The Witkoff Group
Real estate investment and development firm founded by Steve Witkoff in 1997, now led by his sons Alex (CEO) and Zach (EVP); owner of trophy assets including the Woolworth Building and the Park Lane Hotel, it drew divestment scrutiny after Witkoff became Trump's Middle East envoy.
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- Established
- 1997
- Country
- United States
- What it is
- New York-based real estate investment, operating and full-service development firm
- Founded
- 1997, by Steven Witkoff
- Scale
- More than 70 properties in major U.S. and overseas business districts, per the founder's biography; offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami
- Leadership
- Steven Witkoff, founder and chairman; Alex Witkoff, chief executive officer; Zach Witkoff, executive vice president of development
- Notable assets
- The Woolworth Building (acquired 1998); the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel (acquired in 2013 for $660 million by a Witkoff-led consortium)
- Envoy-era scrutiny
- Nearly $107 million in 2025 income from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial, per 2026 disclosures; the White House says Witkoff has 'fully divested'
Overview
The Witkoff Group is the family real estate empire behind one of Donald Trump’s most important negotiators. Founded in 1997 by Steven Witkoff — a Bronx-born lawyer-turned-developer who has been Trump’s friend since a 1986 deal — the firm describes itself as “one part developer, one part investor (and) one part landscape-changer,” with more than 70 properties across major U.S. and overseas business districts (NPR). By 2025 the company was effectively a family operation: Witkoff’s son Alex ran it as chief executive while his son Zach served as executive vice president of development (NPR). When Witkoff became Trump’s special Middle East envoy in November 2024, the firm’s assets — and his own entanglements with the Trump family’s crypto ventures — made his divestments a matter of public scrutiny (ABC News).
The firm and its scale
Steven Witkoff practiced real estate law before going into development, and the Witkoff Group was his vehicle from 1997 onward (NPR). In the company’s own 2013 account — published alongside its biggest hotel acquisition — the firm said that over the prior 15 years it had acquired more than 60 properties totaling about 18 million square feet in major central business districts across the United States and London, covering office buildings, hotels and more than 12,000 residential units at a total cost of roughly $7 billion (Hotel Executive). The firm keeps offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami, and Forbes estimated Witkoff’s personal wealth at $1 billion in 2024 (NPR).
A family operation
The Witkoff Group’s leadership chart reads like a family tree. NPR reported that Witkoff remains the firm’s chairman, his son Alex is the chief executive officer, and his son Zach is the executive vice president of development (NPR). The family ties run through the Trump relationship too: at the 2024 Republican National Convention, Witkoff called Trump “my dear friend” and recounted that Trump showed up for him after his son Andrew died of an opioid overdose in 2011 (NPR). Zach’s son, born in December 2024, was named Don James after the president (NPR). Steve Witkoff and Zach Witkoff each have their own profiles on this site.
Trophy deals
Two purchases defined the firm’s New York footprint. In 1998, the Witkoff Group partnered with Rubie Schron’s Cammeby’s International to acquire the landmark Woolworth Building (CRE Daily). The partners later sold the top 30 floors to Alchemy Properties for $68 million in 2012 for a luxury-condo conversion, while keeping the office portion — which they refinanced in 2026 with a $278.9 million Blackstone loan arranged by Iron Hound Management (CRE Daily).
The larger splash came on November 27, 2013, when a consortium led by the Witkoff Group closed on the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel at 36 Central Park South for $660 million (Hotel Executive). The majority backer was Jynwel Capital, and the other partners were New Valley LLC, Highgate Holdings and Macklowe Properties; the seller was the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust (Hotel Executive). The 47-story, 605-key, 446,000-square-foot hotel was to be upgraded and rebranded as the Park Lane New York, with financing from Wells Fargo and Criterion Real Estate Capital (Hotel Executive).
The envoy-era entanglement
Witkoff’s appointment as special Middle East envoy in November 2024 — a week after Trump’s election, a reflection of the two men’s closeness — put his business holdings under a microscope (NPR). The sharpest scrutiny came from World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency firm he co-founded with Trump and members of their families (ABC News). According to financial disclosures obtained by a government watchdog and reported by ABC News in September 2026, Witkoff made nearly $107 million in 2025 from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty; he had at one point been listed as a “co-founder emeritus” on the company’s website, a title he shared with Trump (ABC News). The firm is operated by Zach Witkoff and Trump’s three sons, and it has secured preliminary approval from the Trump administration to operate as a bank (ABC News).
World Liberty has repeatedly brushed aside conflict-of-interest concerns: in May 2025 it said Witkoff was in the process of divesting, with “no operational role, no financial interest in WLFI deals, and no influence on day-to-day decisions” (ABC News). In September 2026, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told ABC News that Witkoff has now “fully divested from World Liberty Financial, and his prior commercial activities are completely unrelated to his efforts to end global conflicts on the President’s behalf” (ABC News). Trump himself reported earning $526 million from World Liberty token sales and another $65 million from equity sales, per financial disclosures filed in the summer of 2026 (ABC News).
What this profile does not claim
This profile does not state a single purchase price for the 1998 Woolworth Building acquisition: published reports give $126.5 million (The New York Times), $137.5 million (CRE Daily) and $146 million (The Real Deal), and the profile does not choose among them. It does not repeat reports that Witkoff sold a portion of his family real-estate-business stake for about $120 million on becoming an envoy, because those reports were not read in full. It does not assert how much of the Witkoff Group Witkoff still owns, because the extent of the 2025–2026 divestments could not be verified to this site’s standard. And it does not describe the firm’s current development pipeline, which was not confirmed by a source read in full.
Timeline
- 1997
- Steven Witkoff, a former real estate lawyer, founds the Witkoff Group in New York City.
- 1998
- The firm acquires the Woolworth Building in partnership with Rubie Schron's Cammeby's International.
- 2012
- Alchemy Properties buys the top 30 floors of the Woolworth Building from Witkoff and Cammeby's for $68 million.
- 2013
- A consortium led by the Witkoff Group closes on the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel for $660 million on November 27.
- 2024
- Witkoff is named Trump's special Middle East envoy in November; Forbes estimates his wealth at $1 billion.
- 2026
- ABC News reports Witkoff made nearly $107 million in 2025 from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial; a White House spokesperson says he has "fully divested."
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Published reports give the 1998 Woolworth Building purchase price differently — $126.5 million (The New York Times, 2014), $137.5 million (CRE Daily) and $146 million (The Real Deal); this profile states no single figure.
- Reports that Witkoff sold a portion of his stake in the family real estate business for about $120 million upon becoming an envoy were not read in full and are not stated here.
- The extent of any remaining Witkoff Group ownership after the 2025–2026 divestments could not be verified from a source read in full.
- The firm's current development pipeline and portfolio size beyond the figures cited here were not confirmed by a source read in full.
Sources
4 sources (2 tier 1, 1 tier 2, 1 tier 3), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
The firm's founding, scale and family leadership come from an NPR profile read in full via a WCLK republication and credited to NPR. The Park Lane Hotel deal and the firm's own portfolio figures come from the November 27, 2013 acquisition announcement, read in full on the Hotel Executive newswire. The Woolworth Building history comes from CRE Daily, read in full. The envoy-era financial reporting comes from an ABC News investigation read in full via a JAM Broadcasting republication and credited to ABC News.
- Supports: The 1997 founding and Witkoff remaining chairman; the "over 70 properties in major business districts in the U.S. as well as abroad" biography quote; the New York, Los Angeles and Miami offices; Alex Witkoff as CEO and Zach Witkoff as executive vice president of development; Forbes's $1 billion 2024 wealth estimate; the November 2024 special Middle East envoy appointment; the Trump friendship dating to a 1986 deal; the 2024 Republican National Convention speech; the 2011 death of son Andrew from an opioid overdose. Open original source
- Supports: The nearly $107 million in 2025 income from a holding company affiliated with World Liberty Financial, per disclosures obtained by a government watchdog; the "co-founder emeritus" title shared with Trump; the firm being operated by Zach Witkoff and Trump's three sons; the preliminary approval for World Liberty to operate as a bank; World Liberty's May 2025 statement that Witkoff was divesting and had no operational role; Trump's reported $526 million in token-sale revenue and $65 million in equity sales; White House spokesperson Anna Kelly's statement that Witkoff has "fully divested." Open original source
- Supports: The 1998 acquisition of the Woolworth Building by Witkoff and Schron (Cammeby's); Alchemy Properties' 2012 purchase of the top 30 floors for $68 million; the 2026 $278.9 million Blackstone refinance of the office portion of the building at 233 Broadway. Open original source
- Supports: The $660 million November 27, 2013 acquisition of the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel at 36 Central Park South by a consortium led by the Witkoff Group with majority backer Jynwel Capital and partners New Valley LLC, Highgate Holdings and Macklowe Properties; the 47-story, 605-key, 446,000-square-foot hotel; the seller (the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust); the rebrand as the Park Lane New York; and the firm's own bio — founded by Steven Witkoff in 1997, over 60 properties of about 18 million square feet in major U.S. central business districts and London, representing about $7 billion in total cost. Open original source
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