--- title: Jared Kushner: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Adviser description: Here are five things you need to know about Donald Trump's son-in-law and potential White House advisor, Jared Kushner. canonical: https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-09T22:00:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:08.544Z article:section: Politics og:title: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Son-in-Law Jared Kushner og:description: He may have a role in the White House soon og:url: https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0836d392d7434860/6988b4e20b72e33e306ec351/gettyimages-628386346.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3137 og:image:height: 1765 og:image:alt: President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 5 Things to Know About Trump's Son-in-Law Jared Kushner twitter:description: He may have a role in the White House soon twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0836d392d7434860/6988b4e20b72e33e306ec351/gettyimages-628386346.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things to Know About Donald Trump's Adviser Son-in-Law Jared Kushner > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: How Donald Trump May Hire Family in the White House [Watch (HLS stream): How Donald Trump May Hire Family in the White House](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sSHlrnPy.m3u8) (1:00)  _Published 2016-12-16. The law is largely untested_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 9, 2017 10:00 PM UTC  Jared Kushner exits Trump Tower, December 7, 2016 in New York City. Jared Kushner exits Trump Tower, December 7, 2016 in New York City.Drew Angerer—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jan 9, 2017 10:00 PM UTC President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is poised to become a powerful figure in the White House, with reports Monday saying he will soon be tapped for the role of [White House senior adviser](http://time.com/4629161/donald-trump-jared-kushner-senior-adviser). Trump had [reportedly](http://time.com/4604056/donald-trump-nepotism-ivanka-jared-kushner/) been looking for a role for Kushner, who has been a close adviser to the president-elect throughout the campaign and subsequent transition. But due to existing federal anti-nepotism laws, Kushner will have to prove that suggest laws do not apply to the White House role, as well as distance himself from potential conflicts of interest connected to his family’s vast real estate empire. For the unfamiliar, here are five more things to know about Jared Kushner. **He’s wealthy.** The 35-year-old investor, real estate developer, and newspaper publisher took over his family’s company at 28, after his father Charles was sent to prison for illegal campaign donations, tax evasion, and witness tampering, according to the [_New York Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/nyregion/democratic-donor-receives-twoyear-prison-sentence.html)_._ The elder Kushner started the company in 1985, which later grew to be a multi-million dollar enterprise. In fact, Kushner reportedly used some of his earnings to make a hefty donation to Harvard University that is said to have helped Jared attend. Under Jared’s leadership, the company purchased the storied office building at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City for a record $1.8 billion, which at the time was the biggest sum ever payed for a single office building, according to the New York Real Estate website the [_Real Deal_](http://therealdeal.com/2017/01/08/jared-kushner-set-to-step-down-as-ceo-of-kushner-cos/)_._ **He is a newspaper publisher.** At 25, Kushner purchased the New York _Observer_ newspaper while interning at a private equity firm in New York, the [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/business/media/31observer.html)reports_._ Kushner is not particularly a fan of media, though: He told _New York Magazin_e in 2009 that he blamed the media and for his family’s troubles and that though he liked the Observers’ readers, he was not too fond of its content before he purchased it. “I found the paper unbearable to read, it was like homework,” Kushner said. **He is an Orthodox Jew.** Before Kushner married Ivanka Trump in 2009, the future First Daughter converted to Judaism. In an interview with [_Vogue_](http://www.vogue.com/11739787/ivanka-trump-collection-the-apprentice-family/) in 2015, Ivanka described their family as “pretty observant, more than some, less than others,” and noted that they observe the Sabbath. ““From Friday to Saturday we don’t do anything but hang out with one another. We don’t make phone calls,” she said. **He was one of Trump’s most trusted advisers on the campaign trail.** Trump often tapped Kushner for advice on the campaign trail throughout the 2016 presidential election. Though the real estate developer has no prior experience in government, he became one of the most trusted members of his father-in-law’s inner circle. The [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/05/us/politics/jared-kushner-donald-trump.html) characterized him as the “quiet fixer” on Trump’s team, and according to the _Times,_ Kushner helped the campaign acquire a director of communications, met with high level officials, and counseled Trump on his vice-presidential pick. Kushner even wrote an [op-ed for the ](http://observer.com/2016/07/jared-kushner-the-donald-trump-i-know/)_Observer_ to address allegations of anti-Semitism aimed at Donald Trump. **He faces potential conflicts of interest.** Like Trump, Kushner will have to attempt to distance himself from potential conflicts of interest before taking the White House, starting with his role as CEO of Kushner Companies. According to the [_Times,_](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/us/politics/jared-kushner-trump-business.html?%5Fr=0) Kushner has been in talks with China’s Anbang Insurance Group for a project to redevelop 666 Fifth Avenue. The [_Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/us/politics/jared-kushner-trump-business.html?%5Fr=0) says Kushner has hired the Washington-based law firm WilmerHale for ethical matters; Kushner’s spokesperson told the _Times_ he will dump “substantial assets” including the stake in 666 Fifth Avenue. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/"},"headline":"5 Things to Know About Donald Trump's Adviser Son-in-Law Jared Kushner","datePublished":"2017-01-09T22:00:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:42:08.544Z","description":"What to know about the Kushner Companies' CEO","url":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/","keywords":["jared kushner","2016 Election","White House","Donald Trump","Ivanka Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0836d392d7434860/6988b4e20b72e33e306ec351/gettyimages-628386346.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0836d392d7434860/6988b4e20b72e33e306ec351/gettyimages-628386346.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower","caption":"President-Elect Donald Trump Holds Meetings At Trump Tower","creditText":"Drew Angerer—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/jared-kushner/","name":"jared kushner"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/","name":"5 Things to Know About Donald Trump's Adviser Son-in-Law Jared Kushner"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How Donald Trump May Hire Family in the White House","description":"The law is largely untested","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/sSHlrnPy/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-12-16T16:14:15.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sSHlrnPy.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/","duration":"PT1M","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4629223/who-is-jared-kushner-trump/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```