Jared Kushner's global investment firm, Affinity Partners, has raised more than $3 billion in committed funding from international inv...
Jared Kushner's global investment firm, Affinity Partners, has raised more than $3 billion in committed funding from international investors, according to a report.
Kushner, 40, a former top aide to then-President Donald Trump who is married to Ivanka Trump, formed the Miami-based firm last summer after deciding to step away from politics and began raising money in the fall.
Kushner plans to invest in American and Israeli companies that are looking for international expansion opportunities in India, Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia.
The move raised eyebrows among ethics experts, given his rapid transition from advising the White House and liaising with world leaders to seeking investments from them for his own firm.
Jared Kushner, 40, is seen in December 2020 speaking during a visit to Rabat, Morocco. He has now transitioned from being a White House senior advisor to being an investment fund manager
Kushner is seen on December 21, 2020 with Benjamin Netanyahu - a family friend, and the then-prime minister of Israel
Kushner is pictured with his wife Ivanka at the launch of the Trump 2020 campaign in June 2019
The New Jersey-born scion of a wealthy real estate developing family, Kushner worked for the family firm, with his best-known acquisition being 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, which he bought for $1.8 billion in 2007.
The building became a financial millstone when the recession hit soon after. After multiple attempts to sell the building, Brookfield Properties acquired their 99-year lease for $1.3 billion in 2018.
He was also the owner and publisher of The New York Observer for a decade, until his father-in-law became president.
Kushner's firm has received commitments of more than $3 billion, a source told Reuters, adding that he expects to continue fund-raising efforts for the next few months to close these and add potential additional commitments.
Information on specific investors was not disclosed, but Affinity was targeting American institutions and foreign investment institutions, including sovereign wealth funds and high net worth individuals.
Kushner is seen in the White House among officials from Saudi Arabia in March 2018
Kushner and Trump are seen with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, in Riyadh in May 2017
Affinity is hoping to close its first deal in the first quarter of 2022, the source said.
The firm has hired about 20 people, including private equity veterans Bret Perlman and Asad Naqvi, and plans to focus on U.S. based investments as well as those in the Middle East.
At the Trump White House, Kushner helped broker deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in a six-month flurry last year.
He also helped negotiate a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.
He played a prominent role in Trump's failed 2020 reelection campaign, but has steered clear of Trump's false claims of voter fraud.
Kushner reportedly tried to distance his father-in-law from fringe, far-right social media platforms after Trump was kicked off Twitter following the deadly riot on January 6.
Kushner hopes to create 'an investment corridor' between Israel and Saudi Arabia, by working with Israeli and Gulf companies and investors, the person said.
He has also written a book about his White House experience that is expected to be published by HarperCollins in 2022.
Kushner is not the only former member of the Trump White House to be seeking deals in the Middle East.
Steve Mnuchin, the former treasury secretary, is now running a private equity fund that in September was reported to have raised $2.5 billion.
Most of the money is from sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Bloomberg reported.
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