Jared Kushner is the founder of Affinity Partners. We cover his formative experiences as a real estate investor, the major accomplishments from his time in government, and the people who have shaped his investing and geopolitical worldviews.
Principles & Lessons:
1) A choice of perspective can reshape difficult situations. Jared repeatedly frames his mindset as choosing gratitude and curiosity when faced with adversity. He says, “Instead of saying, why is this happening?... it’s a more fun way to look at life... to say, what is God training me for?” and suggests that “being optimistic and positive is way more fun than the alternative” and can foster better outcomes.
2) Listening closely is more effective than trying to dominate a negotiation. He stresses that “if you listen to people, they tend to tell you what’s important to them.” He believes many fail to ask key questions or let the other side talk. He recounts foreign leaders praising him for being the “first senior person that ever asked questions,” adding that “negotiating in a constructive way” is best done by placing oneself on the same side of the table.
3) Seeking mutual gains can be a pathway for long-term success. In his New York real estate days, Jared learned that “everyone’s got to eat,” meaning he aims to ensure counterparties get enough of the upside. He calls it “creating win-wins,” explaining that convincing a stronger party to align with one’s plan “really was by catering to their interests more than their sympathy.”
4) Complexity in geopolitical or business scenarios is often navigable with a step-by-step approach. Jared cites a saying from his father: “When you’re running up a hill, don’t look to the top, just keep your eyes on your feet.” Describing COVID response and Operation Warp Speed, he and his team addressed near-impossible tasks by methodically conquering each constraint, “one foot in front of the other,” from ramping up test kits to securing vaccine supplies.
5) Trust builds more powerful deal-making than pure contractual leverage. As an example, he recalls winning over real estate financiers like Tom Barrack by simply acknowledging the problems plainly and not “trying to be a wise guy.” Similarly, in diplomacy, leaders confided in him because he “wouldn’t leak to the press,” building personal credibility rather than focusing on short-term positional wins.
6) Aligning future-oriented economic interests can defuse old conflicts. Jared brought the private-sector viewpoint into Middle East diplomacy, saying “the US approach was always about strength and power... but all that leads to is one creating more strength, then the other responding. I saw that we needed a foundation of security plus economic investment so people could have... better lives together.” That logic underpinned his Abraham Accords and broader regional peacemaking.
7) Weaknesses in public institutions can be overcome by entrepreneurship and agile leadership. He found that “in government, the hardest part is often the bureaucracy,” which “didn’t know how to handle big negotiations” and “would never be so directly solution-oriented.” Trump’s style, he says, “increases the metabolism of government tremendously,” and applying a business-minded approach gave them unusual wins, such as “manufacturing all of the vaccines in parallel” for COVID.
8) True “value investing” blends patience, resilience, and seizing misunderstood opportunities. Across examples from real estate and private equity, Jared shows his preference for mispriced assets in uncertain times, highlighting how “the more we identify what we’re not looking for, the easier it is to see what we are looking for.” Whether it’s infrastructure in Mexico, consumer brands in Brazil, or an underappreciated insurance company in Israel, he wants “long-term conviction” that outlasts market sentiment.
Transcript