Josh Kushner | $1B+
Get in touch with Josh Kushner | Josh Kushner, founder and managing partner of Thrive Capital, is one of the most influential venture investors of his generation, backing category-defining companies across fintech, healthcare, and consumer technology. Since launching Thrive in 2009, he has led early or transformative investments in firms such as Instagram, Stripe, Spotify, GitHub, and OpenAI, building Thrive into a multi-billion-dollar venture platform known for disciplined underwriting and long-horizon conviction. Kushner is also the cofounder of Oscar Health, a technology-driven insurer reshaping the U.S. healthcare landscape. With a rare combination of entrepreneurial experience, investment acumen, and strategic clarity, he has become a central force in shaping the next era of digital innovation.
Joshua Kushner is an American venture capitalist and the founder and managing partner of Thrive Capital, a New York-based firm he established in 2009 that focuses on early-stage technology investments.[1][2] Thrive has backed high-profile startups including Instagram, Spotify, Stripe, and OpenAI, positioning it as a key player in the tech and AI sectors.[1][3] Kushner also co-founded Oscar Health in 2012, serving as vice chairman of the technology-oriented health insurer designed to address inefficiencies in the U.S. healthcare system through transparent, user-centric platforms.[4]
Kushner's investment strategy, emphasizing concentrated bets on transformative companies rather than broad diversification, has driven Thrive's growth and earned him recognition, including a spot on TIME's 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI for the firm's role in fueling AI's commercial expansion.[5] Unlike his family's real estate legacy, Kushner's fortune—estimated at $5.2 billion as of October 2025—stems primarily from venture capital returns, marking him as the first Kushner billionaire through tech equity rather than property development.[1][6] His approach underscores a merit-based ascent in competitive markets, with recent personal investments in Oscar Health signaling confidence in its recovery and growth potential amid ongoing industry challenges.[7]
Early Life and Education
Family Background
Joshua Kushner was born on June 12, 1985, in Livingston, New Jersey, to Charles Kushner, a real estate developer, and Seryl Kushner (née Stadtmauer).[8][9] The family is Jewish and traces its roots to immigrants from what is now Belarus, with Charles building wealth through property development after arriving in the U.S.[10] Seryl, who has worked as a social worker, also became involved in the family business.[11]
He is the youngest of four children, with older siblings including brother Jared Kushner (born 1981), and sisters Nicole and Dara (the latter born 1979).[12][8] The family resided in affluent northern New Jersey communities, where Charles founded Kushner Companies in 1985, growing it into a major residential real estate firm managing over 25,000 apartments primarily in New Jersey and New York metro areas.[9][10]
Charles Kushner's career was marked by legal challenges; in 2005, he pleaded guilty to 18 federal counts including tax evasion, illegal campaign contributions, and witness tampering in a scheme involving fabricated evidence against a cooperating relative.[13] He served 16 months in prison, was disbarred in multiple states, and received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump on December 23, 2020, amid citations of his post-release philanthropy.[14] These events strained family resources and public image during Joshua's formative years, though the business persisted under family oversight.[9]
Upbringing and Schooling
Joshua Kushner was born on June 12, 1985, in Livingston, New Jersey, an affluent suburb in Essex County, where he spent his formative years in a Jewish household amid a family prominent in real estate development.[15][16] His upbringing reflected a blend of traditional values and entrepreneurial exposure, influenced by his parents' business activities, though he later pursued independent ventures distinct from family enterprises.[17]
Kushner attended a rigorous dual-curriculum high school, which emphasized both secular and religious studies and instilled the discipline he credits for enabling early entrepreneurial efforts, including launching a social gaming startup during his undergraduate years.[18] He then pursued higher education at Harvard College, graduating in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in government.[1][19]
After a one-year role at Goldman Sachs acquiring distressed debt, Kushner returned to Harvard for graduate studies, earning a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 2011.[17][20] This educational path provided foundational analytical skills applied to his subsequent finance and technology investments.[1]
Professional Career
Early Roles in Finance
Following his graduation from Harvard College in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in government, Joshua Kushner began his professional career at Goldman Sachs in the Merchant Banking Division.[6][20] In this private equity role, he focused on distressed debt investments amid the 2008 financial crisis, contributing to deal sourcing and analysis in a high-stakes environment marked by market volatility and asset undervaluation.[6][21]
Kushner's tenure at Goldman lasted approximately one year, providing foundational exposure to institutional investment strategies and merchant banking operations before he pursued further education.[6][21] This early experience honed his skills in evaluating opportunistic investments, which later informed his shift toward venture capital. No prior formal finance roles are documented in available records from this period.[20]
Founding and Expansion of Thrive Capital
Joshua Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2010 as a New York-based venture capital firm targeting early-stage investments in internet, software, and technology-enabled companies.[17] The firm began operations with approximately $5 million in seed capital, primarily sourced from mentor Joel Cutler and General Catalyst.[22] This initial funding enabled Thrive's early bets on startups such as Kickstarter and GroupMe.[17]
In 2011, Thrive raised its first institutional fund of $40 million, marking a shift toward more structured venture commitments and attracting limited partners including Princeton University and the Wellcome Trust.[23] The firm followed this with a $150 million second fund in 2012, expanding its capacity amid growing returns from portfolio successes.[24] Subsequent funds scaled dramatically, with the eighth fund closing at $3.3 billion in 2023, reflecting Thrive's reputation for concentrated, high-conviction investments in outliers like Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI.[17]
Thrive's expansion continued through strategic hires and a focus on long-term partnerships, growing its team to over 50 professionals by the mid-2020s while maintaining a lean, founder-led structure under Kushner as managing partner.[25] By 2023, the firm achieved a $5.3 billion valuation following a minority stake sale to Goldman Sachs, with assets under management exceeding $15 billion at that time.[1] As of 2025, Thrive manages approximately $23 billion in assets and is seeking up to $8 billion for new funds, including opportunities beyond traditional venture into areas like growth equity.[26][27] This trajectory underscores Thrive's evolution from a solo-founder seed vehicle to one of New York's most influential VC firms, driven by disciplined capital allocation rather than broad diversification.[3]
Key Investments Through Thrive Capital
Thrive Capital, under Joshua Kushner's leadership, has focused on early-stage investments in technology, software, and internet companies, emphasizing scalable platforms in consumer, enterprise, and fintech sectors.[1] The firm achieved an early breakthrough with its 2010 investment in Instagram, a photo-sharing app, which provided substantial returns after Meta Platforms (then Facebook) acquired the company for $1 billion in April 2012.[3] This exit fueled subsequent fundraisings, including $150 million for Fund II and $250 million for Fund III.[28]
Subsequent notable investments include Spotify, where Thrive participated in early funding rounds leading to the music streaming service's 2018 IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, valuing it at over $26 billion at debut.[1] The firm also backed Stripe, a payments infrastructure provider, including a significant stake in its 2023 funding round amid the company's push toward a potential public listing.[29] In artificial intelligence, Thrive invested in OpenAI, contributing to the organization's rapid scaling and a reported $100 billion valuation by late 2023.[3]
Other key portfolio companies encompass GitHub, acquired by Microsoft in 2018 for $7.5 billion, providing Thrive with another profitable exit; Slack, which merged with Salesforce in 2020; and Robinhood, which went public in 2021.[17] Recent successes include exits from Affirm (IPO in 2021), Instacart (IPO in 2023), and Hims & Hers (public listing), alongside ongoing stakes in unicorns like Skims and Warby Parker.[30] These investments have driven Thrive's assets under management to approximately $14 billion by 2024, with a track record of backing over 100 companies, many achieving unicorn status.[29]
Co-Founding Oscar Health
In October 2012, Joshua Kushner co-founded Oscar Health, Inc., a technology-focused health insurance company, alongside Mario Schlosser, a business school classmate and former co-founder of Vostu, and Kevin Nazemi, a former Microsoft executive.[4][3] The venture emerged from Kushner's frustration with the inefficiencies and lack of transparency in the U.S. healthcare system, drawing on personal experiences to prioritize consumer-friendly features like simplified plan selection and telemedicine integration.[31][3]
Oscar Health was established with the goal of leveraging data analytics and user-centric design to disrupt traditional insurance models, initially targeting individual and small group markets under the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.[4] Kushner, who conceived the idea while building his venture capital firm Thrive Capital, recruited Schlosser as CEO to handle operations and Nazemi for product development, positioning the startup to address pain points such as opaque pricing and poor customer service in legacy insurers.[3] The company secured early funding from Thrive Capital and other investors, launching its first plans in New York in 2014 with an emphasis on app-based concierge services and fixed copays for virtual doctor visits.[32]
As co-founder and Vice Chairman of the board since inception, Kushner has maintained oversight without involvement in daily operations, retaining a significant equity stake that underscores his ongoing commitment.[4][33] By 2021, Oscar went public via IPO, valuing the company at approximately $7.9 billion and enabling expansion to multiple states, though it has faced challenges with profitability amid rising medical costs and regulatory shifts.[32]
Involvement in Cadre and JK2
Joshua Kushner co-owns JK2, a real estate management company also operating as Westminster Management, with his brother Jared Kushner, with each holding a 50% stake as of legal filings in 2021.[34] The firm oversees multifamily apartment properties, primarily in Maryland and New Jersey, and has been successor to entities managing Kushner family-related assets.[35] In April 2021, a Maryland circuit court judge ruled that JK2 violated state consumer protection laws through practices such as misleading tenants about amenities, maintenance fees, and utility billing, resulting in widespread and numerous infractions across multiple properties.[34][35] Joshua Kushner's direct operational role in JK2 remains limited, with primary management attributed to Jared Kushner and affiliated entities prior to his 2017 White House position.
In March 2015, Joshua Kushner co-founded Cadre, an online real estate investment platform, alongside his brother Jared Kushner and Ryan Williams, who serves as CEO.[36][37] The platform facilitates direct access to commercial real estate deals for accredited investors, leveraging data analytics to match opportunities and bypassing traditional brokers, with initial funding of $18.3 million in Series A from investors including Thrive Capital, Joshua's venture firm.[36] By January 2016, Cadre secured an additional $50 million in funding, reflecting early growth in institutional interest.[38] Joshua Kushner has continued as an advisor to Cadre post-launch, providing strategic input through his Thrive Capital affiliation, while the company achieved a valuation of approximately $800 million by its 2020 funding round.[39][40] Cadre's model emphasizes technology-driven efficiency in illiquid asset markets, though Jared Kushner's subsequent divestment of his stake amid White House ethics rules shifted more advisory reliance to Joshua.[39]
Political Stance and Family Dynamics
Personal Political Views
Joshua Kushner has publicly identified as a lifelong Democrat guided by liberal values. In a 2017 statement to Forbes, he affirmed, "It is no secret that liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values," while emphasizing that his venture capital firm Thrive Capital prioritizes business interests over partisan politics.[41] He explicitly did not support Donald Trump in the 2016 election and voted as a Democrat that year, stating in 2020 his intention to do the same in the upcoming contest.[8][42]
Kushner's political contributions reflect Democratic leanings, including a $5,200 donation to Senator Cory Booker's 2013 reelection campaign and $2,600 to Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Texas Senate bid.[43][44] Federal Election Commission records via OpenSecrets confirm these as individual contributions from Kushner, associated with Thrive Capital in New York.[43] His opposition to the Trump presidency has reportedly strained family relations, with reports indicating it created a rift with his brother Jared Kushner, a key Trump advisor.[45] Despite this, Kushner has maintained that personal and professional ties remain intact, avoiding public endorsements or activism beyond voting and donations.[41]
Relations with Immediate Family
Joshua Kushner diverged from the family real estate business led by his father, Charles Kushner, opting instead to found his own venture capital firm, Thrive Capital, in 2010, while his older brother Jared was groomed to assume leadership of Kushner Companies.[17] This career separation reflected early differences in interests, with Joshua pursuing technology investments rather than property development, though he maintained personal ties by visiting his father during his 2004-2005 imprisonment for witness tampering and tax evasion convictions.[17]
Relations with his brother Jared have been marked by political contrasts, as Joshua has consistently identified as a Democrat, opposing Donald Trump's 2016 and 2020 campaigns and participating in events like the 2018 March for Our Lives, while Jared aligned with Trump following his 2009 marriage to Ivanka Trump and served as a senior White House advisor from 2017 to 2021.[46] These differences contributed to a reportedly rocky dynamic, exacerbated by public tensions such as Joshua's wife Karlie Kloss's January 2021 social media criticism of election denialism, which implicitly targeted Ivanka Trump's defense of Capitol riot participants as "American patriots."[46][47] Despite such strains, sources describe the brothers as personally close, with Joshua managing some of Jared's assets during his White House tenure to mitigate conflicts of interest.[17][46]
Initial family disapproval centered on Joshua's relationship with Karlie Kloss, whom his parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, refused to meet for six years starting around 2012 due to her non-Jewish background, with Jared also urging Joshua to end the romance.[48] Kloss's conversion to Judaism in 2018 resolved the objection, enabling their October 2018 Jewish ceremony and subsequent family acceptance.[48] Less public details exist on dynamics with sisters Nicole and Dara, though overarching family cohesion has persisted amid these divergences.[17]
Personal Life
Marriage and Offspring
Joshua Kushner married supermodel Karlie Kloss on October 18, 2018, in an intimate ceremony held in upstate New York.[49] The couple followed this with a larger, Western-themed wedding celebration for extended family and friends in Big Sky, Montana, on June 21, 2019.[50]
Kushner and Kloss have three children together. Their first son, Levi Joseph Kushner, was born on March 11, 2021.[51] Their second son, Elijah Jude Kushner, arrived on July 14, 2023.[52] Their third child, a daughter named Rae Florence Kushner, was born on September 18, 2025.[53] The family maintains a relatively private profile regarding their offspring, with public announcements limited to birth confirmations shared via social media by Kloss or Kushner.[54]
Lifestyle and Public Profile
Joshua Kushner maintains a deliberately low public profile, distinguishing himself from his politically prominent family by avoiding media attention and political involvement. Associates have noted his determination to steer clear of the spotlight, with one investor stating that Kushner explicitly informed backers of his intent to remain apolitical and out of the public eye.[55] This approach persisted even amid his brother Jared's high-visibility role in the Trump administration, as Kushner rarely appeared in public with his then-girlfriend, supermodel Karlie Kloss, during their early relationship.[55]
His lifestyle reflects substantial wealth accumulated through venture capital successes, evidenced by ownership of multiple luxury properties. In September 2021, Kushner and Kloss purchased a $42.5 million penthouse in Manhattan's Puck Building, featuring amenities such as a private library, gym, home theater, wine cellar, and over 5,100 square feet of landscaped terraces equipped with a yoga lawn, putting green, spa tub, and outdoor kitchen.[56] The couple expanded their real estate portfolio with a $22 million Miami Beach mansion in August 2020, located near properties owned by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.[57] In August 2024, they acquired the iconic $29.5 million Wave House in Malibu, California, a six-bedroom mid-century modern estate previously owned by musician Rod Stewart.[58]
Public appearances remain infrequent and low-key, often tied to personal milestones rather than professional promotion. Kushner hosted a star-studded 40th birthday celebration in June 2025 at New York City's Katz's Deli, attended by family including Jared and Ivanka Trump, underscoring rare instances of social visibility.[59] Earlier, he participated in the 2017 Women's March on Washington, an event aligning with his reported Democratic leanings but not emblematic of broader public engagement.[60] Philanthropic efforts, channeled through family foundations like the Josh & Karlie Kushner Family Foundation, include a $250,000 donation to Ukraine relief in 2022 and a $1 million pledge to Chabad of the UAE in November 2024 following the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, though these activities receive minimal personal publicity.[61][62]
Controversies and Criticisms
Intra-Family Conflicts
Joshua Kushner's marriage to Karlie Kloss encountered significant resistance from his family due to her non-Jewish background. From 2012, when the couple began dating, until Kloss's conversion to Judaism in 2018, Joshua's parents, Charles and Seryl Kushner, along with his brother Jared, refused to meet her, viewing her as unsuitable for the observant Jewish family.[48] Jared reportedly referred to Kloss derogatorily as a "shiksa" during this period, reflecting deeper cultural expectations within the family.[48] The standoff ended after Kloss underwent an Orthodox conversion process, allowing the families to reconcile ahead of the couple's October 2018 wedding.[48]
Political divergences have further strained relations, particularly during Donald Trump's presidency. Joshua, a lifelong Democrat who donated to candidates like Cory Booker and attended the 2017 Women's March on Washington, publicly distanced himself from Jared's role as a senior Trump advisor.[41] He did not vote for Trump and assured his Thrive Capital portfolio companies of no influence-peddling ties to the administration, hiring counsel to mitigate perceived conflicts.[41] These differences extended to Kloss, who on January 6, 2021, tweeted criticism of election denialism and violence incitement following the Capitol riot, implicitly rebuking Jared and Ivanka Trump's continued support for Trump.[47]
Despite daily communication between the brothers and past collaborations like co-founding Cadre in 2014, the Kushners' opposing political paths have fostered ongoing tension, with Joshua pursuing independent ventures apart from the family real estate business led by Jared.[41] No public reconciliation has been reported post-2021, though familial respect for differences persists amid their divergent professional trajectories.[41]
Scrutiny of Business Practices and Associations
Joshua Kushner's co-founding of Oscar Health in 2012 drew scrutiny for the company's persistent financial losses amid its reliance on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces, which expanded insurance access but also led to high operational costs for startups like Oscar. In the third quarter of 2016 alone, Oscar reported a $45 million loss across its markets in New York, Texas, and California, contributing to broader concerns about the sustainability of its tech-driven model in a regulated industry prone to adverse selection and premium hikes. Critics highlighted Oscar's high-deductible plans, with some deductibles exceeding $8,000 annually, as potentially burdensome for consumers despite the firm's marketing emphasis on user-friendly apps and concierge services. These challenges persisted, with Oscar struggling to compete against established insurers, prompting questions about the viability of venture-backed disruption in health insurance.[63][64][65]
Oscar's business practices also faced legal challenges, including a 2018 lawsuit against Florida Blue alleging anticompetitive "exclusive policy" agreements that restricted brokers from selling Oscar plans, thereby limiting market access under Obamacare exchanges. The suit claimed these tactics violated federal antitrust laws, underscoring tensions in the fragmented insurance broker ecosystem. Additionally, Oscar's partial ownership ties to Jared Kushner until 2017 raised indirect scrutiny when the company contributed to a federal coronavirus testing website in 2020, amid perceptions of favoritism linked to Jared's White House role, though Joshua remained vice chairman without government involvement.[66][67]
As co-founder of Cadre, a real estate investment platform launched in 2014 alongside Jared Kushner and Ryan Williams, Joshua faced association-based scrutiny over the firm's $90 million in funding from an opaque offshore vehicle between 2017 and 2019, coinciding with Jared's White House tenure. This infusion, routed through entities lacking transparency on ultimate beneficial owners, prompted ethics concerns about potential foreign influence on U.S. policy, though no direct misconduct by Joshua was alleged. Cadre's platform, which democratizes access to commercial property deals, also experienced executive turnover and investor hesitancy, partly attributed to reputational risks from the Kushner family name, including stalled talks with SoftBank's Vision Fund over divestment demands tied to Jared's position. Joshua's ongoing involvement, despite his pivot to venture capital, highlighted contrasts with his public distancing from family real estate traditions.[68][69][70]
Thrive Capital, Joshua's venture firm founded in 2010, encountered criticism in 2020 for accepting $5.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans intended for small businesses preserving jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite Thrive's access to substantial private capital. Public shaming campaigns targeted VC firms like Thrive, arguing that such entities prioritized profits over fiscal restraint, with Axios noting the loans' forgiveness as emblematic of broader program inequities favoring well-connected players. Thrive repaid the loans amid backlash, but the episode fueled debates on venture capital's ethical obligations in government relief programs. Investments like Thrive's stake in SKIMS drew peripheral ire from Kanye West in 2022, who publicly condemned Joshua over the funding of Kim Kardashian's brand post-divorce, though this reflected personal animosity rather than systemic business flaws.[
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