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Steve Witkoff

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Steven Witkoff
Witkoff in 2018
United States Special Envoy for Middle East
Designate
Assuming office
January 20, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Steven Charles Witkoff

(1957-03-15) March 15, 1957 (age 67)
New York City, U.S.
SpouseLauren Rappoport
Children3
EducationHofstra University (BA, JD)

Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957)[1] is an American real estate investor, landlord, and founder of the Witkoff Group. In 2024, he was appointed as Special Envoy to the Middle East by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Early life

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Witkoff was born to a Jewish family in the Bronx and raised in Baldwin Harbor, New York[2] and Old Westbury, New York,[3] the son of Martin and Lois Witkoff. His father was a manufacturer of ladies' coats in New York City.[1][4] He earned a J.D. from Hofstra University. After school he worked for the real estate law firm Dreyer & Traub, where one of his clients was Donald Trump.[2]

Career

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In 1985, he partnered with fellow Dreyer & Traub attorney Laurence Gluck and founded Stellar Management (the name Stellar is derived from Steve and Larry) and purchased cheap buildings in Washington Heights, Manhattan.[2][5] He accumulated a small portfolio of buildings and in 1995, he expanded into lower Manhattan, buying several cheap office buildings.[2] 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. 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 News Building.[2]

In 1998, he and partner Rubin Schron purchased the Woolworth Building for $137.5 million,[1] and he expanded his portfolio to include real estate purchases in Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia. In 1998, the planned 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. Witkoff founded the Witkoff Group and expanded into residential construction and rehab.[2]

In April 2019, Witkoff announced that the Drew's opening would be pushed back to the second quarter of 2022 to allow more certainty about his construction project. The property was previously scheduled to open in late 2020.[6] which planned to open it as The Drew Las Vegas in 2022. However, construction stopped in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. In February 2021, Soffer bought back the project through his company Fontainebleau Development, with Koch Real Estate Investments as a partner. Soffer reinstated the original name of the project, with construction resuming in November 2021. The project was developed at a cost of $3.7 billion, making it the second most-expensive resort in Las Vegas. The Fontainebleau opened on December 13, 2023, and includes a 173,000 sq ft (16,100 m2; 4.0 acres) casino and 3,644 hotel rooms.[citation needed]

In July 2024, Witkoff gave a speech on night four of the Republican National Convention. In his speech, he spoke about his close friendship with former U.S. President Donald Trump.[7]

On September 15, 2024, Witkoff was playing golf with Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when a suspected assassination on Trump was attempted. Secret Service officers fired at the gunman, who fled the scene in a vehicle and was later apprehended in Martin County, Florida.[8]

On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he had selected Witkoff to be his Special Envoy to the Middle East.[9][10] Witkoff was chosen to be co-chair of the inaugural committee for Trump's upcoming second presidency, along with former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler.

Personal life

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Witkoff lives on the Upper East Side in Manhattan.[1] In 1987, he married Lauren Rappoport.[4] They have three sons.[1] 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.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Piore, Adam (December 1, 2012). "The modest mogul - Investor Ruby Schron could quietly become the city's next billionaire landlord, despite eschewing glamour and a place in the spotlight". The Real Deal.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Leonard, Devin (December 6, 1999). "Steve Witkoff's Nine Lives: Tough Guys Don't Fold-They Crawl Back From the Abyss". The New York Observer.
  3. ^ Elkies, Lauren. "Steve Witkoff". The Real Deal. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Lauren and Susan Rappoport to Wed". The New York Times. January 4, 1987.
  5. ^ Ghigliotty, Damian (May 1, 2013). "With 150 Charles Street and Now 10 Madison Square West, Steve Witkoff May Be the King of Condo Financing". Commercial Observer. Observer Media.
  6. ^ "Vegas Strip's $3.1 Billion Resort Postponed More Than a Year". bloomberg.com. Bloomberg News. April 16, 2019.
  7. ^ Hensley, J. J. "Real estate baron Steven Witkoff uses RNC speech to humanize Trump, recall son who OD'd". USA Today. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  8. ^ "Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf club, the FBI says". apnews.com. Associated Press. September 15, 2024.
  9. ^ "Trump appoints Steven Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East". Israel National News. 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  10. ^ "Trump picks ex-DNI John Ratfcliffe to lead CIA, ex-Arkansas Gov. Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel". Prince George Citizen. 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  11. ^ Baum, Gary (August 17, 2013). "Wrongful Death Lawsuit Hits L.A. Rehab Center Following THR Investigation". The Hollywood Reporter.
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