Steven Charles Witkoff (born March 15, 1957) is an American real estate investor and former attorney who is the 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 has also acted as a de facto envoy to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, Witkoff earned a BA in political science and a JD from Hofstra University. After starting his career as a real estate attorney, he shifted to property development in New York and Miami. Witkoff acquired buildings in Manhattan, including the Daily News Building and the Woolworth Building. 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.
During the second Trump administration, Witkoff has been a prominent negotiator in the Russia–Ukraine War where he was criticized for perceived pro-Russian positions in negotiations and for allegedly advising the Russian government on how to negotiate. Witkoff has also been active in negotiations in the Middle East. During his tenure in the second Trump administration, he and his family have maintained extensive business ties with Middle East governments, including through World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm founded by his sons and Trump family members, raising conflict of interest concerns. As of April 2026, Forbes estimated his net worth at US$2.3 billion. One year into his tenure in the second Trump administration, Witkoff had increased his wealth by 15%, primarily driven by his investments into World Liberty Financial.
Early life Witkoff was born in the Bronx in New York City, and raised in Baldwin Harbor and Old Westbury on Long Island. He is the son of Martin Witkoff and Lois née Birnbaum; Witkoff is Jewish. His father was the president of a women's clothing manufacturer named George Simonton Inc., and his mother was an interior designer.
Witkoff began his studies at Union College in Schenectady, New York, but he chose to transfer to Hofstra University, where he earned a BA in political science in 1980. In 1983, he graduated with a JD from Hofstra Law School.
Witkoff's first job as a lawyer was with the firm, Dreyer & Traub in New York City. Donald Trump was a client, and they met through work in 1986. They later developed a business relationship which evolved into a personal friendship.
Private sector career Witkoff began his career as a real estate lawyer. In November 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Peers in the real-estate world invariably describe Witkoff [...] as smart, personable, and a talented negotiator with a common touch."
Stellar Management In 1985, he co-founded Stellar Management, partnering with fellow Dreyer & Traub real estate attorney Larry Gluck—"Stellar" is derived from the names "Steve" and "Larry"—gradually switching their careers from the practice of law to owning and managing real estate. They purchased inexpensive apartment buildings in Washington Heights, Manhattan and the Northwest Bronx; at one point they owned 85 buildings with over 3,000 apartments. In 1995, he expanded into lower Manhattan, buying several inexpensive office buildings. In 1996, he secured financing from Credit Suisse First Boston for the purchase of 33 Maiden Lane, a 27-story tower designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee; the following year, he leased the top 13 floors of the building to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for a 25-year term.
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. In 1996, he and business partner Rubin Schron purchased the Daily News Building 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 initial public offering (IPO) 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 purchased the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park South in Manhattan for $660 million. 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. Over time, Witkoff diversified into higher-profile properties, including landmark buildings in Manhattan such as the Woolworth Building in Tribeca.
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 for $600 million. The property was scheduled to open in 2020 as The Drew, named after Witkoff's late son Andrew. However, construction stopped in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada. In February 2021, Koch Real Estate Investments 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 loan for the redevelopment of the Shore Club Private Collection in Miami Beach.
In July 2025, Bloomberg reported that Witkoff sold a property on the Miami Beach waterfront for more than double its purchase price. In 2025, Witkoff partnered with Len Blavatnik and Barry Sternlicht on a stalled Miami Beach project.
First Donald Trump administration 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, including Witkoff. At the time, the Witkoff Group was facing financial problems, making the Qatari financing important.
Second Donald Trump administration After his appointment as the second Donald Trump administration's envoy to the Middle East, Witkoff maintained extensive business ties in the Middle East. In early 2025, as Witkoff was engaged in high-stakes negotiations with Middle Eastern governments over a ceasefire in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, his son Alexander was soliciting several of the same governments for billions of dollars of investment into his enterprises, including the cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial (WLF). When asked about possible conflicts of interest in September 2025 (he had retained ownership in the Witkoff Group), a White House spokesperson said Witkoff was "finalizing" his divestment from the firm. In April 2026, Forbes reported that Witkoff had increased his wealth by 15% over the course of one year in the Trump administration.
In September 2026, Witkoff traveled to Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for approximately three hours alongside Jared Kushner as part of renewed U.S. efforts to negotiate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They then visited Kyiv for the first time as envoys and met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Political career In April 2020, during the first presidency of Donald Trump, Witkoff had a minor role as 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.
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 attempted to assassinate Trump. A Secret Service officer fired at the gunman, who fled in a vehicle and was later apprehended.
Second Trump presidency 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.
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.
During Trump's second term, he was appointed special envoy to the Middle East. In December 2024, before Trump formally took office, Witkoff worked to help push negotiations that led to a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January and October 2025.
While in office, he played a role in key geopolitical negotiations, including on issues unrelated to the Middle East, and was appointed Special Envoy for Peace Missions on July 3, 2025.
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. 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.
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."
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 did not mention an Israeli retreat from positions in Gaza after half of the hostages had 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."