Jared Kushner is the owner of the New York Observer, a newspaper, and principal at Kushner Companies, a multibillion-dollar real estate organization. His father, Charles Kushner, founded the organization in 1985. When Charles was sent to prison in 2005 for filing false tax returns, making illegal campaign contribution, and retaliating against a witness, Jared became the public face of the company. In 2009, Jared married Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump; he was a leading adviser to Trump in the 2016 presidential race.

As a Harvard undergrad, Kushner bought seven residential properties in Somerville, Massachusetts, upgraded the buildings and sold them at a profit for $21 million.

In 2006, while working toward his JD and MBA at New York University, Kushner bought a stake in the New York Observer for $10 million. In 2007, Kushner's firm paid $1.8 billion for 666 Fifth Avenue, a 41-story, 1.5 million-square-foot building between 52nd and 53rd streets. The office portion of the tower began encountering problems after multiple tenants failed to renew leases in the wake of the financial crisis. In late 2011, Kushner refinanced the debt on the property through Vornado Realty Trust. Vornado agreed to inject $80 million of equity into the project in return for a 49.5 percent stake in the tower.