Quick Answer
Josh Kushner (full name Joshua Kushner) is an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur, born June 12, 1985, in Livingston, New Jersey. He is the founder, owner, and managing partner of Thrive Capital, a New York-based venture capital firm he started in 2009 that now manages roughly $50 billion in assets. He is also co-founder and vice-chairman of Oscar Health, a minority owner of the Miami Heat, and — as of August 2026 — part of an agreement to buy the Los Angeles Lakers alongside former Disney CEO Bob Iger. He is married to model Karlie Kloss and is the younger brother of Jared Kushner.
If you only remember one thing about Josh Kushner, make it this: he built his fortune independently of the Kushner family real estate business, largely by getting into companies like Instagram, Spotify, GitHub, Stripe, and OpenAI before the rest of the world understood how big they’d become.
Early Life and Education
Kushner grew up in Livingston, New Jersey, in a Jewish family, the youngest son of real estate developer Charles Kushner and Seryl Kushner. Before college, he spent time at a Modern Orthodox yeshiva in Israel. He then enrolled at Harvard College in 2004, majoring in government and political science — not finance or computer science, which makes his later pivot into tech investing a little less obvious than it looks in hindsight.
While at Harvard, Kushner co-founded a student pop-culture publication called Scene during his sophomore year. It wasn’t particularly well received, but it showed an early instinct for building things rather than just studying them.
The bigger move came in his junior year, in 2007. Along with two graduate students, Mario Schlosser and Daniel Kafie, Kushner pooled around $10,000 to launch Vostu, a social network aimed at Latin America — a kind of regional alternative to Facebook. Vostu didn’t work as a social network, but it pivoted into social gaming and eventually became one of Brazil’s largest gaming platforms, reaching tens of millions of registered users. It was Kushner’s first real lesson in how a startup can survive by reinventing itself.
After graduating from Harvard in 2008, Kushner spent roughly a year at Goldman Sachs in its merchant banking division before heading back to Harvard Business School, where he earned his MBA in 2011.
Founding Thrive Capital
Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009 — while he was still finishing his MBA. The firm’s original focus was on media and consumer internet startups, and it built its early reputation on a small number of high-conviction bets rather than a spray-and-pray approach.
The bet that put Thrive on the map was Instagram. Kushner was one of the earliest and largest investors in Instagram’s Series B round, and when Facebook acquired the photo-sharing app for roughly $1 billion in 2012, it validated Thrive’s whole approach: back founders early, stay close to them, and hold on.
From there, Thrive’s portfolio kept expanding into companies that became household names or category leaders, including:
- Instagram (acquired by Facebook)
- Spotify
- GitHub
- Twitch (acquired by Amazon)
- GroupMe (acquired by Skype)
- Warby Parker
- Stripe
- Wiz (cybersecurity)
- Databricks
- Ramp
- OpenAI
Thrive’s fund sizes grew alongside its returns. It raised roughly $400 million for its early funds around 2014, climbed to a $3.3 billion fund by 2023, and closed Thrive IX above $5 billion in 2024. In February 2026, Thrive announced its largest fund yet — <cite index=”1-1″>more than $10 billion, aimed at investing across artificial intelligence applications and infrastructure, space, robotics and life sciences</cite>. According to the firm, <cite index=”1-1″>the raise was heavily oversubscribed, meaning Thrive turned away billions of dollars in additional prospective capital</cite>.
The OpenAI Bet
Thrive’s relationship with OpenAI is probably the single investment that’s done the most to build Kushner’s reputation as a top-tier venture investor. Thrive invested in OpenAI at a $29 billion valuation back in 2022. During OpenAI’s board turmoil in late 2023 — when Sam Altman was briefly ousted and reinstated — Kushner was reportedly one of the investors who worked to support Altman and stabilize the company. Not long after, Thrive negotiated a further billion-dollar investment at a $150 billion valuation, along with an exclusive right to invest an additional billion at that same valuation through January 2026 — effectively locking in a favorable position before OpenAI’s valuation kept climbing.
Oscar Health
Outside of pure venture investing, Kushner co-founded Oscar Health in 2012 alongside Mario Schlosser and Kevin Nazemi. Oscar set out to modernize health insurance using better technology, design, and data — essentially trying to make buying and using health insurance less painful, built around the individual insurance marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. Kushner has remained on Oscar’s board since its founding and has served as vice-chairman since 2021.
Notably, Kushner has described himself as politically liberal, which made Oscar Health’s foundation on Obamacare-era insurance markets a bit of an irony once his brother Jared became a senior adviser in the Trump White House.
Cadre and Other Ventures
In 2015, Kushner co-founded Cadre, a real estate investment technology platform, together with his brother Jared and a group of friends. Cadre was built to give both institutional and individual investors easier access to commercial real estate deals — a natural extension of the family’s real estate background, filtered through Josh’s tech-first instincts.
More recently, Thrive has moved beyond traditional software investing. In May 2026, the firm launched Thrive Eternal, an effort focused on acquiring and restoring iconic, culturally significant brands and franchises. Its first move was taking a minority stake in the San Francisco Giants. Thrive also created Thrive Holdings, an AI-focused arm that has raised billions in its own right and has been valued in the range of $12 billion.
Personal Life: Karlie Kloss and Family
Josh Kushner married supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss in 2018. The couple have three children together and are known for regularly attending the Met Gala. Despite the Kushner surname, Josh has generally kept his distance from the political spotlight that surrounds his brother Jared — he’s built a public identity centered on venture capital, sports ownership, and his marriage rather than politics.
Josh is the youngest of four Kushner siblings — Jared, Nicole, Dara, and Josh — the children of Charles and Seryl Kushner. Charles founded the family’s real estate company, Kushner Companies, in 1985; Jared now runs it as president and CEO. Josh holds a stake in the family business as a principal director but has built his own fortune almost entirely outside it, through Thrive Capital.
Net Worth
Estimates of Josh Kushner’s net worth vary by source and move constantly because so much of his wealth is tied up in private company valuations. As of August 2026, <cite index=”7-1″>Forbes’ real-time estimate placed his net worth at roughly $5.2 billion</cite>, with the bulk of that coming from his ownership stake in Thrive Capital — <cite index=”7-1″>Forbes estimates he owns around 66% of the firm</cite>. It’s worth noting that Thrive’s total assets under management (roughly $50 billion as of 2026) is not the same thing as Kushner’s personal wealth — that capital largely belongs to Thrive’s limited partners, not to Kushner himself.
Sports Ownership: Miami Heat and the Lakers
Kushner has been building a growing footprint in professional sports ownership for years, starting as a minority investor in the Miami Heat. That interest expanded dramatically in August 2026: reports emerged on August 12 that Kushner, together with former Disney CEO Bob Iger, had reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for approximately $12.5 billion — a deal that, if approved by the NBA, would rank among the largest sports franchise transactions in history. The deal still requires formal league approval before it can close.
Why Josh Kushner Matters in 2026
A few things make Kushner one of the more closely watched figures in venture capital and business right now:
- He’s one of the largest institutional believers in OpenAI, having built a position early and then aggressively defended and expanded it through the company’s most turbulent period.
- Thrive just raised its largest fund ever — over $10 billion — signaling continued confidence in AI, robotics, and space as the next big venture categories.
- He’s expanding into “trophy assets” beyond tech, from professional sports franchises to legacy brands through Thrive Eternal.
- He’s built independent wealth and identity apart from the more politically visible parts of the Kushner family name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Josh Kushner?
Josh Kushner is an American venture capitalist and entrepreneur, best known as the founder and managing partner of Thrive Capital. He is also co-founder and vice-chairman of Oscar Health and, as of 2026, part of an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers.
Is Josh Kushner related to Jared Kushner?
Yes. Josh Kushner is Jared Kushner’s younger brother. Jared is best known for his real estate career and his role as a senior adviser during Donald Trump’s presidency. Josh has built a separate career centered on venture capital and technology investing.
What companies has Josh Kushner invested in?
Through Thrive Capital, Kushner has invested in Instagram, Spotify, GitHub, Twitch, Stripe, OpenAI, Wiz, Databricks, Ramp, and Warby Parker, among others.
What is Josh Kushner’s net worth?
As of August 2026, Forbes estimates his real-time net worth at around $5.2 billion, based primarily on his ownership stake in Thrive Capital.
Who is Josh Kushner’s wife?
Josh Kushner is married to model and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss. They married in 2018 and have three children together.
Is Josh Kushner buying the Lakers?
As of August 2026, Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have reportedly reached an agreement to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers for approximately $12.5 billion, pending NBA approval.
What is Thrive Capital?
Thrive Capital is a New York-based venture capital firm founded by Josh Kushner in 2009. It focuses on technology and internet investments and manages approximately $50 billion in assets as of 2026.
This article reflects publicly reported information as of August 2026. Business valuations, deal terms, and ownership stakes involving private companies can change quickly, so figures like net worth and fund sizes should be treated as estimates rather than fixed facts.
