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Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate developer, investor, and founder of the Witkoff Group. Since 2025, Witkoff has served as the United States special envoy to the Middle East and special envoy for Peace Missions. He began his career as a real estate attorney and later expanded into major property development in New York and Miami.
Born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, Witkoff earned a B.A. in political science and a J.D. from Hofstra University. After starting his career as a real estate attorney, he shifted to property development, acquiring prominent buildings in Manhattan, including the Daily News Building and the Woolworth Building. As of May 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$2 billion.
During the first Trump administration, Witkoff was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, created to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In 2025, during Trump's second term, he was appointed special envoy to the Middle East. Before formally taking office, he worked to help push negotiations that led to a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January and October 2025. He has also acted as a de facto envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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 Juris Doctor from Hofstra Law School. "Steven Witkoff, BA, '80; JD, '83," Hofstra.edu.
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. They later developed a business relationship which reportedly evolved into a personal friendship.Jacob Kornbluh (December 15, 2024). "Newborn grandson of Trump's Mideast envoy named after Trump," The Forward. Witkoff subsequently practiced real estate law at the New York City law firm Rosenman & Colin, through 1986.Phil Hall (November 12, 2024). "Trump Names Real Estate Developer Steve Witkoff as Special Middle East Envoy," WRE News.
In 2013, Witkoff and Harry Macklowe purchased the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan for $660 million.Matt A.V. Chaban (April 6, 2015). "A Dental Hub With Central Park Views May Go on the Market," The New York Times. 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.Michelle Higgins (June 19, 2015). "TriBeCa Tower Inspired by a Glass Vase," The New York Times.
Over time, Witkoff diversified into higher-profile properties, including landmark buildings in Manhattan such as the Daily News Building and Woolworth Building.
As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned about 50 properties in the United States and internationally. "A Purposeful Life," Leaders Magazine, October 4, 2019.
The Witkoff Group purchased the project to build the resort and casino Fontainebleau Las Vegas for $600 million.Devin O'Connor (December 23, 2022). "Fontainebleau Las Vegas Secures $2.2B in Financing to Complete Long-Delayed Casino," Casino.org. The property was scheduled to open in 2020 as The Drew, named after Witkoff's late son Andrew.Michael Bartlett (February 12, 2021). "Las Vegas Strip resort formerly known as Fontainebleau may finally see completion," Gaming America. However, construction stopped in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. In February 2021, Koch Industries purchased the property. The original name was reinstated, and the hotel opened in December 2023.
Also in 2023, Bloomberg reported that Witkoff helped revive the troubled One High Line condominium project in Manhattan, completing its transition to new ownership and development. That year, the Witkoff Group and Monroe Capital closed on a record-breaking loan for the redevelopment of the Shore Club Private Collection in Miami Beach.
In July 2024, Witkoff gave a speech on night four of the Republican National Convention.
On September 15, 2024, Witkoff was playing golf with Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when Ryan Wesley Routh allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump. A Secret Service officer fired at the gunman, who fled in a vehicle and was later apprehended.
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.Zolan Kanno-Youngs (November 11, 2024). "The Trump Insiders Who Have Outsize Influence as He Chooses His Cabinet," The New York Times.
While in office, he played a role in key geopolitical negotiations, including on issues unrelated to the Middle East, and was eventually appointed Special Envoy for Peace Missions on July 3, 2025.
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. 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."David E. Sanger and Michael D. Shear (January 15, 2025). "How the Cease-Fire Push Brought Together Biden and Trump's Teams," The New York Times.
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.
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.
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.
On March 23, 2025, Witkoff blamed Hamas for renewed fighting in Gaza, 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."
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 a diplomatic resolution. The first round of high level-meetings was held in Oman on April 12, 2025, led by Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Following the June 2025 Israeli strikes in Iran, diplomatic talks about nuclear energy between US and Iran were indefinitely suspended.
On June 1, 2025, the IDF killed at least 32 civilians and wounded over 200 at the aid centre in Rafah. Pro-Palestinian social media accounts referred to the June 1 incident as the " Witkoff massacre", referring to Witkoff, who had endorsed Israel's plan to take over aid delivery in Gaza. On August 1, 2025, Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited the GHS distribution center in Gaza.
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".
Witkoff said he "spent a lot of time with Putin" during the secret trip and had developed a "friendship and relationship" with Putin.
On February 16, Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and Europe would be excluded from any future peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 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 Former U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
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". Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014, then occupied and annexed four more Ukrainian provinces during its 2022 invasion. 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". 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.
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". 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". Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that Ukrainians were "very disturbed" by Witkoff's comments and believed he had been influenced by Russian disinformation. 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". While journalist Stephen Pollard commented that Witkoff may mean well, but was embarrassingly out of his depth dealing with Putin.
In April 2025, Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow. Witkoff did not bring his own interpreter to the meetings, instead relying on Kremlin-provided translators. The decision was noted as a departure from standard diplomatic protocol, with former U.S. ambassador Michael McFaul commenting that “the language is never the same” when using only host-country interpreters.
In early August 2025, Witkoff traveled to Moscow for another round of talks with Putin. During the meeting, Witkoff reportedly misunderstood Putin’s remarks—interpreting a suggestion that he was open to a “peaceful withdrawal” of Ukrainian forces from occupied territories as an offer for Russian forces to withdraw from regions such as Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia. This misinterpretation, conveyed back to Washington, seemingly prompted President Trump to pause new sanctions and extend an invitation to Putin for a summit in Alaska. Critics argue that Putin “was rewarded not with debilitating sanctions but with an invitation to meet,” reflecting the fallout from this diplomatic confusion.
The Alaska 2025 summit took place on August 15, 2025. Coverage of the meeting highlighted that the summit was marked more by symbolic pageantry, such as flyovers and photo-ops, than substantive progress, with Witkoff’s role reinforcing what critics saw as a spectacle of false diplomacy.AP NewsFinancial TimesReuters Commentators further argued that entrusting such responsibilities to a real-estate executive instead of trained diplomats not only compromised the talks but set a precedent for sidelining expertise in critical foreign policy negotiations.Agenzia NovaThe Moscow TimesSky News
On August 17, 2025, Witkoff claimed that, during the Alaska summit, Putin had promised to enshrine a non-aggression pledge in Russia’s constitution. His statements were dismissed as naïve and dangerously misguided, given Russia’s history of using constitutional amendments to consolidate power and justify territorial expansion rather than promote peace.
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.
Witkoff has praised Russian president Putin and has appeared to support Russian government claims about its war against Ukraine. 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.
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.
In 2019, Witkoff relocated from New York City to Florida, and settled in Miami Beach.Rebecca San Juan (January 15, 2020). "The New York-based real estate development firm Witkoff is expanding to Miami," Miami Herald. Since at least 2024, Witkoff has been in a relationship with Lauren Olaya, who often accompanies him.
The Witkoff family also own a farm in Lexington, Kentucky, which was reported to be the location for a fundraiser in October 2025 for Nate Morris alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
Witkoff has been on the executive committee for the Real Estate Board of New York, and is a trustee for the Intrepid Museum, and on the board of trustees of Hofstra University (since 2015).
First Donald Trump administration
Prior to and after his appointment as the second Donald Trump administration's envoy to the Middle East, Witkoff has had extensive business ties in the Middle East. During the first Donald Trump administration, the Qatari government was a key source of funds for the Witkoff Group. According to the New York Times, the Qatari government sought to curry favor with the Trump administration by forming close relationships with Trump confidantes, such as Witkoff. At the time, the Witkoff Group was facing financial problems, making the Qatari financing important.
Second Donald Trump administration
After his 2025 appointment in the second Trump administration, Witkoff retained ownership in the Witkoff Group. When asked about these conflicts of interest in September 2025, a White House spokesperson said Witkoff was "finalizing" his divestment from the firm. In 2025, as Witkoff was engaged in high-stakes negotiations with Middle Eastern governments over a ceasefire in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, his son Alex was soliciting several of the same governments for billions of dollars of investment into his enterprises, raising conflicts of interest concerns.
Political career
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.Tanzeel Akhtar (April 15, 2020). "Every Member Of Trump's 'Great American Economic Revival' Industry Groups," Yahoo.
Second Trump presidency
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.Donald J. Trump (November 12, 2024). "Statement by President-elect Donald J. Trump Announcing the Appointment of Steven C. Witkoff as Special Envoy to the Middle East," The American Presidency Project.
Middle East
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.Patrick Kingsley (January 15, 2025). "Gaza Cease-Fire Deal Brings Joy, but Is Shadowed With Uncertainty," The New York Times.Patrick Kingsley, Adam Rasgon, and Michael D. Shear (January 17, 2025). "The Sheikh, the Mogul and the Diplomat: The Trio Who Sealed the Gaza Truce; The Qatari prime minister, working with both President Biden's envoy and President-elect Donald J. Trump's representative, formed an unlikely partnership," The New York Times. There followed a six-week ceasefire agreement, during which there would be a swap of 33 Hamas-held hostages taken in the October 7 attacks 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.
Negotiations with Russia
President Trump has made Witkoff, who is of Russian-Jewish descent himself, his de facto envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin. By March 2025, Witkoff had become the main channel of communication between the Trump administration and the Russian presidency. Lacking formal training in diplomacy, he conducted key meetings in ways that breached standard diplomatic protocol, raising concerns about the accuracy, trustworthiness, and effectiveness of such engagements.
Views
Egypt
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, saying that "country can't exist like that. They're largely broke. They need a lot of help."
Syria
In March 2025, Witkoff suggested that Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa may have changed since his association with Al-Qaeda.
Israel and Palestine
In 2024, Witkoff criticized the Biden administration over its decision to halt the shipment of certain bombs to Israel. 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.
Russia and Ukraine
In 2018, Witkoff opposed sanctions against Russia for its occupation of Crimea.
Iran's nuclear program
Witkoff supported Trump's attempts to reach a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program. He has stated that Iran should abandon its nuclear enrichment program as part of an agreement.
Personal life
Witkoff previously lived on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. In 1987, he married Lauren Jill Rappoport, who was then an associate at the Manhattan law firm of Bernard Botein. They have three sons. 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. Their son Zach Witkoff is a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency company.Eric Lipton, Ben Protess, and David Yaffe-Bellany (December 5, 2024). "Trump Organization Plans an Ethics Policy Without Banning Foreign Deals," The New York Times. Their son Alex Witkoff is co-CEO of the Witkoff Group.John Otis (February 16, 2024). "A Cowboy and a Leopard Walked Into a Bar," The New York Times.
Advocacy
After the death of his son, Andrew, from an opioid overdose in 2011, Witkoff has become an advocate for addiction awareness and recovery efforts, addressing the issue in his speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
External links
Categories: 20th-century American Businesspeople, 21st-century American Businesspeople, 20th-century American Lawyers, 21st-century American Lawyers, American Businesspeople In Real Estate, American Real Estate Investors, Real Property Lawyers, 21st-century American Diplomats, United States Special Envoys, Jewish American Diplomats, Second Trump Administration Personnel, American Billionaires, Businesspeople From Manhattan, Businesspeople From The Bronx, Diplomats From New York City, Hofstra University Alumni, Maurice A. Deane School Of Law Alumni, People From Hempstead, New York, People From Miami Beach, Florida, People From Old Westbury, New York, People From The Upper East Side, Union College Alumni, American People Of Belarusian-jewish Descent, American People Of Russian-jewish Descent, 20th-century American Jews, 21st-century American Jews, 1957 Births, Living People
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