Who

Kushner is a billionaire real estate developer, former Democratic power-broker, and convicted felon. He's also the father of Jared Kushner, the titular owner of the New York Observer.

Backstory

Charles Kushner's father, Joseph, arrived in the U.S. in 1949 and started out as a construction worker before moving into real estate, gradually assembling a portfolio of 4,000 apartment units in New Jersey over the course of three decades. Joseph later bequeathed his real estate assets to his two sons, Charles and Murray, and the younger of the two, Charles, who had been working as a real estate and tax lawyer, stepped in as CEO in 1985. Charlie Kushner set out on an aggressive expansion plan, extending the firm's reach beyond its traditional New Jersey territory, acquiring property in New York Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland and diversifying into new businesses, picking up stakes in insurance, banking and telecommunications companies. But his reputation as a savvy investor was soon eclipsed by his legal troubles, which split the family into two factions and landed Charles in jail (see below).

Despite his legal troubles, though, the company has continued to expand. In 2006, Kushner engineered his biggest deal yet when he acquired 666 Fifth Avenue from Jerry Speyer for a record-breaking $1.8 billion. He later sold off some 17,500 apartments in New Jersey in an effort to focus the company's attention on his New York properties (not to mention pay for 666 Fifth). Today Kushner Cos. controls some 7,500 apartments and 6.5 million square feet of commercial space, including the fabled Puck Building in SoHo.

Scandal

Although he'd been one of Jersey's most powerful developers for years, Kushner only really became a household name in 2004 when twin scandals enveloped his career and left him disgraced and incarcerated. One of the state's most prominent political donors, Kushner had channeled millions to Democratic candidates since the '90s and was one of Jim McGreevey's primary backers when he launched a bid for governor. In 2004, it came to light that Kushner had skirted campaign finance laws, making political donations in the names of his real estate partners without their consent, a scheme that allowed him to direct millions to candidates like McGreevey, who received more than $1.5 million from the real estate developer between 1997 and 2001.

The scandal got messier when it was revealed that Kushner's brother and sister, Murray and Esther—both of whom had been at odds with Charles over various financial matters—had cooperated with the federal investigation into his campaign activities, and that Charles had retaliated for the perceived betrayal by hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law. (He sent a videotape of the encounter to his sister on the day of a family gathering.) With attorney Ben Brafman at his side, Kushner pleaded guilty in federal court to 18 charges, including retaliating against a federal witness and violating campaign finance laws. He received a two year prison sentence as part of the plea (and paid a $508,900 fine), becoming Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate No. 26526-050 in April of 2005. He was released early on August 26, 2006.

Campaign trail

Prior to the scandal, Kushner was one of the largest Democratic fundraisers in the area, directing donations to Hillary Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and of course McGreevey, whose own career was interrupted by scandal when his affair with one of his staffers, Golan Cipel, was exposed. After the allegations against Kushner surfaced, many of his campaign contributions were returned or handed over to charity, and he's wisely avoided making any political contributions since his release from prison in 2006. He still maintains close ties to McGreevey, though. In 2007, Kushner hired McGreevey's romantic partner, Mark O'Donnell, as his chief investment officer.

Pet cause

A religious Jew, Kushner has funded a variety of Jewish institutions over the years, including the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy in Livingston, New Jersey, one of the largest Orthodox schools in the state. He's also donated heavily to Harvard, where Jared and Josh went to college, and to NYU, where Jared attended the JD/MBA program.

Personal

Kushner and his wife, Seryl, have four kids: Dara, Jared, Nicole, and Josh. It's Jared who has emerged as his father's likely successor. In 2006, with help from his father, Jared purchased the Observer for $10 million. But he's also been increasingly active in his father's real estate business, serving as the new, more PR-friendly face of the company. (It was Jared, for example, who announced the purchase of 666 Fifth Avenue.) The Kushners divide their time between a Livingston, NJ home purchased for $5.6 million in 2004, an apartment on East 67th Street, a beachfront house in Long Branch, NJ, and a condo in Bal Harbour.

True story

Kushner makes an appearance in Dan Golden's 2006 book, The Price of Admission. Golden describes Kushner's donation of $2.5 million to Harvard as one of the most egregious examples of buying admission into an Ivy League school.