Jared Kushner a prospective Dodgers owner
Jared Kushner, born into a prominent New York real estate family and son-in-law of Donald Trump, has emerged as a candidate in the bidding for the Dodgers.
Kushner, who became owner and publisher of the New York Observer in 2006, has played a key role in expanding the family business beyond real estate. At 31, he would be the youngest owner in Major League Baseball.
The Kushner bid is one of at least nine to advance to the second round of the Dodgers’ ownership sweepstakes. The bid has not previously surfaced publicly and was confirmed by a person familiar with the sale process but not authorized to discuss it.
Kushner could not be reached for comment. Dodgers spokesman Robert Siegfried also could not be reached for comment.
The person familiar with the sale process said Kushner is working with UBS Vice Chairman Aryeh Bourkoff, whose expertise includes investment banking in media and technology.
Bourkoff has worked on deals involving such parties as Comcast, Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable, all of which have been mentioned as potential backers of a Dodgers-owned regional sports network.
The bid would be funded primarily by the Kushner family, whose net worth is not publicly available. In 2006, the Kushner Cos. bought a Manhattan office complex for $1.8 billion — at the time, the highest price paid for an office building in the United States, according to the New York Times.
The bid does not include Kushner’s father, Charles, the person familiar with the sale process said. In 2005, the elder Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering, according to news reports.
In 2009, Jared Kushner married Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald. The couple appeared on an episode of the television series “Gossip Girl,” according to a New York Times profile last year.
Despite buying a newspaper and marrying into the Trump family, Kushner told the New York Times he did not wish to embrace the public spotlight.
“I quickly learned that there really wasn’t much benefit to being out there,” he said.
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