Charles Kushner

Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer, political fundraiser and philanthropist. In 2005, he was convicted in federal court for making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering.^[1]

Family

Kushner's parents were Joseph and Rae Kushner, who had come to America from Belarus by way of Italy in 1949.^[2][3] When Charles Kushner was born on May 16, 1954, his mother wanted to name him "Chanan", a Yiddish name, after her brother, who was killed in the Holocaust, but she was overruled by an American nurse.^[4] Joseph Kushner worked as a construction worker and concurrently as an independent builder, while investing in real estate, eventually building a portfolio totalling 4,000 New Jersey apartments, which Charles Kushner began managing in 1985.^[4][5] Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, in Livingston, New Jersey, built by Charles Kushner, are named after them.^[3][4]

Charles Kushner grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, with an elder brother, Murray, and a sister, Esther.^[4][5] His son Jared Kushner is the owner of the New York Observer,^[6] and is married to Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump.^[7]

Education and legal career

Kushner graduated from New York University in 1976 and received an MBA from there and a Juris Doctor from Hofstra Law School in 1979.^[2][8] He worked as a real estate and tax lawyer, becoming a partner in the law firm of Brach, Eichler, Rosenberg, Silver, Bernstein, Hammer & Gladstone, in Roseland, New Jersey, and a member of the bars in the states of New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.^[2]

Business career

In January 1985 Kushner founded Kushner Companies, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, and based on his father's real estate holdings. He was CEO, chairman, manager and, he says, "dishwasher"; he had one secretary.^[4][5]

In 1999, Kushner won the Ernst & Young New Jersey Entrepreneur of the Year award. At the time, Kushner Companies had grown to over 10,000 residential apartments, a home building business, commercial and industrial properties and a community bank.^[2][9]

In 2003, New York University and Kushner Properties announced that the University has signed a 15-year lease for three floors, comprising 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of contiguous space, in the historic Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood.^[10]

In early 2007, Kushner bought the building at 666 Fifth Avenue, New York City, for US$1.8 billion, the highest price ever paid for a single office building in the United States.^[4][11] Subsequently Kushner shifted focus from his New Jersey real estate operations to the New York market. In July 2007, the Kushner Companies sold 17,500 apartments in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and New York, valued at $2 billion.^[12][13] Before that sale, the Companies had employed approximately 800 people.^[4]

In August 2011, representatives from the Kushner Companies made a presentation to the Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency proposing a scaled-back design concept for the Landings at Harborside, a residential development set to be built along the city's waterfront, and allowing rental housing instead of owner-occupied units as originally planned. The plan, which would save two historic Perth Amboy buildings, was endorsed by Mayor Wilda Diaz, who was quoted as saying "Too many sites have been torn down. Let’s restore them and use them for other purposes." She further said that Kushner sketched a concept for the courthouse that was incorporated into the redesign.^[14]

On July 5th, 2013, Kushner Companies signed an agreement to purchase a five-building complex formerly used by Jehovah's Witnesses.^[15]

Philanthropy

Because of his contributions, the building housing Hofstra University School of Law is named in honor of Kushner and his wife Seryl (Stadtmauer).^[16]

He is also well known for his charitable donations to Jewish educational institutions.^[17]

One of the Kushner family's philanthropic ventures was the dedication of Joseph Kushner Building of the Jewish Educational Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Kushner's father, Joseph, for whom the building is named, had been a longtime member of the Jewish community and major force in the JEC's early growth.^{[citation needed]}

Kushner also funded the building of the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy (Pre-K through 8) and the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (grades 9-12), two connected Modern Orthodox Jewish institutions located in Livingston, New Jersey,^[17] where Kushner resides. The schools are named after his deceased parents, both Holocaust survivors.^[17]

Political fundraising, convictions, and tampering

Kushner is a major donor to the Democratic Party, most notably to former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey.^[18] In 2005, following an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey,^[18] Kushner was convicted of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering^[19] and was sentenced to two years in prison.^[1] He has since been released.^[11]

References