Jared Kushner, former senior advisor to Donald Trump, has played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. policy in the Middle East, particularly during Trump’s presidency. On August 27, 2020, Kushner attended an important daily briefing. That discussion paved the way for an expansive 20-point peace plan that the Trump administration released on September 29th of the same year. He establishes high-aspiration goals and makes big, bold financial moves. Yet given his highly controversial background, one must question his qualifications to guide U.S. foreign policy and international relations.
Kushner was a key driver of the Trump administration’s Middle Eastern diplomacy through his architectural work on the Abraham Accords. These historic agreements formally established diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Kushner’s lack of formal experience and expertise in either international relations or investment management is alarming. Nevertheless, he has become one of most powerful players in the region’s increasingly complex diplomatic chessboard.
Apart from his diplomatic work, Kushner has been hard at work expanding his private equity firm Affinity Partners. He’s done a great job raising his initial fund of $4.8 billion from Middle Eastern investors. This amazing sum features the biggest-ever investments from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund (QIA), and an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, Lunate. His aspirations are almost double that. He exhibits an impressive ambition to leverage his political contacts to start accumulating personal wealth.
The Abraham Accords and Diplomatic Challenges
Of course Kushner is best known for cementing the Abraham Accords, which he touts as “a genuine inflection point in history.” These agreements represent a shift in Middle Eastern geopolitics, with several nations choosing to recognize Israel and establish formal diplomatic relations. His negotiations brought him to the table with powerful facilitators and king makers, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Qatar’s Emir.
Kushner’s Gaza rehabilitation effort, as part of his larger peace plan, has been decried and gone nowhere fast. He is credited with remarkable success in forging the Abraham Accords. Critics say his inexperience has been evident in failed efforts at more complicated negotiations over Gaza. Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian negotiator, remarked, “This White House needs giant statesmen, not real estate agents,” highlighting concerns about Kushner’s qualifications.
Kushner has repeatedly expressed optimism about what might come to Gaza. He once mentioned that “Gaza’s waterfront property… could be very valuable too, if people would focus on kind of building up livelihoods.” This view speaks to a hope that economic development might be the anchor needed to keep the hard-hit region from further upheaval.
Financial Ventures and Controversies
Jared Kushner’s financial investments through Affinity Partners have raised eyebrows, not just for their size, but for where he’s getting his money. The firm, according to the firm’s own estimates, makes more than $80 million a year just funneling those Middle Eastern investors’ money. Kushner suffered substantial failures, like the loss of $50 million from failed deals.
His successes on the fundraising front are impressive especially considering that until now he had no experience in private equity. In a candid admission, he stated, “I had a lot of my friends who’d made billions of dollars… explaining to me… ‘What the hell’s a revenue multiple?’ … I just thought that maybe I was not up to speed in how modern investing was done.” This admission begs the question of whether he is truly qualified to be entrusted with control over billions of dollars in capital.
These heavy financial burdens haven’t stopped Kushner from trying to grow Affinity Partners’ clout further and raise up even more money. He has a very specific, ambitious long-term goal. He hopes to raise at least double that amount, to bolster the firm’s work and influence in the Middle East.
A Complex Legacy
Kushner’s legacy in the Trump administration is a mixed bag, though. While he has rightly been celebrated for some important diplomatic breakthroughs, he has at the same time come under enormous criticism for his qualifications and effectiveness. From Palestine, he notably and actively negotiates peace agreements and secures investments. These efforts have made him, in this administration’s logic, a crucial actor in Middle Eastern affairs.
Kushner’s efforts have not escaped the attention of influential political actors. Karoline Leavitt defended his contributions by stating, “And so Jared is donating his energy and his time to our government… to secure world peace, and that is a very noble thing.” That excitement is understandable in light of Kushner’s commitment—in spite of concerns about Kushner’s approach and theories of change.
Opponents are still concerned about his outsized sway within the region. His attempts to re-shape Gaza’s economic landscape, while visionary, are ill-conceived and inexperienced. As Kushner himself once mused, Israel could simply “bulldoze something in the Negev.” This very good recommendation further points to the complicated, delicate state of regional politics that stretches well beyond a reactive, cash-for-projects approach.
