Kushner family

The Kushner family is an American family whose business identity is principally associated with real-estate development, ownership, and management in the New York and New Jersey region. The family’s history begins with Rae Kushner, born in Novogrudok in what was then the Second Polish Republic, and Joseph Kushner, a carpenter from the same area. Rae survived the Holocaust after escaping the Novogrudok ghetto with members of her family and living with the Bielski partisans. After the war, the couple spent several years in a displaced-persons camp in Italy before immigrating to the United States in 1949 and settling in New York City. Joseph Kushner entered the New Jersey apartment business with partners including Harry and Joseph Wilf. Over time, he built a portfolio reported in the family’s biographical accounts as containing approximately 4,000 apartments. His sons, Murray and Charles Kushner, later became the principal successors to this business. Murray established SK Properties with Eugene Schenkman in 1979; the enterprise later became Kushner Real Estate Group, generally known as KRE Group. Charles founded Kushner Companies with Joseph as a partner in 1985. After Joseph’s death that year, Charles continued to lead the company and gave his siblings interests in the business. The family’s second generation eventually divided into separate business and political networks. Murray’s business remained focused on regional real estate development and investment, while Charles expanded Kushner Companies and became active in Democratic Party politics and philanthropy in New Jersey. Charles’s business and personal conduct later led to a federal criminal case involving tax offenses, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering. He pleaded guilty to 18 felony counts and served a prison sentence. Following the conviction, his eldest son, Jared Kushner, assumed a major management role in Kushner Companies. Under Jared Kushner, the company sold a large portion of its New Jersey holdings and acquired the office tower at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Jared also acquired Observer Media in 2006, adding publishing to the family’s portfolio, although he later transferred the publication to a trust controlled by his family when he entered government service. His brother Joshua Kushner pursued venture capital and technology investments through Thrive Capital and cofounded Oscar Health. The family’s business and public profile expanded further through Jared’s marriage to Ivanka Trump and his position as a senior adviser to President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2021. The Murray branch continued to operate KRE Group. In 2010, SK Properties adopted the Kushner Real Estate Group name, with Murray Kushner as chairman and his son Jonathan as president. KRE Group and Kushner Companies have both developed projects in Jersey City’s Journal Square district, including Journal Squared and the proposed One Journal Square project. Their overlapping activity produced a 2018 lawsuit by Kushner Companies against Jersey City concerning alleged differences in treatment between the two developers; the dispute was settled in 2020. The Kushner family is therefore not a single publicly traded company but a privately controlled family business network with separate operating entities and investment activities. Its public significance comes from the combination of real estate, philanthropy, political relationships, publishing, venture capital, and connections to the Trump family.

The Kushner family originated in Novogrudok, a town that was in the Second Polish Republic and is now in Belarus. Rae Kushner was born there in 1923 into a Jewish family. During the German occupation in the Second World War, Rae and her relatives were confined in the Novogrudok ghetto. Rae escaped through a tunnel in 1943 with members of her family and was sheltered by the Bielski partisans in nearby forests. Her mother and sister were killed, and her brother did not survive the escape and subsequent persecution. After the area was liberated in 1944, Rae met Yossel Berkowitz, a carpenter from Novogrudok. They married in Budapest and spent several years in Italy in a displaced-persons camp before immigrating to the United States in 1949. In New York, Yossel adopted the name Joseph Kushner and entered the apartment-development business with Harry and Joseph Wilf. The family later established itself in New Jersey, where Joseph accumulated a substantial multifamily portfolio. Joseph and Rae had four children: Linda, Murray, Charles, and Esther. Joseph’s business became the foundation for the next generation’s separate real-estate enterprises. Murray Kushner founded SK Properties with Eugene Schenkman in 1979. The company eventually became Kushner Real Estate Group, or KRE Group, and remained focused on development and investment in the New York and New Jersey region. Charles Kushner founded Kushner Companies with Joseph as his partner in 1985. Joseph died later that year, after which Charles became the principal operator and distributed ownership interests to his siblings. Charles combined real-estate expansion with political giving and charitable activity. He supported Democratic political causes in New Jersey and helped fund Jewish educational institutions, including the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School. Tensions with Murray and Esther intensified over business matters and family disagreements. In the early 2000s, a federal investigation led to charges against Charles involving tax fraud, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering. He pleaded guilty to 18 felony counts and served 16 months in prison. The episode materially changed management of Kushner Companies. Charles’s eldest son, Jared Kushner, assumed a leading role in the company. The business sold New Jersey holdings and acquired 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Jared also bought Observer Media in 2006. His brother Joshua developed a separate career in venture capital, founding Thrive Capital in 2010 and becoming associated with Oscar Health. The family’s public visibility increased after Jared married Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump, in 2009. Jared worked on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and became a senior presidential adviser after the election. He transferred or placed certain business interests, including Observer Media, into arrangements intended to separate them from his government role. The Murray branch continued its own development platform. SK Properties adopted the KRE Group name in 2010, with Murray as chairman and Jonathan Kushner as president. KRE Group and Kushner Companies later became involved in separate Journal Square developments in Jersey City. Their overlapping projects generated litigation when Kushner Companies alleged that municipal approvals or incentives favored KRE Group. The case was settled in 2020. Today, the Kushner family is best understood as a network of privately held family enterprises rather than one unified corporation. Its core identity remains real estate, while its broader public profile includes philanthropy, political relationships, media ownership, venture capital, health-insurance technology, and ties to the Trump family.

1. 2020Journal Square litigation is settled

   The legal dispute involving Kushner Companies, KRE Group, and Jersey City ended in a settlement.

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2. 2017Jared Kushner enters presidential service

   Jared Kushner became a senior adviser in the administration of his father-in-law, President Donald Trump.

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3. 2010SK Properties becomes Kushner Real Estate Group

   The Murray Kushner branch rebranded its real-estate company as KRE Group.

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4. 2006Observer Media is acquired

   Jared Kushner acquired Observer Media, adding a publishing business to his real-estate activities.

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5. 2004Charles Kushner is sentenced after pleading guilty

   Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to multiple federal felonies and served 16 months in prison.

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6. 1985Kushner Companies is founded

   Charles Kushner founded Kushner Companies with his father, Joseph Kushner, as partner.

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7. 1979SK Properties is founded

   Murray Kushner and Eugene Schenkman established the business that later became Kushner Real Estate Group.

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8. 1949Rae and Joseph Kushner immigrate to the United States

   After spending years in a displaced-persons camp in Italy, the couple settled in New York and began building the family’s American life.

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Prominent private real-estate family with business interests concentrated in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area and additional investments in media, technology, and health insurance.

• Kushner Companies real-estate portfolioReal-estate development and investment1985

  Charles Kushner’s family enterprise develops, owns, and manages residential and commercial properties, historically with a strong concentration in New Jersey and the wider New York metropolitan area. Its portfolio has included multifamily housing, office assets, and large urban redevelopment projects.

• Kushner Real Estate GroupReal-estate development1979

  KRE Group is the successor to SK Properties, the company founded by Murray Kushner and Eugene Schenkman. It develops and invests in residential and mixed-use properties, particularly in New Jersey and the New York metropolitan region.

• 666 Fifth AvenueOffice property

  The Manhattan office tower became one of the most prominent assets associated with Jared Kushner’s period of leadership at Kushner Companies. Its acquisition represented an expansion from the company’s New Jersey-centered portfolio into a major New York commercial property.

• Journal SquaredMixed-use urban development

  Journal Squared is a major Jersey City development associated with KRE Group in the Journal Square neighborhood. It forms part of the family’s broader participation in the redevelopment of transit-oriented urban districts.

• Observer MediaMedia2006

  Observer Media, acquired by Jared Kushner in 2006, added publishing to the family’s holdings. Jared later transferred the publication to a family-controlled trust in connection with his government service.

• Thrive CapitalVenture capital2010

  Thrive Capital is the venture-capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner in 2010. It represents the family’s expansion beyond property into investments in technology and growth companies.

• 2016Jared Kushner’s Trump campaign communications role

  United States

  Jared Kushner worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and publicly defended Trump against accusations of antisemitism by referring to the Holocaust experience of Jared’s grandparents. Other relatives criticized that use of the family history and emphasized opposition to hatred.

  Outcome. Jared Kushner became a senior adviser in the subsequent Trump administration.

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• 2018Lawsuit over competing Journal Square developmentsOther

  Kushner Companies and KRE Group were both pursuing projects in Jersey City’s Journal Square neighborhood.

  What changed. Kushner Companies sued Jersey City, alleging that municipal treatment favored KRE Group.

  Aftermath. The dispute was settled in October 2020.

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• 2017Business divestment and trust arrangements during government serviceStrategy

  Jared Kushner entered the White House as a senior adviser while retaining interests connected to the family’s private businesses.

  What changed. He sold or transferred selected assets, including Observer Media, to a family-controlled trust and made other arrangements intended to address conflicts of interest.

  Aftermath. The family’s business and political relationships remained subject to public scrutiny.

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• 2010Rebranding of SK Properties as KRE GroupStrategy

  Murray Kushner’s real-estate enterprise had matured beyond its original partnership identity.

  What changed. SK Properties adopted the Kushner Real Estate Group name and continued under Murray Kushner and Jonathan Kushner’s leadership.

  Aftermath. The rebranded company continued regional development and became active in Journal Square.

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• 2007Acquisition of 666 Fifth AvenueM&A

  Kushner Companies sought to expand its real-estate platform beyond its established New Jersey holdings.

  What changed. The company acquired the 666 Fifth Avenue office property in Manhattan.

  Aftermath. The property became a central and highly visible asset in Jared Kushner’s business profile.

  Reported acquisition price. $1.8 billion (2007)

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• 2005Jared Kushner takes a leading role in Kushner CompaniesOther

  Charles Kushner’s conviction and imprisonment created a leadership transition within the family’s principal real-estate company.

  What changed. Jared Kushner assumed responsibility for major company operations and strategic decisions.

  Aftermath. The company pursued portfolio sales and larger New York commercial investments under the younger generation’s direction.

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• 2004Charles Kushner federal criminal caseControversy

  Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to 18 felony counts involving tax fraud, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering. He served 16 months in prison after prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey.

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• 2020Journal Square dispute is settled

  The lawsuit involving Kushner Companies, KRE Group, and Jersey City was settled.

  Lawsuit
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• 2018Kushner Companies files Journal Square lawsuit

  Kushner Companies sued Jersey City, alleging that the city had provided more favorable terms to KRE Group for a competing Journal Square project.

  Lawsuit
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• 2017Jared Kushner joins the Trump administration

  Following Donald Trump’s election, Jared Kushner became a senior adviser to the president and arranged changes to his business holdings.

  Leadership change
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• 2010Kushner Companies and KRE Group pursue Journal Square projects

  The two family-linked real-estate companies became active in Jersey City’s Journal Square district, developing separate major projects.

  Product launchOther
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• 2007Kushner family acquires 666 Fifth Avenue

  Kushner Companies acquired the Manhattan office property at 666 Fifth Avenue as part of Jared Kushner’s expansion of the company’s holdings.

  M&A
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• 2005Jared Kushner assumes a leading role at Kushner Companies

  After Charles Kushner’s conviction, Jared Kushner took charge of major activities at Kushner Companies.

  Leadership change
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1. Kushner family
2. Rae Kushner