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At 35, Jared Kushner will be President Trump's right hand man

Kushner's Dad, Charles Kushner, was convicted of Tax Evasion and Campaign

Ten years ago, Jared Kushner's Dad, Charles Kushner, was convicted of Tax Evasion and Campaign finance law violations. The prosecutor: A young man named Chris Christie.

"The unceremonious removal of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chairman of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team," says CNN, "won't be the last power play by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a young businessman who is shaping up as one of the central figures of the new administration. Kushner is far less well known than his wife, Ivanka Trump, but is clearly a force to be reckoned with, wielding tremendous influence behind the scenes."

Laws adopted during the Kennedy administration forbid Kushner's appointment as a cabinet level official. It's unclear whether Kushner may legally be a paid advisor, but the guy is rich and married well, so he might work for free. Like his father in law, who has agreed to forego the Presidential salary of $400,000 a year.

(CNN)The unceremonious removal of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as chairman of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team won't be the last power play by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a young businessman who is shaping up as one of the central figures of the new administration.

Kushner is far less well known than his wife, Ivanka Trump, but is clearly a force to be reckoned with, wielding tremendous influence behind the scenes.

It's widely assumed in political circles that the sacking of Christie was at least partly an act of personal payback by Kushner. Back in 2004, then-U.S. Attorney Christie convicted Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, on a variety of charges including tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign contributions. http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/16/opinions/jared-kushner-opinion-louis/

Kushner, 35, is an American businessman, investor and political operative. He is principal owner of the real estate holding and development company Kushner Properties and Observer Media, publisher of the weekly New York Observer.

Kushner is the son of American real estate developer Charles Kushner and is married to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of President-elect of the United States Donald Trump. He was among the senior advisors of Trump's presidential campaign, and described as the architect of Trump's digital media campaign.

From 2007 to 2016, he spent at least $7 billion on New York real estate. In 2007, at age 26, he made the most expensive single-building property purchase in US history. In 2011, Kushner brought in Vornado Realty Trust as a 50% equity partner in the ownership of the building.

Kushner is the elder son of Seryl (née Stadtmauer) and real estate developer Charles Kushner. He has a brother, Joshua (also a businessman) and two sisters, Nicole and Dara. He is also a nephew of Murray Kushner, the owner of Kushner Real Estate Group. Kushner Real Estate Group is separate from Kushner Companies, which Murray Kushner started in 2000.

Kushner was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family in New Jersey. He graduated from the Frisch School, a private, coed yeshiva high school in Paramus, New Jersey, and from Harvard University in 2003 with an A.B. in Sociology. According to journalist Daniel Golden, Kushner and his brother Joshua were admitted to Harvard after their father had made a $2.5 million donation to the university, with the director of the school's college preparatory program describing his admission to be "an unusual choice for Harvard to make" given that he was "not anywhere near the top of his class." While a student at Harvard, Kushner was a member of the Fly Club and bought and sold buildings in Somerville, Massachusetts, earning a $20 million profit.

In 2007, Kushner graduated from New York University where he earned his J.D. degree and his M.B.A. degree; his father had previously made a $3 million donation to NYU in 2001.He interned at Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's office.

 

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