Steve Witkoff: Who is the real estate mogul tasked with brokering peace in Ukraine?
As the world waits for Russia’s next move over the US-proposed ceasefire deal with Ukraine, only one man has been trusted to head up Donald Trump’s envoy to Moscow – and he’s far from the typical diplomat.
Initially named as Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy shortly after the US election, Steve Witkoff has since been involved in negotiations with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine.
His surprise trip to Moscow last month to achieve the release of US citizen Marc Fogel seemed to secure the 67-year-old as the US leader’s geopolitical dealmaker-in-chief.
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Off the back of his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Witkoff is believed to be seeing him again later this week to discuss diplomatic proposals – though the Kremlin is yet to confirm this.
He has been chosen to go to Moscow by Mr Trump over US secretary of state Marco Rubio, who on paper is the country’s top diplomat, and Keith Kellogg, who was assigned to be the US envoy for Russia-Ukraine peace talks back in January.
So who is Steve Witkoff, and how important a figure will he be as the US tries to navigate peace between Russia and Ukraine?
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From New York real estate to the Oval Office
Born in the Bronx, New York State, Mr Witkoff trained as a lawyer in real estate before turning his hand to property development.
In the 1990s he created his company, the Witkoff Group, which owns a number of properties in New York, most notably the Park Lane Hotel and The Woolworth Building.
Similarly to Mr Trump, he brought his close family members into his company, including his wife, Lauren Rappoport, and their sons Zach and Alexander, who is co-chief executive.
As of 2019, the Witkoff Group owned almost 50 properties across the US and the rest of the world.
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‘My dear friend President Trump’
The billionaire has known Mr Trump for decades, having first met him through a New York real estate company where the now president was a client.
Having remained close, the pair bonded over their mutual love of golf, and weredescribed by US senator Lindsey Graham as “longtime golf buddies”.
Mr Witkoff was one of those on the fifth hole with the president at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September last year, when a second apparent assassination attempt was made on his life.
Mr Trump and Mr Witkoff back in 2018. Pic: AP
But despite being regular opponents on the course, Mr Witkoff and Mr Trump are very much aligned in politics, with the businessman having donated to the Republican Party during the 2024 election.
He even spoke at the Republican National Convention back in July last year, where he said he had the “privilege” of calling Mr Trump a “true and dear friend for many years, in good times and bad times”.
Mr Witkoff also firmly backed Mr Trump’s foreign policy, saying at the inauguration parade: “We are done carrying the financial burden of nations that are unwilling to fund their own progress.
“The days of blank checks are over”.
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A critical player in Middle East negotiations
During Mr Trump’s first term in office, Mr Witkoff played a more minor role, serving as one of the president’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups – which aimed to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was over lunch with Mr Trump after his second election win that Mr Witkoff reportedly broached the idea of working on the Middle East – a region he has extensive business ties with, according to NBC.
“That stunned me because I didn’t know he was that interested in the Middle East,” Senator Graham told NBC back in January, while discussing Mr Witkoff’s appointment.
“And Trump looked at me and said: ‘Well, a million people have tried. Let’s pick a nice guy who’s a smart guy’.”
Mr Trump and Mr Witkoff speaking in January. Pic: AP
Since the beginning of the year, Mr Witkoff has proven to be a critical player in negotiations between Israel and Hamas – helping to secure January’s ceasefire deal which has so far seen the release of some of the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
One person familiar with the negotiations described Mr Witkoff to NBC as someone who is “very much engaged” with “his heart is in the right place”.
A Middle Eastern diplomat, who spoke with NBC on condition of anonymity at the time, added that the businessman was a tough negotiator but was also able to “empathise” with parents who have lost their children on both sides of the conflict, as he openly spoke about his son Andrew, who died of an OxyContin overdose in 2011 aged 22.
US delegation – featuring Mr Witkoff – meets with Saudi and Russian officials. Pic: Reuters
Growing criticism
Despite praise for Mr Witkoff’s approach to geopolitics, there is also growing criticism against him.
Shortly after his visit to Gaza back in January, he backed Mr Trump’s surprise announcement that the US wanted to “develop” the region and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.
Mr Trump suggested that Gaza’s two million people would not return to their territory under the plans, which has been widely criticised as amounting to ethnic cleansing.
Mr Witkoff said he had developed a ‘friendship’ with Vladimir Putin
Mr Witkoff also faces questions over his first private meeting with President Putin last month, in which he said he had developed a “friendship” with the Russian leader.
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Speaking about his relationship with Mr Putin, he said: “I spent a lot of time with Putin. Talking and developing a friendship and relationship with him…”
He claimed their conversation lasted over three hours.
However, the details of the conversation and what was discussed have never been released, with only translators present at the time.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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