World Cup buyer Joshua Kushner is worth £3.9bn, has Victoria’s Secret model wife, Trump family ties & dad who was jailed

FIFA’s bombshell plot to sell the World Cup to private investors has got football fans fretting over who might end up calling the shots. The governing body insists it will retain majority control over the tournament – but there are concerns around the influence investors will have as they push for a return on their cash. Joshua Kushner is involved in the investment group hoping to buy a stake in the World Cup Credit: Getty Gianni Infantino and Donald Trump are close allies Credit: Getty Even more worrying for many supporters are the ties the proposed investment group has with Donald Trump. Fifa chief Gianni Infantino has spent the last few years cosying up to the US president. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! But flogging portions of the World Cup to a group spearheaded by Joshua Kushner – the brother of Trump’s son-in-law – kicks things up a notch. Fifa has confirmed that Thrive Capital – the investment firm launched by Kushner in 2009, when he was just 24 – will lead the group through the purchasing process. Other figures close to the Trump administration are understood to be involved, too. So, naturally, football fans are now wondering, who is Joshua Kushner? Who is this business hotshot who could become one of the most influential figures in the sport? The Kushner name is well-known in the States. The family has made a fortune in real estate and politics, with dad Charles and brother Jared both landing prominent roles in the Trump regime. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK Brothers Jared and Joshua Kushner are said to have a close relationship Credit: Getty Charles, 72, who served 14 months behind bars after being convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering, before being pardoned by Trump in 2020, was appointed the US ambassador to France and Monaco last year. Jared, 45, is America’s special envoy for peace, which involves working on diplomatic relations mainly in the Middle East and Russia. He is also married to Trump’s eldest daughter, Ivanka. Joshua, 41, is known in the business world as “the other Kushner”. He keeps a lower profile than Charles and Jared but is said to have a close relationship with his older brother. Both studied at Harvard University and have tried their luck with a handful of joint business ventures since graduating. Jared was actually an investor in Thrive Capital but was forced to offload his stake before taking a White House job in 2017. Despite success being well distributed throughout the family, prospective World Cup buyer Joshua has made the most cash. His tech company was among the early backers of Instagram and OpenAI, and now manages a whopping £18.6BILLION worth of assets. That has left Joshua with a healthy £3.9bn personal fortune. Joshua Kushner married Karlie Kloss in 2018 Credit: Getty The pair have three kids and split their time between Miami and New York Credit: Getty It is perhaps no surprise, then, that he mixes in elite circles. He married entrepreneur, supermodel and former Victoria’s Secret Angel Karlie Kloss in 2018. They have three kids, split their time between sprawling residences in Miami and New York, and have acquired a handful of recognisable media brands through their joint-venture Bedford Media. The loved-up couple are good pals with Taylor Swift and were spotted at her and Travis Kelce‘s wedding earlier this month. Kushner is also well-connected in the sports industry, having bought minority stakes in basketball franchise the Miami Heat and MLB team the San Francisco Giants. Now he has his sights set on the World Cup. The Kushner family is deeply embedded in the White House but Joshua has distanced himself from the Trump administration. He is actually a lifelong Democrat, as is wife Karlie, who says she has never met Trump. Karlie publicly supported presidential bids from Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, who all ran against Trump. Kushner did not vote from Trump in 2016 and attended the Women’s March in Washington D.C. shortly after his inauguration. Comment now