Jared Kushner Rebuts CNN's Middle East Investment Report

President's Special Envoy Jared Kushner stated that CNN's reporting and headline are deeply misleading, suggesting that his diplomatic work in the Middle East somehow benefits investments in Israeli defense companies. He cited a sentence from the report: there was no evidence that his diplomatic actions directly influenced the investments reviewed, and said this sentence was behind a paywall.

CNN's investigation on Thursday reported that his wholly-owned private equity firm, Affinity Partners, is the largest shareholder of Tel Aviv financial institution Phoenix Financial, which has invested in companies related to Israeli military activities. According to some holdings disclosed by Israel, Phoenix's investment in Israel's largest arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, is at least $265 million; Elbit has received hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from the Israeli Ministry of Defense over the past year, including about $200 million for advanced airborne munitions, $48 million for 155mm shells, and $210 million for tank upgrades. The Jerusalem Post also cited investments in NextVision of over $68 million, Reshef Technologies of at least $40 million, as well as Israeli shipyards, Ashot Ashkelon, Boeing, and Caterpillar. CNN stated that these nine related companies collectively amount to at least $456 million, covering only part of Phoenix's holdings.

Kushner's rebuttal is that Phoenix is not a defense company but one of Israel's largest publicly traded financial institutions, heavily regulated, managing about $220 billion across thousands of investments, akin to Israel's Vanguard or Fidelity, overseeing millions of people's retirement savings; depositors do not choose individual stocks, and he does not decide what Phoenix buys or sells. Affinity is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and its investments in Phoenix are public, predating Trump's re-election and his return to public office; Affinity does not own the defense companies named in the report. He stated that this investment has performed well, increasing more than fivefold since the initial investment.

CNN's timeline is more detailed. It reported that Affinity entered Phoenix in 2024 with $128.5 million, doubling its stake last year, shortly before Trump returned to the White House; some reports indicated that the doubling occurred five days before the inauguration in January 2025. In July, Affinity sold about a quarter of its stake, cashing out over $340 million, which is more than five times the initial purchase price of the sold shares; it remains the largest shareholder with a 7.4% stake, valued at over $1 billion in July. Kushner previously referred to Phoenix as Affinity's best investment. His lawyer told CNN that he never directed Phoenix on where to invest; Forbes quoted him in September 2025 as saying he has very positive conversations with management and meets with them regularly. A CNN spokesperson stated they stand by their reporting.

Kushner wrote in another post that he has ignored false and misleading reports for the past decade and focused on his work; now old claims are being repeated as facts, with new claims layered on top. He will not respond to every accusation but will make materials and evidence public when facts are important. He stated he will not let misleading reports interrupt the tasks assigned to him by the president: ending wars, bringing people together, and pursuing peace.

This is not a divestment announcement. The buyer is an envoy aiming to separate diplomatic duties from financial holdings; the seller is the largest shareholder, linking Elbit holdings and Gaza negotiations in the same investigation. The event is driven by an investigation and two statements, with the over $340 million cash-out in July already having occurred. The beneficiary is Kushner, who seeks to maintain the authorization for peace talks without being directly hindered by causal statements; the pressure lies on the facts that he remains the largest shareholder with a 7.4% stake and that Phoenix has at least $265 million in holdings in Elbit, both still on the table. Neither side has presented new evidence of diplomatic directives altering any military contracts.

Source: Public Information