A CNN investigation published October 1 has put Jared Kushner’s business interests under renewed scrutiny while he is simultaneously involved in U.S. Middle East diplomacy.
Kushner’s private-equity firm, Affinity Partners, is the largest shareholder in Israel’s Phoenix Financial, retaining a 7.4% stake valued at more than $1 billion after selling roughly a quarter of its position in July for more than $340 million.
CNN examined Israeli financial records and found Phoenix held more than $456 million across at least nine companies supplying equipment connected to Israel’s military operations. These included Elbit Systems, Israel Shipyards, companies producing drone cameras, tank components and electronic fuzes for artillery shells. Affinity does not directly own those defense companies, but as Phoenix’s largest shareholder it can benefit from Phoenix’s overall financial performance.
The conflict-of-interest questions become harder to ignore because Kushner is not simply another investor. He has been deeply involved in Gaza negotiations and other regional diplomacy while maintaining this financial exposure. Kushner previously described having an “active dialogue” with Phoenix management and meeting its team regularly, although his lawyer says those interactions have since been sharply reduced and that Kushner never directed Phoenix’s individual investment decisions.
Then there is the foreign money.
Affinity was created after Kushner left the White House. A Senate Finance Committee investigation found that 99% of its assets under management came from foreign investors, primarily sovereign funds linked to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund alone committed $2 billion, while the committee said Affinity had collected as much as $157 million in foreign-client fees, including roughly $87 million from Saudi Arabia by 2024. Those figures came from a Democratic-led congressional investigation and Affinity disputed allegations that the arrangement was improper.
That does not prove bribery or criminal conduct, and CNN said it found no evidence that Kushner influenced Phoenix’s military-related investments through his diplomatic work. But the overlap is extraordinary: foreign sovereign money → Kushner’s private fund → a billion-dollar stake in a major Israeli financial institution → investments linked to Israel’s defense industry — while Kushner participates in negotiations concerning those same regional wars.
For an investigative journalist, that is exactly the kind of arrangement that demands aggressive disclosure and independent scrutiny.
When private profit, foreign governments and public diplomacy overlap this closely, “trust us” is not enough.