Jared Kushner
For Jared Kushner, the 30-year-old owner of the New York Observer and 666 Fifth Avenue, 2011 will be a defining year, according to the New York Times. Personally, Kushner’s wife, Ivanka Trump, is pregnant and poised to give birth to his first son. Professionally, Kushner is working to modify the loans on the $1.8 billion purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue he and his company, Kushner Companies, made at the height of the bubble, and to ensure that the Observer remains relevant through its third editor-in-chief in two years.
Kushner, the story notes, was born into real estate through his father Charles. He began making deals of his own as an undergraduate at Harvard University buying apartment buildings throughout Boston. When the Jersey-born Kushner moved to New York to earn his J.D. and MBA from New York University, he bought 666 Fifth Avenue before he was awarded his diplomas. Now the building isn’t bringing in enough money for Kushner’s company to pay the $6.2 million a month he owes creditors.
At the same time, the Observer is undergoing a complete redesign of its print publication and website under new editor Elizabeth Spiers. Kushner has had a sour relationship with the press, because of the spotlight it placed on his imprisoned father, and has butted heads with countless Observer staffers. The Times said the Obsever must regain its “irreverent edge” to remain relevant with New York’s elite. [NYT]