Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners, is the largest shareholder in an Israeli financial group that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in companies supplying equipment to Israel’s military, according to a CNN investigation published Thursday.
The financial group, Tel Aviv-based Phoenix Financial, holds stakes in at least nine companies tied to Israel’s military operations, including Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.
The investigation found that Affinity’s stake in Phoenix was roughly doubled five days before Donald Trump was sworn back into office in January 2025. That move made Affinity Phoenix’s largest shareholder.
Kushner has served as a key volunteer adviser to Trump on Middle East diplomacy, including negotiations over the Gaza Strip. As a volunteer envoy, he is not required to disclose his finances.
Phoenix’s Military-Linked Holdings
Phoenix Financial manages approximately $220 billion in assets, including pension funds for millions of Israelis. Its investments include a stake worth at least $265 million in Elbit Systems.
Elbit Systems has secured hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts from Israel’s defense ministry in the past year, including about $200 million for advanced airborne munitions, $48 million for thousands of 155mm artillery shells, and $210 million to upgrade the military’s battle tanks.
Israel was Elbit’s biggest market in 2025, accounting for 32 percent of its total revenue. Since the start of the Gaza war, Elbit’s stock price has increased more than 165 percent.
Phoenix also holds stakes in Next Vision, a maker of cameras for military drones, valued at more than $68 million. The company has reported an increase in orders from Israeli customers since the war began.
Other holdings include at least $40 million in Reshef Technologies, which produces electronic fuzes for artillery shells and has reported $165 million in orders from Israel’s Ministry of Defense since the war began.
Phoenix also holds a $524,524 stake in Israel Shipyards, a shipbuilder that manufactures fast attack boats sold to the Israeli Navy. The defense ministry signed a $780 million contract with Israel Shipyards in 2024 for five vessels.
Additional investments include Ashot Ashkelon, which sells gearboxes and transmissions for tanks and armored vehicles, and smaller stakes in Boeing and Caterpillar.
Kushner’s Response
Kushner criticized CNN’s reporting in a social media post, describing it as deeply misleading. He said Phoenix is not a defense company.
‘Think of Phoenix as the Israeli equivalent of Vanguard or Fidelity,’ Kushner wrote. ‘It manages the retirement savings of millions of Israelis. The savers don’t choose the individual investments, and neither do I.’
Kushner added that he has no role in deciding what Phoenix buys or sells.
His attorney told CNN that Kushner never directed Phoenix’s investment decisions and had no involvement in the decision to purchase, hold or sell any of the nine companies. The attorney also said any suggestion that Kushner’s diplomatic work influenced Phoenix’s investments, or vice versa, was incorrect.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Kushner’s personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements, which he conducts on a volunteer basis at the president’s request.
Investment Returns
Affinity first bought a 4.95 percent stake in Phoenix in July 2024 for $128.5 million. After doubling its position, Affinity owned 7.4 percent of Phoenix.
In July 2025, Affinity sold a quarter of its Phoenix stake for more than $340 million, a return of more than five times its initial stock purchase. The firm remains Phoenix’s largest shareholder with a holding worth more than $1 billion.
Kushner told Bloomberg after receiving approval to double his stake that investing in Phoenix in July 2024 was a decision rooted in his belief in Israel’s resiliency and the fundamentals of Phoenix’s business.
He later described Phoenix as Affinity’s best investment, according to the CNN report.
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