How The Kushners’ Real Estate Portfolio Grew To Be Worth More Than Trump’s

Forbes

While Jared Kushner moved to D.C. to advise former president Trump and then to Miami to pursue private equity, his family’s real estate business quietly prospered in his absence—rebuilding a portfolio that’s now more valuable than his father-in-law’s.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicahunter-hart/2024/10/27/the-kushners-real-estate-empire-is-now-worth-more-than-trumps/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, the Kushner's real estate empire is now worth more than Trump's.

00:07In 2018, the Kushner family was at a turning point.

00:11One year into Jared Kushner's tenure as senior advisor at the White House to his father-in-law

00:15Donald Trump, the family's real estate business, Kushner Companies, was facing battles on multiple

00:21fronts.

00:22Rumors swirled about possible investigations into influence from Chinese and Qatari investors,

00:28which the firm strenuously denied.

00:31In its home state of New Jersey, its high-profile luxury apartment development in Journal Square

00:36was stalled, with the company filing a lawsuit against Jersey City and its mayor alleging

00:41that they were putting the project in default due to, quote, political animus.

00:47The greatest immediate threat lay in Manhattan, where it faced a looming wall of debt, $1.2

00:53billion, coming due by February 2019 on its marquee asset, a 50.5% stake in 666 Fifth

01:01Avenue, a 41-story office tower in Midtown.

01:06Six years later, the Kushners have turned things around.

01:09One of two 64-story towers at the Jersey City complex topped out this summer.

01:15A 30-story, 420-unit apartment tower in the heart of Miami, their second development in

01:20Florida, was completed in early October.

01:23A few days later, OpenAI leased more than half of the office space at the historic Puck

01:28Building in Lower Manhattan.

01:30The chat GPT maker will pay $140 per square foot, a massive jump from the $31 paid by

01:36the previous tenant, New York University, according to a person familiar with the lease.

01:42Meanwhile, the firm sold a 99-year lease on 666 Fifth Avenue, now called 660 Fifth Avenue,

01:49later in 2018, resolving its debt problems.

01:53As for possible investigations, none went anywhere.

01:57All of this has helped the Kushners revitalize their New Jersey real estate company.

02:02Forbes dug into dozens of debt filings, property deeds, and financial disclosures, and spoke

02:07with 15 real estate experts and brokers to value the family's fortune for the first time

02:12since 2016.

02:14Forbes now estimates Kushner Companies to be worth $2.9 billion, nearly triple the $1

02:20billion it was worth at the time Trump was elected.

02:24It's also more valuable than Trump's $2.2 billion real estate portfolio.

02:30As a whole, the Kushners are worth an estimated $7.1 billion, up from $1.8 billion in 2016,

02:37a sum that includes Kushner Companies, stakes in eight personal properties worth at least

02:42$100 million, and Jared and Josh's investment firms.

02:46Family patriarch Charles and his wife Cyril, together, own 20% of the nearly $3 billion

02:52in market value real estate firm, with the rest split between their four kids, Jared,

02:57Josh, Dara, and Nicole.

03:00In addition to his 20% stake in Kushner Companies, Jared owns nascent private equity firm Affinity

03:05Partners, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, enough to be worth

03:10at least $900 million, according to Forbes estimates.

03:14His brother Josh, who refused to vote for Trump and is married to model Karlie Kloss,

03:19has meanwhile made his own fortune as a well-regarded venture investor.

03:23Forbes values his stake in his venture capital firm Thrive Capital, which scored with early

03:28investments in Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI at an estimated $3.5 billion.

03:35He also owns a $40 million penthouse in the family's Puck building, where Thrive is headquartered

03:40and where OpenAI just signed its lease, plus homes in Malibu and Miami.

03:45Not only is he by far the wealthiest Kushner, but he's also one of America's 400 richest

03:50people.

03:52While the two sons have captured plenty of headlines, the rebound of the family real

03:55estate business has gone largely under the radar.

03:59After Jared left the company to join Trump's administration in 2017, his father Charles,

04:04who is 70 years old and still consults on projects but has no title, handed the reins

04:09to non-family member and former investment banker Laurent Morali, and later to his younger

04:14daughter Nicole, who is 41 years old.

04:17They now run the company together as CEO and President, respectively.

04:22For full coverage, check out Monica Hunter-Hart and Giacomo Tognini's piece on Forbes.com.

04:29This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes, thanks for tuning in.

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