Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor and lawyer who has served as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East since 2025. He is the founder and chairman of the Witkoff Group. Steve Witkoff was born in

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

and raised on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He graduated with a B.A. in political science and a J.D. from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

. Witkoff began his career as a real estate attorney, before transitioning to property investment and development. His notable acquisitions include the

Daily News Building The Daily News Building (also the News Building) is a skyscraper at 220 East 42nd Street in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The original tower, designed by Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells in th ...

, the

Woolworth Building The Woolworth Building is a residential building and early skyscraper at 233 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Designed by Cass Gilbert, it was the tallest building in the world f ...

, 33 Maiden Lane, and the

Park Lane Hotel The Sheraton Grand London Park Lane is a 5-star hotel on Piccadilly, London. The hotel opened in 1927 as The Park Lane Hotel to designs by architects Adie, Button and Partners, in a grand Art Deco style, and was constructed by the developer ...

in Manhattan. As of May 2025, the Forbes World's Billionaires List estimated Witkoff's net worth at US$2 billion. During the

first presidency of Donald Trump Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...

in 2020, Witkoff was a member of the

Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups The Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups were created by U.S. President Donald Trump to combat the Financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Trump originally proposed a second task f ...

, which were created to combat the

economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States has been widely disruptive, adversely affecting travel, financial markets, employment, shipping, and other industries. The impacts can be attributed not just to government inter ...

. In November 2024, then President-elect

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced that he would appoint Witkoff to be the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff had no diplomatic experience. After his nomination but before formally taking office, Witkoff took part in the negotiations which led to a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

in January 2025. In addition to his Middle East portfolio, he also became Trump's ''de facto'' envoy to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n president

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. He also serves on various institutional boards. After the death of his son, Andrew, from an

opioid overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal conditio ...

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 The 2024 Republican National Convention was an event in which delegates of the Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party selected the party's nominees for President of the United States, president and Vice President of ...

Early life

Witkoff, who is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, was born in

in New York City, and was raised in

Baldwin Harbor, New York Baldwin Harbor is a hamlet and former census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It was created concomitant with the 1990 United States census from the southernmost porti ...

and

Old Westbury, New York Old Westbury is a village in the towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census. The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury ...

. He is the son of Martin and Lois Witkoff. His father was the president of a women's clothing manufacturer named George Simonton Inc., and his mother was an interior designer. His paternal grandfather and grandmother were both born in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Witkoff began his studies at

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, but chose to transfer to

, where he earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in political science in 1980. In 1983, he graduated with a J.D. from

Hofstra Law School The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University – also known as Hofstra Law School and colloquially as Hofstra Law – is a law school located in Hempstead, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is affiliated with Hofstra Un ...

."Steven Witkoff, BA, '80; JD, '83,"
Hofstra.edu.

Private sector career

Witkoff began his career as a real estate lawyer. In November 2024, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' reported that: "Peers in the real-estate world invariably describe Witkoff ... as smart, personable and a talented negotiator with a common touch." 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

. They became friends at a New York City deli, after they had worked together on a business deal.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 Rosenman & Colin LLP was a New York City-based law firm that practiced from 1912 to 2002, at which point the firm merged with Chicago-based Katten Muchin Zavis to form Katten Muchin Rosenman. The firm previously practiced under the name Rosenman ...

, through 1986.

Stellar Management

In 1985, he co-founded Stellar Management, partnering with fellow Dreyer & Traub real estate attorney Larry Gluck — "Stellar" is a reference to Steve and Larry — switching their careers from the practice of law to owning and managing real estate. They purchased inexpensive apartment buildings in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the northern part of the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is named for Fort Washington (Manhattan), Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the Bennett Park (Ne ...

and the Northwest Bronx; at one point they owned 85 buildings with over 3,000 apartments.Alan S. Oser (September 15, 1996)
"New Hands Take Reins at Big Manhattan Properties,"
''The New York Times''. In 1995, he expanded into

lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

, buying several inexpensive office buildings. In 1996, he secured financing from

Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) was the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York. The company was created by the merger of First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse Group in 1 ...

for the purchase of 33 Maiden Lane, a 27-story tower designed by

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 ...

and

John Burgee __NOTOC__ John Burgee (born August 28, 1933) is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects ...

; the following year, he leased the top 13 floors of the building to the

Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the New York (state), State of New York, the 12 norther ...

for a 25-year term. Witkoff purchased additional properties including the landmark

in the East Midtown neighborhood of Manhattan, designed by architects

Raymond Hood Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934) was an American architect who worked in the Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic and Art Deco styles. He is best known for his designs of the Tribune Tower, American Radiator Building ...

and John Mead Howells.

Witkoff Group

In 1997, Witkoff left Stellar Management, founded and became chairman and CEO of the privately held Witkoff Group headquartered in New York City, and expanded into residential construction and

land rehabilitation Land rehabilitation as a part of environmental remediation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process ( industry, natural disasters, etc.) has resulted in its damage. Many project ...

. In 1998, he and business partner

Rubin Schron Rubin "Rubie" Schron is a New York City real estate investor, philanthropist, and the founder of Cammeby's International Group. In 2013, Schron made an unsuccessful offer to buy the Empire State Building for $2 billion. In 2003, an investment gr ...

purchased the

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

for $138 million, and he expanded his portfolio to include real estate purchases in Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia. By October 1998, the Witkoff Group operated 11 million square feet of commercial and retail real estate, and held an ownership interest in 7,500 apartments and a number of land and hotel developments. In 1998, a planned $2 billion

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

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. In 2013, Witkoff and

Harry Macklowe Harry B. Macklowe (born 1937) is an American real estate developer and investor based in New York City. Early life Macklowe was born to a Jewish family, the son of a garment executive from Westchester County, New York. He graduated from New Roc ...

purchased the

on Central Park South in Manhattan for $660 million. That year, Witkoff and

Fisher Brothers Fisher Brothers is a real estate firm in New York City. It was formed by Martin Fisher in 1915, and later joined by his brothers Larry Fisher, Larry (born 1907) and Zachary Fisher, Zachary (born 1910). The Fisher family has substantial real estat ...

also purchased a parcel of land in

in Manhattan for $223 million on which they built a 792-foot high residential tower, 111 Murray Street. President Donald Trump welcomes his friend Steve Witkoff to speak at the Opioid Summit in the East Room of the White House

President Donald Trump welcomes his friend Steve Witkoff to speak at the Opioid Summit in the East Room of the White House

As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned about 50 properties in the United States and internationally. The Witkoff Group purchased the project to build the resort and casino

Fontainebleau Las Vegas The Fontainebleau Las Vegas is a luxury resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Fontainebleau Development and is a sister property to Fontainebleau Miami Beach, and sits on the site previous ...

for $600 million. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Nevada on March 5, 2020. Because of concerns about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), Nevada governor Steve Sisolak declared a state of emergency on March 12, 2020. Four day ...

. In February 2021, Koch Real Estate Investments purchased the property. The original name was reinstated, and the hotel opened in December 2023. Witkoff has extensive business ties in the Middle East.

Political career

In April 2020 during the

, Witkoff was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Group, which was created by Trump to combat the

. In July 2024, Witkoff gave a speech on night four of the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

. On September 15, 2024, Witkoff was playing golf with Trump at

Trump International Golf Club The following things are named after Donald Trump, an American businessman, real estate developer, and the 45th and 47th president of the United States. Real estate Note: Any current properties listed in bold are owned directly by Trump hims ...

West Palm Beach West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, Florida, when Ryan Wesley Routh attempted to assassinate Trump. A

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

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 Between seventy-three and seventy-nine days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidentia ...

for Trump's upcoming second presidency, along with former US Senator

Kelly Loeffler Kelly Lynn Loeffler ( ; born November 27, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician who has served as the 28th administrator of the Small Business Administration since February 20, 2025. A member of the Republican Party, she served as a ...

US Special Envoy to the Middle East

On November 12, 2024, President-elect

announced that he had selected Witkoff to be his Special Envoy to the Middle East. Witkoff had no diplomatic experience. Witkoff played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and

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, 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''. His blunt, direct, and aggressive negotiation style was instrumental in forging a six-week ceasefire agreement, during which there would be a swap of 33 Hamas-held hostages taken in the

October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

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. Steve Witkoff meets members of hostages families forum in Tel Aviv on May 13th 2025 - 9

Steve Witkoff meets members of hostages families forum in Tel Aviv on May 13th 2025 - 9

Witkoff's approach differed from traditional diplomatic methods, as he, joined by McGurk on speakerphone from

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

, applied pressure on Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

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 Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

. 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 A List of Arab–Israeli prisoner exchanges, hostages-and-prisoners exchange and armistice between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip took effect from 19 January to 18 March 2025, during the Gaza war. It includ ...

. 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 Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

on April 12, 2025, led by Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister

Abbas Araghchi Sayyid Abbas Araghchi (, ; also spelled Araqchi, born 5 December 1962) is an Iranian diplomat and politician, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran since August 2024. He previously served as the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign A ...

. Following the June 2025 Israeli strikes in Iran, diplomatic talks about nuclear energy between US and Iran were indefinitely suspended.

Involvement in negotiations with Russia

President Trump has made Witkoff his ''de facto'' envoy to

Russian president The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

. By March 2025, Witkoff had become the main channel of communication between the Trump administration and the Russian presidency. 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 Marc Hilliard Fogel (born July 28, 1961) is an American schoolteacher who was arrested in August 2021 by Russian authorities for trying to enter Russia with of medical cannabis. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was relea ...

from a Russian prison, in exchange for Russian citizen

Alexander Vinnik Alexander Vinnik () is a Russian entrepreneur, the co-founder of BTC-e cryptocurrency exchange. He pleaded guilty for money laundering in the USA but returned to Russia as a part of an exchange for Marc Fogel (sentenced in Russia to 14 years i ...

. 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. Witkoff has been involved in talks between the United States and Russia to end the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. On February 16, Witkoff rejected concerns that Ukraine and Europe would be excluded from any future

peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine There have been several rounds of Peace process, peace talks to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine since it began in February 2022. Russia's president Vladimir Putin seeks recognition of all Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, occupied lan ...

. On February 18, American and Russian delegations, headed by U.S. Secretary of State

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

and Russian Foreign Minister

Sergey Lavrov Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, ; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (Russia), Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2004. He is the longest-serving Russian foreign minister since Andrei Gromyko d ...

, respectively, met in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

, Saudi Arabia, to develop a framework for further peace negotiations. Rubio was accompanied by Steve Witkoff and U.S. National Security Advisor

Mike Waltz Michael George Glen Waltz (born January 31, 1974) is an American politician, businessman, author, and former United States Army Special Forces, Army Special Forces officer who is President Donald Trump's current nominee for United States ambassa ...

. On March 21, 2025, in a podcast interview with

Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...

, Witkoff said that the biggest issue in negotiations are the "so-called four regions:

Donbas The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

Lugansk Luhansk (, ; , ), also known as Lugansk (, ; , ), is a city in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. As of 2022, the population was estimated to be making Luhansk the 12th-largest city in Ukraine. Luhansk served as the administrative center of Luh ...

...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 A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a direct vote by the electorate (rather than their representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either binding (resulting in the adoption of a new policy) or advis ...

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 Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

, said that Ukrainians were "very disturbed" by Witkoff's comments and believed he had been influenced by

Russian disinformation Russian disinformation campaigns have occurred in many countries. For example, disinformation campaigns led by Yevgeny Prigozhin have been reported in several African countries. Russia, however, denies that it uses disinformation to influence pub ...

. U.S. Democratic Representative

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician and former Marine Corps officer who has been the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his distr ...

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.

Views

Egypt

In March 2025, Witkoff expressed concern that Israel's war in Gaza could destabilize Middle Eastern countries such as

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. He stated that the

youth unemployment Youth unemployment refers to the proportion of the Workforce, labor force aged 15 – 24 who do not have a job but are seeking employment. Youth unemployment is different from unemployment in the general workforce in that youth unemployment rat ...

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 Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

's new leader

Ahmed al-Sharaa Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa (born 29 October 1982) also known by his ''nom de guerre'' Abu Mohammad al-Julani, is a Syrian politician and former rebel commander serving as the president of Syria since January 2025. He previously served as the coun ...

may have changed since his association with

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

Israel and Palestine

In 2024, Witkoff criticized the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

over its decision to halt the shipment of certain bombs to Israel. However, he also stated that

members are "not as ideologically extreme as they are portrayed" and praised

for its efforts in trying to negotiate an end to the

Gaza conflict Gaza may refer to: Places Palestine * Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea ** Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip ** Gaza Governorate, a governorate in the Gaza Strip Mandatory Palestine * Gaza Sub ...

. In March 2025, Witkoff said that Israeli Prime Minister

, by renewing attacks on Gaza, was prioritizing the destruction of Hamas over the release of Israeli hostages.

Russia and Ukraine

In 2018, Witkoff opposed sanctions against Russia for its occupation of

. 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.

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 has lived on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

in Manhattan. In 1987, he married Lauren Jill Rappoport, who was then an associate at the Manhattan law firm of Botein, Hays & Sklar. They have three sons. In 2011, their 22-year-old son Andrew died of an

OxyContin Oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended-release form) among others, is a semi-synthetic opioid used medically for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly ...

overdose at the now-closed Sunset Plaza Drive sober living facility in California. Their son Zach is a co-founder of

World Liberty Financial World Liberty Financial is a decentralized finance protocol and cryptocurrency company founded in 2024. It has been noted for directly advertising its connection with Donald Trump and his family. A ''New York Times'' investigation described it as ...

, a

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...

company. Their son Alexander is co-CEO of the Witkoff Group. In 2019, Witkoff relocated from New York City to Florida, and settled in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

. Since at least 2024, Witkoff has been in a relationship with Lauren Olaya, who often accompanies him. Witkoff has been on the executive committee for the Real Estate Board of New York, and is a trustee for the Intrepid Foundation, and on the board of trustees of

(since 2015).

References

External links

Witkoff.com"WATCH: Steve Witkoff speaks at 2024 Republican National Convention , 2024 RNC Night 4,"
PBS, July 18, 2024 (''video''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Witkoff, Steve 1957 births Living people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American diplomats 21st-century American Jews American billionaires American businesspeople in real estate American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American real estate investors Businesspeople from Manhattan Businesspeople from the Bronx Diplomats from New York City Hofstra University alumni Jewish American government officials 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 Real property lawyers Second Trump administration personnel United States special envoys