How Jared Kushner’s firm’s investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest
Published by CNN
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Who is named
The characters and things this document talks about — 19 in alls. Each links to everything else the record knows about them.
People 7
Donald Trump Anna Kelly Benjamin Netanyahu Cynthia Brown Jared Kushner Steve Witkoff Jamie Raskin
Organisations 11
Reshef Technologies Shlomo Group Affinity Partners Caterpillar Boeing Elbit Systems United Nations CNN Saudi Public Investment Fund Phoenix Financial Hamas
Places 1
Claims made
Every claim in this document. Firsthand = asserted on its own basis; secondhand = recounted from elsewhere, carrying no independent weight.
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Affinity Partners is the largest stakeholder in Phoenix Financial.
Affinity Partners, which is Jared Kushner's private equity firm, is the largest stakeholder in a Tel Aviv firm called Phoenix Financial.
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Kushner has skirted deeper scrutiny of this potential conflict of interest by acting as a volunteer envoy, rather than accepting a government job that would require him to disclose his finances.
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CNN used Israeli financial transparency laws to trace some of the military-linked investments of Phoenix Financial, a Tel Aviv-based firm that Kushner’s investment group doubled its stake in last year, shortly before Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office.
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Those records, which include only a fraction of Phoenix’s holdings, show Phoenix has invested hundreds of millions of dollars into Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems.
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Phoenix also holds stakes in at least eight other companies providing equipment for the Israeli military ranging from drones to warships to demolition machinery, CNN found.
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All nine companies identified by CNN saw their stock value climb last year, with many stating the war in Gaza had driven demand for their businesses.
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Affinity doesn’t directly hold a stake in the nine companies CNN identified – but it does stand to reap rewards when Phoenix makes a profit.
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Since spring 2025, Kushner has been a leading administration voice in the Middle East, advising Trump and flying across the globe to negotiate with leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
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Kushner was a key architect of the Gaza ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas last October.
Kushner was a key architect of the Gaza ceasefire brokered between Israel and Hamas last October
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CNN found no indication that Kushner’s actions as a diplomat directly affected the investments reviewed.
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His firm has reaped strong gains from its Phoenix investment, cashing out a quarter of its stake in July for more than $340 million – a return of more than five times its initial stock purchase.
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Kushner said financial profit is the best path toward lasting peace.
Kushner has spoken candidly about both his Phoenix investment and his role as a peace broker, arguing that financial profit is the best path toward lasting peace.
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“There are always people who profit from war or government policies. The difference is that the people profiting should not be the people making the decisions to make that policy. And that is what is happening here,” said Cynthia Brown, chief ethics counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
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An attorney for Kushner told CNN Kushner has “never participated in or directed Phoenix’s decisions” on where to invest, adding he had “no involvement in the decision to purchase, hold or sell any of the nine companies” highlighted by CNN and has never been on Phoenix’s board.
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Kushner told Forbes last September that he maintains “a very active dialogue” with the financial group, meeting every few weeks with its leadership.
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His attorney confirmed to CNN this statement was accurate at the time and that Kushner “regularly spoke with Phoenix management about the company, broader market trends and potential strategic opportunities.”
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Two forensic accountants in Israel separately reviewed the records and concluded, despite those inconsistencies, the filings analyzed by CNN are Phoenix’s holdings.
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Affinity is not required under US law to disclose where it invests.
As a private company, Affinity, like Kushner, is not required under US law to disclose where it invests.
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Kushner incorporated Affinity Partners on January 21, 2021, a day after Trump’s first term ended.
Kushner incorporated the company he later transformed into the Miami-based Affinity Partners on January 21, 2021, just a day after Trump’s first term ended.
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Six months later, the firm secured a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund led by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, with whom he had built a close relationship during Trump’s first term in office.
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In 2023, Affinity agreed to make its first investment in Israel, buying a 15% stake in the Shlomo Group’s car rental and credit business for $150 million.
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Affinity’s renewed bet on Phoenix came amid Israel’s escalating war in Gaza, which began in retaliation for Hamas’ deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed.
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Israel’s campaign, which officials have argued is necessary for national security, has killed more than 74,000 people, according to Palestinian health ministry figures
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An independent United Nations inquiry found Israel’s military actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
An independent United Nations inquiry found Israel’s military actions in Gaza amounted to genocide, a characterization Israel has repeatedly rejected.
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Kushner began acting as an unofficial adviser to his father‑in‑law starting in May 2025.
Instead, Kushner began acting as an unofficial adviser to his father-in-law starting in May 2025, as the war reached a fever pitch.
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Regional officials told CNN at the time they welcomed the help of Kushner, who had known Netanyahu since his teenage years and had forged strong relationships with other key regional players during the first Trump administration. Officials said they viewed him as more adept than Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, at navigating complex negotiations.
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In September 2025, Kushner stood in the Oval Office as Netanyahu called Qatar’s prime minister following an Israeli strike targeting Hamas leaders in Doha.
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Later that day, he huddled with Netanyahu and his delegation to go over a framework for a Gaza ceasefire deal.
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In October last year, Trump dispatched his son‑in‑law to Sharm el‑Sheikh, Egypt, to seal the deal.
In October last year, Trump dispatched his son‑in‑law to Sharm el‑Sheikh, Egypt, to seal the deal.
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The largest stake among those firms, worth at least $265 million, is in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer. Phoenix, which holds at least a 0.6% stake in the company according to Israeli stock exchange data, has been invested in Elbit for more than a decade.
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Elbit’s stock price increased more than 165 % since the start of the war.
Elbit’s stock price has increased more than 165%, according to Tel Aviv Stock Exchange figures.
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Phoenix invested at least $40 million in Reshef Technologies, a company producing electronic fuzes for artillery shells. The company reported $165 million worth of orders from the Israeli Ministry of Defense since the start of the war.
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Phoenix has also made small investments in two giant American corporations – Boeing and Caterpillar, Inc. – both of which sell products used by the Israeli military.
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Caterpillar’s bulldozers have been used to flatten neighborhoods in Lebanon and Gaza, according to the UN, which urged the firm to cease business with Israel.
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A spokesperson for the White House dismissed concerns over a potential conflict of interest between Kushner’s roles as volunteer and businessman, calling them a “tired narrative that Democrats have pushed against President Trump, his family, and his administration for a decade.”
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At the same time Jared Kushner has acted as a key negotiator in the war in Gaza, his private equity company, Affinity Partners, has held the largest stake in an Israeli firm backing businesses involved in Israel’s military campaigns, a CNN investigation has found.
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Democrats, though, have sought to open new investigations into Kushner’s activities in the region, probes that could heat up if they retake control of the House in the midterms. In a letter sent to Kushner in April promising an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin described Kushner’s dual roles as a “completely irreconcilable and unethical” decision.
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