Between discreet diplomacy and thriving business, Jared Kushner weaves his web between Washington, the Middle East and Hollywood, his multiple hats arousing questions and controversies.
Without an official title in the White House other than being the president’s son-in-law, he orchestrated a remarkable, and sometimes contested, return to power as a member of Donald Trump’s inner circle. The latter notably entrusted the husband of his eldest daughter, Ivanka, with a key role in the peace talks in Gaza and Ukraine.
But aside from this role as the president’s unofficial diplomat, Jared Kushner, 44, son of the current United States ambassador to France, also became involved this week, through Affinity Partners, his investment fund, in the proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance.
After the defeat of his father-in-law against Joe Biden in November 2020, Jared Kushner founded this company largely financed by Saudi Arabia. According to the magazine ForbesJared Kushner is now a billionaire.
In September, Affinity Partners bought Electronic Arts (EA), one of the largest American video game publishers, for $55 billion, alongside the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the American investment fund Silver Lake.
Jared Kushner defends himself against possible conflicts of interest between public and private functions and White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt believes that it is a question “frankly despicable”. According to the White House, Kushner brings “valuable expertise” within his team, even if he only works as “informal and unpaid advisor”. “President Trump has a trusted family member and talented advisor in Jared Kushner”summarized the deputy spokesperson, Anna Kelly, to Agence France-Presse, invoking “success” of Kushner in the Middle East. Trump and his traveling special envoy, businessman Steve Witkoff, “often seek Mr. Kushner’s advice given his experience in complex negotiations, and Mr. Kushner has been generous in providing his valuable expertise when asked”said Anna Kelly again.
During his father-in-law’s first mandate, Jared Kushner negotiated the Abraham Accords (signed in September 2020) which led to the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain then Morocco and Sudan.
During this period, Mr. Kushner, who is Jewish, forged lasting relationships with Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia. As Donald Trump sought a ceasefire in Gaza, he once again turned to his son-in-law.
The president dispatched him and Steve Witkoff to negotiate with Israel, Hamas and Middle Eastern powers. After the Gaza deal, Jared Kushner explained that his role was only temporary and joked that he feared Ivanka would change the locks on their Florida villa and not let him return if he stayed away from home.
Yet the following month, the two envoys traveled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Top Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said Jared Kushner “proved very useful”.
Mr. Kushner’s business interests raised questions again when it emerged that Affinity Partners was among the investors backing Paramount’s battle with Netflix to buy Warner Bros. This added a political dimension to the affair: if this takeover is successful, the Trump family could partially own CNN, the American president’s most hated news channel. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) paid $2 billion in 2022 to Affinity, the New York Times. The Qatar Investment Authority and Lunate Capital, based in Abu Dhabi, together brought in around $1.5 billion in 2024, Jared Kushner revealed in a podcast last year. His company now manages $5.4 billion, according to a September statement.
A US Senate finance committee launched an investigation into Affinity Partners last year, before Donald Trump’s return to the White House. In three years, Mr. Kushner’s company pocketed $157 million from foreign clients, including $87 million coming directly from the Saudi government with no return on investment for its clients, noted Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, emphasizing “Affinity’s complete dependence on a small number of foreign government investors”.
“What people call conflicts of interest, Steve [Witkoff] and I call that experience and trusting relationships”Jared Kushner recently supported on CBS.
