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Steve Witkoff
American real estate investor and developer (born 1957) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor and lawyer who has served as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East since 2025.[1] He is the founder and chairman of the Witkoff Group.
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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. As of May 2025, the Forbes World's Billionaires List estimated Witkoff's net worth at US$2 billion.[2]
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. Witkoff had no diplomatic experience. 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.[3] In addition to his Middle East portfolio, he also became Trump's de facto envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin.[4]
After the death of his son, Andrew, from an opioid overdose in 2011, Witkoff has become an advocate for addiction awareness and recovery efforts. This was included in a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.[5]
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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] He is the son of Martin and Lois Witkoff.[8] His father was a manufacturer of ladies' coats in New York City.[9][8] His paternal grandfather and grandmother were both born in the Russian Empire.[10]
Witkoff began his studies at Union College in Schenectady, New York, but chose to transfer to Hofstra University, where he earned a B.A. in political science in 1980. In 1983, he graduated with a J.D. from Hofstra Law School.[11]
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Private sector career
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Witkoff began his career as a real estate lawyer.[12][13] 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."[14]
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.[15] Witkoff subsequently practiced real estate law at the New York City law firm Rosenman & Colin, through 1986.[16]
Stellar Management
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.[17][6][18] 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.[17][18] 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.[19][6] Witkoff purchased additional properties including the landmark Daily News Building in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, designed by architects Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells.[6]
Witkoff Group
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 land rehabilitation.[20] In 1998, he and business partner Rubin Schron purchased the Woolworth Building in Tribeca for $138 million,[9] 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 developments.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]
As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned about 50 properties in the United States and internationally.[24]
The Witkoff Group purchased the project to build the resort and casino Fontainebleau Las Vegas for $600 million.[25][26] The property was scheduled to open in 2020 as The Drew, named after Witkoff's late son Andrew.[25] However, construction stopped in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada.[25] In February 2021, Koch Real Estate Investments purchased the property.[25] The original name was reinstated, and the hotel opened in December 2023.
Witkoff has extensive business ties in the Middle East.[27][28]
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Political career
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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.[29][30]
In July 2024, Witkoff gave a speech on night four of the Republican National Convention.[31]
On September 15, 2024, Witkoff was playing golf with Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to assassinate Trump. A Secret Service officer fired at the gunman, who fled in a vehicle and was later apprehended.[32]
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.[33]
US Special Envoy to the Middle East
On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had selected Witkoff to be his Special Envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff had no diplomatic experience.[4][34]
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.[3][35][36] 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.[3][36]
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.[37][38] 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."[3]
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.[39]
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.[40]
Instead of continuing to the second phase of the ceasefire per the original agreement, Israel proposed a new plan (called the "Witkoff plan" after Steve Witkoff), in which Hamas would release the Israeli captives in exchange for a 50-day extension of the ceasefire, with Israel retaining the option of returning to war. Hamas rejected this new proposal, which differed from the terms agreed in January 2025.[41][42]
On March 23, 2025, Witkoff blamed Hamas for renewed fighting in Gaza,[43] saying that "Hamas had every opportunity to demilitarize, to accept the bridging proposal that would have given us a 40- or 50-day ceasefire where we could have discussed demilitarization and a final truce."[44]
In April 2025, Witkoff had an unannounced meeting in Paris with two Israeli officials ahead of the US-led nuclear talks with Iran. He represented the Trump administration's push for diplomatic resolution.[45]
Involvement in negotiations with Russia
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President Trump has made Witkoff his de facto envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin.[4] By March 2025, Witkoff had become the main channel of communication between the Trump administration and the Russian presidency.[46]
On February 11, 2025, Trump sent Witkoff to Moscow, where he met with President 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 that Putin and Trump "had a great friendship, and I think now it's going to continue, and it's a really good thing for the world".[47][48]
Witkoff said he "spent a lot of time with Putin" during the secret trip and had developed a "friendship and relationship" with Putin.[49]
Witkoff has been involved in talks between the United States and Russia to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On February 16, Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and Europe would be excluded from any future peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[50] On February 18, 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, to develop a framework for further peace negotiations. Rubio was accompanied by Steve Witkoff and U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.[51]
On March 21, 2025, in a podcast interview with Tucker Carlson, Witkoff said that the biggest issue in negotiations are the "so-called four regions: Donbas, Crimea, Lugansk...and there's two others".[52] Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014, then occupied and annexed four more Ukrainian provinces during its 2022 invasion.[52] He said that the populations in those provinces were Russian-speaking and "there were referendums where the vast majority of people indicated that they wanted to be under Russian rule".[52] The polls had been held by Russia in the midst of its invasion and were condemned as a "sham" by the U.S., Ukraine and most of the international community.[52]
In the interview, Witkoff spoke positively of Vladimir Putin. He called Putin a "great guy" and "super smart". Witkoff said "I liked him, I think he was honest" and "I don't regard Putin as a bad guy".[52][53][54] According to Witkoff, Putin told him that he prayed for "his friend" Donald Trump following the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. He recalled that "President Putin had commissioned a beautiful portrait of President Trump, from the leading Russian artist, and actually gave it to me and asked me to take it home to President Trump".[55]
Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that Ukrainians were "very disturbed" by Witkoff's comments and believed he had been influenced by Russian disinformation.[56] U.S. Democratic Representative Seth Moulton called Witkoff's comments "insane" and accused him of "negotiating for the other side" and "taking the side of our enemy".[57] While journalist Stephen Pollard commented that Witkoff may mean well, but was embarrassingly out of his depth dealing with Putin.[58]
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Egypt
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In March 2025, Witkoff expressed concern that Israel's war in Gaza could destabilize Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia. He stated that the youth unemployment rate in Egypt is 45% and that the country is bankrupt,[59] saying that "country can't exist like that. They're largely broke. They need a lot of help."[60]
Syria
In March 2025, Witkoff suggested that Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa may have changed since his association with Al-Qaeda.[59]
Israel and Palestine
In 2024, Witkoff criticized the Biden administration over its decision to halt the shipment of certain bombs to Israel.[61] 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.[59]
In March 2025, Witkoff said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, by renewing attacks on Gaza, was prioritizing the destruction of Hamas over the release of Israeli hostages.[59]
Russia and Ukraine
In 2018, Witkoff opposed sanctions against Russia for its occupation of Crimea.[4]
Witkoff has praised Russian president Putin and has appeared to support Russian government claims about its war against Ukraine.[52][54] He said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine 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.[62]
Witkoff said he is certain that Putin is not going to invade Europe and is not interested in the rest of Ukraine other than the annexed southeastern Ukraine.[63]
Iran's nuclear program
Witkoff supported Trump's attempts to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program.[59] He has stated that Iran should abandon its nuclear enrichment program as part of an agreement[64]
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Personal life
Witkoff has lived on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.[9] In 1987, he married Lauren Jill Rappoport, who was then an associate at the Manhattan law firm of Botein, Hays & Sklar.[8] Rappoport and Witkoff are apparently separated and he is often accompanied by Lauren Olaya, his girlfriend.[65] In 2019, Witkoff relocated from New York City to Florida, and settled in Miami Beach.[66]
They have had three sons.[9] 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.[67] Their son Zach is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company.[15][68] Their son Alexander is co-CEO of the Witkoff Group.[69]
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).[11]
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