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Steve Witkoff

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Steven Witkoff
Witkoff in 2025
United States Special Envoy
to the Middle East
Assumed office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
DeputyMorgan Ortagus
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
BornSteven Charles Witkoff
(1957-03-15) March 15, 1957 (age 68)
New York City, U.S.
Spouse
Lauren Rappoport
(m. 1987)
Children3
EducationHofstra University (BA, JD)
OccupationReal estate investor and developer

Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor, lawyer, and diplomat[1][2][3] who serves as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is the founder and chairman of the Witkoff Group. He began his career as a real estate attorney, before transitioning to property investment and development. His notable acquisitions include the Daily News Building, the Woolworth Building, 33 Maiden Lane, and the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan.

During the first presidency of Donald Trump in 2020, Witkoff was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, which were created to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In November 2024, then President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would appoint Witkoff to be the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East; after his nomination but before formally taking office, Witkoff took part in the negotiations which led to a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January 2025.[4] In addition to his Middle East portfolio, he also became Trump's personal de facto envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin.[5]

Early life

Witkoff, who is Jewish, was born in the Bronx in New York City, and was raised in Baldwin Harbor, New York and Old Westbury, New York on Long Island.[6][7][8][9] He is the son of Martin and Lois Witkoff.[10] His father was a manufacturer of ladies' coats in New York City.[11][10] His paternal grandfather and grandmother were both born in the Russian Empire.[12][13]

In 1980 he earned a B.A. from Hofstra University. In 1983 he graduated with a J.D. from Hofstra Law School.[14]

Private sector career

Witkoff began his career as a real estate lawyer, and became a billionaire real estate investor and developer.[15][16] In November 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that: "Peers in the real-estate world invariably describe Witkoff ... as smart, personable and a talented negotiator with a common touch."[17]

After graduating from law school in 1983, Witkoff worked for the New York City real estate law firm Dreyer & Traub, where one of his clients was Donald Trump.[6] They became friends at a New York City deli, after they had worked together on a business deal.[18]

Witkoff subsequently practiced real estate law at the New York City law firm Rosenman & Colin, through 1986.[19][20]

In 1985, he co-founded Stellar Management, partnering with fellow Dreyer & Traub real estate attorney Larry Gluck — "Stellar" is a reference to Steve and Larry — switching their careers from the practice of law to owning and managing real estate.[21][20][6][22] They purchased inexpensive apartment buildings in Washington Heights, Manhattan and the Northwest Bronx; at one point they owned 85 buildings with over 3,000 apartments.[23][21][20][6][22] He accumulated a small portfolio of buildings and in 1995, he expanded into lower Manhattan, buying several inexpensive office buildings.[6] In 1996, he secured financing from Credit Suisse First Boston for the purchase of 33 Maiden Lane, a 27-story tower designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee; the following year, he leased the top 13 floors of the building to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for a 25-year term.[24][6] A close relationship with Credit Suisse First Boston soon developed, and Witkoff purchased additional properties—typically using very little of his own money—including the landmark Daily News Building in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, designed by architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells.[6]

In 1997, Witkoff left Stellar Management, founded and became chairman and CEO of the privately held Witkoff Group headquartered in New York City, and expanded into residential construction and rehab.[25][20][6] In 1998, he and business partner Rubin Schron purchased the Woolworth Building in Tribeca for $138 million,[11] and he expanded his portfolio to include real estate purchases in Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia.[6] By October 1998, the Witkoff Group operated 11 million square feet of commercial and retail real estate, and held an ownership interest in 7,500 apartments and a number of land and hotel development transactions.[26] In 1998, a planned $2 billion IPO of his company was canceled due to the collapse of the real estate market, and Witkoff and Gluck dissolved their partnership, with Gluck taking the residential properties and Witkoff the office buildings.[6]

In 2013, Witkoff and Harry Macklowe purchased the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan for $660 million.[27] That year, Witkoff and Fisher Brothers also purchased a parcel of land in Tribeca in Manhattan for $223 million on which they built a 792-foot high residential tower, 111 Murray Street.[28]

Witkoff with US President Donald Trump, March 1, 2018

As of 2014, he owned 30 properties in the United States and in London.[29] As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned almost 50 properties in the United States and internationally.[30]

The Witkoff Group purchased the project to build the resort and casino Fontainebleau Las Vegas for $600 million.[31][32] The property was scheduled to open in 2020 as The Drew, named after Witkoff's late son Andrew.[31] However, construction stopped in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada.[31] In February 2021, Koch Real Estate Investments purchased the property.[31] The original name was reinstated, and the hotel opened in December 2023, having been developed at a cost of $3.7 billion, making it the second-most-expensive resort in Las Vegas.[33]

Witkoff has extensive business ties in the Middle East.[34][35]

Public service

In April 2020 during the first presidency of Donald Trump, Witkoff was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Group, which was created by Trump to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[36][37][38]

In July 2024, Witkoff gave a speech on night four of the Republican National Convention.[39]

On September 15, 2024, Witkoff was playing golf with Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Ryan Wesley Routh allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump. A Secret Service officer fired at the gunman, who fled in a vehicle and was later apprehended.[40]

On November 9, 2024, Witkoff was chosen to be co-chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee for Trump's upcoming second presidency, along with former US Senator Kelly Loeffler.[41]

US Special Envoy to the Middle East

On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had selected Witkoff, who is Jewish, to be his Special Envoy to the Middle East.[42][43][44]

Witkoff played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January 2025, along with Brett McGurk, President Biden's lead negotiator who invited Witkoff to join the negotiations, and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who it was agreed would be the one who would speak to Hamas.[4][45][46] His blunt, direct and aggressive negotiation style was instrumental in forging a six-week ceasefire agreement, during which there would be a swap of 33 Hamas-held hostages taken in the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel for approximately 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some of whom were serving life sentences for murder, and steps toward further exchanges and ending a prolonged 15-month war.[4][46] Witkoff's approach differed from traditional diplomatic methods, as he, joined by McGurk on speakerphone from Qatar, applied pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to finalize the deal, stressing that Trump wanted the deal done, achieving in the final weeks what had been in negotiation for nearly a year.[47][48] The New York Times wrote: "It was a vivid example of cooperation between two men representing bitter political rivals. Rarely if ever have teams of current and new presidents of different parties worked together at such a high-stakes moment, with the fate of American lives and the future of a devastating war hanging in the balance."[4]

On January 29, 2025, Witkoff arrived in Israel and made a rare entry by an American official into Gaza to personally oversee the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.[49]

U.S., Saudi, and Russian officials meeting in Riyadh, February 18, 2025

On March 2, 2025, the Israeli government stopped the entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip. The office of prime minister Netanyahu claimed they were acting upon a proposal Witkoff had originally presented. The new plan does not mention an Israeli retreat from positions in Gaza after half of the hostages have been released in phase one of the 2025 Gaza war ceasefire. The existence of a "Witkoff-plan" had not been confirmed by Washington as of March 3, 2025.[50]

Involvement in US–Russia negotiations on Ukraine

On February 11, 2025, Trump sent Witkoff to Moscow, where he met with President Vladimir Putin and was responsible for the negotiations that led to a prisoner swap and the release of U.S. citizen Marc Fogel from a Russian prison, in exchange for Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik. Witkoff said, regarding Putin and Trump, that "I think they had a great friendship, and I think now it's going to continue, and it's a really good thing for the world."[51][52]

On February 16, 2025, Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and Europe would be excluded from any future peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[53] On February 18, 2025, American and Russian delegations, headed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, respectively, met in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in order to develop a framework for further peace negotiations on the war in Ukraine. Rubio was accompanied by Steve Witkoff and U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz.[54]

By March 2025, he had become the main channel of communication between the Trump administration and the Russian presidency.[55]

On March 21, 2025, in a podcast interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said that the biggest obstacle to peace are the "so-called four regions: Donbas, Crimea, Luhansk and two others". He said that the populations in those regions were Russian speaking and "there were referendums where the vast majority of people indicated that they wanted to be under Russian rule." He saw this as "the key issue in the conflict" and "the first thing that needs to be resolved."[56] He also made statements that appeared sympathetic to Vladimir Putin. Witkoff described Putin as a "great guy," stating, "I liked him" and "I don't regard him as a bad guy."[57] Witkoff said that Putin had prayed for former U.S. President Donald Trump following an assassination attempt.[58] According to the Kyiv Post, his remarks have led to criticism by international and Ukrainian media.[57]

Views

Israel and Palestine

In 2024, Witkoff, who is Jewish, criticized the Biden administration over its decision to halt the shipment of certain bombs to Israel.[59] However, he also stated that Hamas members are "not as ideologically extreme as they are portrayed" and praised Qatar for its efforts in trying to negotiate an end to the Gaza conflict.[60]

Russia and Ukraine

In 2018, Witkoff, who is of Russian descent, expressed opposition to sanctions against Russia.[5]

As Trump's envoy, he repeatedly appeared to take Russia's side. He claimed that the Ukraine war was "not necessarily" started by Russia, that NATO had a significant role in provoking the conflict, and that most Eastern Ukrainians want to live under Russian rule.[61]

Personal life

Witkoff has lived on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.[11] In 1987, he married Lauren Jill Rappoport, who was then an associate at the Manhattan law firm of Botein, Hays & Sklar.[10] In 2019, Witkoff relocated from New York City to Florida, and settled in Miami Beach.[62]

They have had three sons.[11] In 2011, their 22-year-old son Andrew died of an OxyContin overdose at the now-closed Sunset Plaza Drive sober living facility in California.[63] Their son Zach is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company.[18][64] Their son Alexander is co-CEO of the Witkoff Group.[65]

Witkoff has been on the executive committee for the Real Estate Board of New York, and is a trustee for the Intrepid Foundation, and on the board of trustees of Hofstra University (since 2015).[20]

References

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  2. ^ Bazail-Eimil, Eric (November 12, 2024). "Trump appoints real estate investor, golf partner as Middle East peace envoy". Politico. Retrieved February 17, 2025. Witkoff was not the only Middle East diplomat whose role Trump announced on Tuesday. Trump also announced that he was appointing former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
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