Jared Kushner's Investment Firm Hires Former Trump Staffers
Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners venture has drawn some controversy because Kushner has been seeking capital from some of the Middle Eastern countries that he dealt with in the White House, including Saudi Arabia.
January 20, 2022 at 01:21 PM
3 minute read
Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and former senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, is relying on Washington as well as Wall Street to build out the staff of his new private equity firm.
Affinity Partners filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month reporting assets raised, names of several employees and strategies the firm will pursue.
Some of those numbers are already out of date. Affinity now has more than 20 staff, including four from the Trump Administration, said a person familiar with the firm.
Kushner, who brokered a deal between Israel and several Middle Eastern countries while working in the White House, plans to open an investment office there that will seek regional investments with neighbors in North Africa and the Gulf.
The firm also hopes to capitalize on macro trends, according to its Dec. 23 registration, which was filed under the name A Fin Management.
"Affinity believes that geo-political risks are creating competitive pressure for advanced industrial countries to increase investment in key industries," including artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital payments, the firm said in the filing. "Affinity will seek to understand these trends to identify specific markets that it believes can achieve outsized growth."
Kushner, who turned 41 earlier this month, began setting up Affinity Partners in June. The venture has drawn some controversy because Kushner has been seeking capital from some of the Middle Eastern countries that he dealt with in the White House, including Saudi Arabia, according to the New York Times.
Affinity Partners had raised $2 billion by the end of November, according to last month's filing, which didn't include details on the investors. The firm plans to update the filing in the next several weeks to reflect additional commitments, which now exceed $3 billion, according to the person.
Kushner hired private equity veterans Bret Pearlman and Asad Naqvi to select investments and negotiate deals for the Sunny Isles Beach, Florida-based firm.
Ian Brekke, who served as deputy general counsel and acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security under Trump, replaced Nicholas Butterfield as compliance officer in December. Butterfield, a former deputy White House policy coordinator, still works for the firm.
John Rader, who worked on U.S. trade relations with Mexico and Canada for the Trump administration, became Affinity Partners' chief operating officer in September, the filing shows. Chad Mizelle, a former assistant counsel to the President, has also been hired, the person said.
Lauren Key, who most recently was as a managing director at Orion Energy Partners, joined Affinity Partners as chief financial officer in October.
Before joining the White House, Kushner worked for his family's real estate firm, Kushner Cos., which his father built as a simple business buying and refurbishing suburban garden apartments on the East Coast. Jared, encouraged the firm to move aggressively into New York, including with the 2007 purchase of 666 Fifth Ave., a Manhattan office tower, bought for $1.8 billion that was soon hit by the financial crisis. Since Jared's departure, the firm has reverted to less flashy investments outside of New York.
Miles Weiss reports for Bloomberg News.
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllYacht Broker Says It 'Has Done Nothing Wrong.' Asks Miami Court to Dismiss the Case
Hyper-Reality Revisited: A Tour of Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami
5 minute read10 Years Later, This High Court Fight Over Real Estate Commissions Is Far From Over
4 minute readBroward Judge Awards $9.9M in Attorney Fees and Costs After $33M Salmon Settlement
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Uber Files RICO Suit Against Plaintiff-Side Firms Alleging Fraudulent Injury Claims
- 2The Law Firm Disrupted: Scrutinizing the Elephant More Than the Mouse
- 3Inherent Diminished Value Damages Unavailable to 3rd-Party Claimants, Court Says
- 4Pa. Defense Firm Sued by Client Over Ex-Eagles Player's $43.5M Med Mal Win
- 5Losses Mount at Morris Manning, but Departing Ex-Chair Stays Bullish About His Old Firm's Future
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250