn controversy for conflicts of interest. In May 2017,

5494-525: The same time that they served as senior White House advisors. Kushner and Ivanka's lawyers asserted that their net worth had largely remained the same. In June 2017, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had implemented a naval blockade on Qatar , accusing them of aiding terrorist groups, and reportedly planned to invade Qatar. During the dispute, Jared had backed the Saudis and Emiratis in the conflict, undermined efforts by then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stop

5576-514: The startup with a $ 250 million credit line. Kushner did not identify these business relationships in his January 2017 government financial-disclosure form. He did, however, disclose his ownership of BFPS Ventures, the company that housed his stake in Cadre. In 2020, his ownership stake in Cadre was estimated at $ 25–50 million. In 2006, Kushner purchased The New York Observer , a weekly New York City newspaper, for $ 10 million, outcompeting

5658-459: The time. As a result of his differences with Kushner, Kaplan quit his position. Kaplan was followed by a series of short-lived successors until Kushner hired Elizabeth Spiers in 2011. It has been alleged that Kushner used the Observer as propaganda against rivals in real estate. Spiers left the newspaper in 2012. In January 2013, Kushner hired a new editor-in-chief, Ken Kurson . Kurson had been

5740-679: Was Jared's maternal grandfather . His paternal grandparents, Reichel and Joseph Kushner , were Holocaust survivors who came to the U.S. in 1949 from Navahrudak , now in Belarus . Reichel, described as the family's matriarch, led efforts during the Holocaust to escape from the Navahrudak ghetto by digging a tunnel. Later, she became a member of the Bielski partisans . Raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family, Kushner graduated from

5822-542: Was a strong supporter within the Trump administration for the bipartisan criminal justice reform bill Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act (FIRST STEP ACT, H.R. 5682 ) which President Trump signed into law in December 2018. The legislation implemented several reforms to America's prison and criminal justice systems, reducing sentences for certain non-violent offenders and improving prison programs to reduce recidivism, among other priorities. In announcing his support for

5904-478: Was an active real estate investor during his college years, and increased the Kushner Companies' presence throughout the New York City real estate market. Kushner Companies purchased the office building at 666 Fifth Avenue in 2007, for a then-record price of $ 1.8 billion, most of it borrowed. He assumed the role of CEO in 2008. Following the property crash that year, the cash flow generated by

5986-412: Was announced that ICM would be acquired by Creative Artists Agency (CAA). The deal closed in June 2022 at a value of $ 750 million. Following the acquisition, 105 positions from ICM were set to be eliminated, with about 425 staffers and agents joining CAA. ICM Partners' television and motion picture departments represented film actors, actresses, directors and writers. The departments also featured

6068-529: Was conducting a licensing deal between her namesake clothing brand and Sanei International, a company whose investors include the Japanese government's development bank. Although negotiations around the deal had begun in 2015, well before Donald Trump secured the Republican nomination for president, Ivanka backed out of the deal to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. She sat in on a meeting between her father, then-president-elect Donald Trump, and Japan's prime minister, Shinzō Abe . Kushner helped broker

6150-544: Was convicted for 18 criminal charges, including illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering in 2005, although Charles was controversially pardoned by Trump in 2020. Jared met Ivanka Trump around 2005, and the couple married in 2009. He also became involved in the newspaper industry after purchasing The New York Observer in 2006. He was registered as a Democrat and donated to Democratic politicians for much of his life, but registered as Independent in 2009 and eventually as Republican in 2018. He played

6232-633: Was endorsed by the Israeli government, offered the Palestinians a conditional path to an independent state with defined borders. It has been characterized as requiring too few concessions from the Israelis and imposing too harsh requirements on the Palestinians. Both the West Bank settlers' Yesha Council and the Palestinian leadership rejected the plan: the former because it proposed a path to

6314-546: Was fired in part on Kushner's recommendation in June 2016. He had been intimately involved with campaign strategy, coordinating Trump's visit in late August to Mexico, and he is believed to be responsible for the choice of Mike Pence as Trump's running mate. Kushner's "sprawling digital fundraising database and social media campaign" has been described as "the locus of his father-in-law's presidential bid." According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt (who worked on technology for Hillary Clinton's campaign ), Kushner's role in

6396-706: Was followed by concerns of nepotism . Here, he led the administration's effort to pass the First Step Act , a criminal justice reform bill signed into law in 2018. Kushner was the primary Trump administration participant for the Middle East Peace Process , authoring the Trump peace plan and facilitating the talks that led to the signing of the Abraham Accords and other normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states in 2020. Kushner also played an influential role in

6478-473: Was formed in 1975 through the merger of Marvin Josephson 's International Famous Agency and Freddie Fields ' Creative Management Associates (CMA). ICM's first president was Freddie Fields, although he didn't last long in the role. Other important figures in the merger were Sam Cohn and Guy McElwaine of CMA. In 1985, ICM acquired London-based talent agency Duncan Heath Associates, which in 1991 merged with ICM London, with Heath became chairman of

6560-439: Was much bigger than any differences we may have had in the past, and we worked very well together. ... I was not behind pushing out him or his people." In his memoir Christie said that Steve Bannon fired him at Trump Tower but that Kushner had his firing ordered as revenge for what Christie had done to Kushner's father Charles Kushner for several felonies. Kushner's contacts with Russian officials came under scrutiny as part of

6642-410: Was then chairman of the presidential campaign, who met with Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower . According to Rinat Akhmetshin , who was also present at the meeting, Veselnitskaya claimed to have evidence of "violations of Russian law by a Democratic donor", and that the "Russian lawyer described her findings at the meeting and left a document about them with Trump Jr. and the others". According to

6724-578: Was unable to find evidence that there was any follow up between Kushner and Gorkov after the meeting. In July 2017, Kushner appeared before both the House and Senate intelligence committees in closed session as part of their investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. He also released a public statement. In October 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee requested numerous documents from Kushner. Kushner's attorneys gave

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