Yes, Josh Kushner is Jared Kushner’s brother, and the question of whether the two are related has resurfaced in a major way following Josh Kushner’s record-breaking purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers. Josh, a billionaire venture capitalist, is the younger sibling of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and former senior adviser of President Donald Trump. While the brothers share the same last name and the same prominent New Jersey real estate family, they have built strikingly different careers and public identities. This article breaks down their family background, individual career paths, and why the connection between them is generating fresh headlines in 2026.
Who Are the Kushner Brothers
Josh Kushner and Jared Kushner are two of four children born to real estate developer Charles Kushner and his wife, Seryl Kushner. Josh was born in 1985, four years after Jared, making Jared the elder of the two brothers. The Kushner family made its fortune through Kushner Companies, a major real estate development firm based in New Jersey that has been central to the family’s wealth and public profile for decades.
Despite growing up in the same household and sharing a family business background, Josh and Jared took very different paths as adults. Jared became deeply involved in the family’s real estate operations before entering politics, eventually marrying Ivanka Trump and serving as a senior White House adviser during Donald Trump’s first term. Josh, on the other hand, largely stepped away from the family real estate business early on and instead built his own career in technology and venture capital.
Their father, Charles Kushner, has also remained a prominent and sometimes controversial figure. He was convicted on federal tax evasion and witness tampering charges in 2005, later pardoned by President Trump in December 2020, and subsequently appointed as U.S. Ambassador to France.
Josh Kushner’s Career and Rise as an Investor
Josh Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009, and the venture capital firm has since grown into one of the most influential investment firms in the technology sector. Thrive Capital has raised more than $10 billion in its most recent funding round, reflecting the scale Josh has built independent of his family’s real estate roots. His early and well-timed investments in companies such as Instagram, Spotify, and OpenAI have played a significant role in growing his personal fortune, which is now estimated at approximately $5.2 billion.
Josh has also built a name for himself in professional sports ownership. Before his latest deal, he already held a minority stake in the Miami Heat and had previously owned a stake in the Memphis Grizzlies. His interest in sports, technology, and media has positioned him as one of the more active young billionaires in high-profile deal-making, even as he has generally kept a lower public profile than his brother.
Unlike Jared, Josh has largely avoided direct association with the Trump family and Trump-era politics. He has described himself as someone guided by liberal values, telling Forbes in 2017 that “liberal values have guided my life and that I have supported political leaders that share similar values.” Reports have also noted that Josh identifies as a lifelong Democrat, a notable contrast to Jared’s closer political alignment with the Trump administration.
The Lakers Deal That Put Josh Kushner Back in the Spotlight
The most significant reason the “is Josh Kushner Jared Kushner’s brother” question is trending again is a historic sports business deal. On August 12, 2026, it was reported that Josh Kushner, together with former Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger, agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter for a record-breaking $12.5 billion. The sale marks the second change in Lakers ownership in as many years, coming just over a year after the Buss family sold their majority stake to Walter on June 18, 2026, for $10 billion. Both transactions set new records for the highest sale prices in United States professional sports history.
The Lakers deal has drawn considerable attention not just for its unprecedented valuation, but also because of Josh’s family ties to the Trump administration through Jared. Following the announcement, the White House issued a statement denying any involvement in the sale, seeking to clarify that the transaction was a private business deal unrelated to the Trump family’s political influence.
Bob Iger, who led Disney across two separate tenures as CEO from 2005 to 2020 and again from 2022 to 2026, brings extensive media and entertainment experience to the ownership group. Together, Kushner and Iger’s acquisition of the Lakers represents one of the largest and most closely watched franchise sales in recent sports history, and it has significantly amplified public curiosity about Josh Kushner’s background, wealth, and family connections.
Public Interest in the Kushner Family Relationship
Public fascination with the Kushner brothers is not new, but it tends to spike whenever Josh makes a major business move. Back in 2017, Forbes published a widely read profile titled “The Other Brother,” which examined how Josh had built a multibillion-dollar venture capital business while Jared rose to prominence in Washington. That same tension between two brothers on very different trajectories, one in Silicon Valley-style finance and the other in the White House, continues to define how the public views them.
Adding to the public interest is Josh Kushner’s marriage to supermodel Karlie Kloss. The couple began dating in 2012, married in October 2018, and later held a second, Western-themed wedding celebration. They have three children together, with their third child born in September. Kloss and Kushner have both said publicly that they did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 election, a detail that has often been cited as evidence of the ideological distance between Josh’s household and Jared’s.
According to reporting from Business Insider, the Kushner brothers maintain a close personal relationship despite their political differences. Josh has said that he and Jared speak daily and get along well, suggesting that family loyalty has remained intact even as their public personas diverge sharply. This dynamic, a tight-knit family bond alongside very different career and political paths, is part of what continues to draw public curiosity whenever one brother makes headlines.
Latest Updates on Josh Kushner in 2026
Beyond the Lakers purchase, 2026 has been a notable year for Josh Kushner’s public profile. He was named to Forbes’ 2026 Midas List of top technology investors, reflecting his continued influence in venture capital. He also attended the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Idaho in July 2026, an annual gathering of top business and media executives that often signals major deal-making activity, which foreshadowed the Lakers announcement that followed weeks later.
As of this writing, there is no official confirmation of any additional business ventures directly connecting Josh and Jared Kushner, and reports consistently describe the Lakers deal as a private transaction separate from any political or governmental involvement. The White House’s denial of involvement further reinforces that the sale is being treated as a standalone business transaction rather than one tied to the Trump administration.
Final Thoughts
To directly answer the question: yes, Josh Kushner is Jared Kushner’s younger brother, and the two share a well-documented family history rooted in the Kushner family’s New Jersey real estate empire. While Jared became known for his role in Donald Trump’s White House, Josh has built an entirely separate identity as a billionaire venture capitalist and, most recently, as a new co-owner of the Los Angeles Lakers alongside Bob Iger. Their differing political views and career choices have not stopped the brothers from maintaining a close personal bond, according to family reporting. As Josh Kushner’s profile continues to rise following the historic Lakers acquisition, public interest in his relationship with Jared Kushner is likely to remain strong in the months ahead.
Stay tuned for more updates on Josh Kushner, the Lakers ownership deal, and the Kushner family as new developments unfold, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.