Steven Witkoff is an American real estate investor and developer, attorney, and philanthropist, who currently serves as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is the founder and chairman of the Witkoff Group who began his career as a real estate attorney, before transitioning to property investment and development. His notable acquisitions include the Daily News Building, the Woolworth Building, 33 Maiden Lane, and the Park Lane Hotel in Manhattan.
During the first presidency of Donald Trump in 2020, Witkoff was a member of the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups, which were created to combat the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. In November 2024, then President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would appoint Witkoff to be the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East, and before Witkoff took office he played a key role in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in January 2025.
Steven Witkoff is additionally Founder and Chairman of Witkoff, which he founded in 1997. Since founding the firm, Mr. Witkoff has leveraged his extensive real estate expertise to successfully lead the financing, repositioning, and construction of over 70 properties in major business districts in the U.S. as well as abroad and with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Before founding Witkoff, Mr. Witkoff co-founded Stellar Management Company, where he acquired and repositioned a portfolio of residential buildings in New York City. Earlier in his career, he practiced real estate law at Dreyer & Traub and Rosenman & Colin, where he represented a number of large developers and investors.
Mr. Witkoff earned a J.D. from Hofstra University. He has served on the Executive Committee for the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) as a trustee for the Intrepid Foundation, and as a board member for the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. Mr. Witkoff currently serves as Chairman of the University of Miami Business School Real Estate Advisory Board and is a member of the Hofstra University Board of Trustees. In October 2019, he was honored with a Presidential appointment to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is a widely sought-after public speaker on trends in global real estate.