Joshua Kushner (born June 12, 1985) is an American businessman and investor. He is the founder and managing partner of the venture capital firmThrive Capital, co-founder and vice-chairman ofOscar Health, and the youngest son of the real estate developerCharles Kushner. He is the younger brother ofJared Kushner, son-in-law and former senior advisor to thepresident of the United StatesDonald Trump. He is also a minority owner of theMemphis Grizzlies.
During his sophomore year, Kushner was founding executive editor ofScene, a new pop culture student-publication.[6] The publication was badly received by critics upon release.[7]
In the spring of his junior year he worked with two graduate students to pool $10,000 in order to found social network Vostu,[8] which aimed to "fill a void left by online communities in which English is the lingua franca", like Facebook. According to Kushner, Latin America was a promising market for a Facebook-alternative and new social networking site because "[it was] a place where Internet use is increasing every year, and technology is booming at a rapid pace".[9] Vostu laid off the majority of its employees in 2013 and significantly scaled back its operations after a copyright lawsuit from a competitor accused them of copying games.[10][11]
The year after graduation he co-founded a start-up called Unithrive. Unithrive was inspired by the peer-to-peer loan model ofKiva, but aimed to "ease the crisis in paying for college" by matching "alumni lenders to cash-strapped students ... who [could] post photographs and biographical information and request up to $2,000", interest-free for repayment within five years of graduation.[12] After graduating from Harvard, he started his career in the private equity arm atGoldman Sachs, working for a year on distressed debt.[13]
He founded Thrive Capital in 2010, aventure capital firm that focuses on media and internet investments.[14][15] Since its founding, Thrive has raised over $7.3 billion from institutional investors, includingPrinceton University.[16] Thrive’s capital funds include: Thrive II, which raised $40 million in 2011; Thrive III, which raised $150 million in 2012; Thrive IV, which raised $400 million in September 2014;[16][17] Thrive V, raising $700 million in 2016; Thrive VI, raising $1 billion in 2018; Thrive VII, raising $2 billion in 2021; Thrive VIII, raising $3 billion in 2022; and Thrive IX, raising $5 billion in 2024.[18][19][20]
As an investor inInstagram, Kushner was the second largest investor in Instagram's Series B fundraising round. Valued at $500 million, Thrive soon doubled its money after Instagram was sold toFacebook.[8]
In 2021, it was reported byBloomberg that Goldman Sachs had invested in Kushner's Thrive Capital at a $3.6 billion valuation.[25] Kushner sold a 3.3% stake in Thrive to a group of investors, includingDisney'sBob Iger andKohlberg Kravis Roberts'Henry Kravis, valuing Thrive at $5.3 billion.[26]
As of September 2024[update],Forbes estimates his net worth to be $3.8 billion, primarily from his ownership in Thrive.[27]Fortune magazine listed Kushner in its inaugural list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Business in 2024, citing Thrive's early investment inOpenAI.[28][29]
Kushner is a co-founder and vice-chairman ofOscar Health, a health insurance start-up.[30] Founded in 2012, Oscar was valued at $2.7 billion in 2016.[31] Oscar went public in 2021, with Kushner's Thrive Capital owning a stake worth $1.21 billion.[32][33] Oscar reported an $87 million loss in its first quarter as a publicly traded company.[34]
In 2020, it was revealed byThe Atlantic that Jared Kushner had contracted Oscar Health to develop a coronavirus testing website that was later scrapped, even though Trump had said publicly that Google was developing the website.[35]
In 2015, Kushner founded a new company calledCadre with his brotherJared and their friend Ryan Williams, with Williams as Cadre's CEO. Cadre is a technology platform designed to help certain types of clients, such as family offices and endowments, invest inreal estate.[36][37]
Kushner and his brother,Jared, each own 50% of JK2 (also known as Westminster Management), a real estate management company,[38] but Joshua is not involved with the business.[39][40]
In April 2021, a Judge ruled that JK2 was found to have committed "widespread and numerous" violations of Maryland'sconsumer protection laws at Baltimore-area properties by collecting debts without the required licenses, charging tenants improper fees, and misrepresenting the condition of rental units.[41][38][42] During theCOVID-19 pandemic, JK2 filed a significant number of lawsuits against tenants for debt collection and eviction, despite an eviction moratorium being in place.[43]
Kushner's JK2 was also featured in an episode of Netflix'sDirty Money series titled "Slumlord Millionaire."[44] The episode was based on an expose fromProPublica accusing the company of abusing tenants rights, leaving homes in disrepair, humiliating late-paying renters and suing tenants when they try and move out.[45]
Kushner became a minority owner of theMemphis Grizzlies after acquiring a 2.5% stake in 2019.[46][47] In 2024, Kushner and his wife's media company, Bedford Media, announced plans to reviveLife magazine in an agreement withDotdash Meredith, with the first print issue scheduled for early 2025.[48][49] He also joined the board of directors ofA24 Films that year.[50]
Kushner married modelKarlie Kloss in 2018.[51] They have two sons.[52][53][54] In March 2025, Kloss revealed that they were expecting their third child.[55][56]
In December 2020, the couple purchased a home inMiami, Florida, for US$23.5 million.[57] They also bought a 7,200-square-foot (670 m2) penthouse in thePuck Building in Manhattan for $35 million in 2021, and paid $29.5 million for theWave House inMalibu, California, in August 2024.[58]
Kushner was included in a 2024Washington Post article about aWhatsApp group chat from October 2023 through early May that year where some United States' business leaders discussed "chang[ing] the narrative" in favor of Israel by conveying “the atrocities committed by Hamas…to all Americans,” following Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel.[59] However, a spokesperson of Kushner stated that, “Josh has not participated in [the group chat].”[60]
^Neyfakh, Leon (December 7, 2005)."Doordropped: Which Scene?".The Harvard Crimson.Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. RetrievedJanuary 2, 2016.
