Murray Kushner

Kushner's parents, Joseph Kushner and Rae Kushner were Jews born in eastern Poland and Holocaust survivors, who came to America from the USSR[1] by way of Italy in 1949.[2] His father worked as a construction worker and concurrently as an independent builder, while investing in real estate, eventually building a portfolio totaling 4,000 New Jersey apartments.[3][4] The Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy and the Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School, in Livingston, New Jersey, built by Charles Kushner, are named after them.[3][5] Murray Kushner has two sisters, Esther and Linda, and a younger brother, Charles.[1] Murray graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, and then went on to obtain a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[1]

After school, he worked for the family real estate business, and after his father's death, he and his siblings equally divided ownership of the company.[1] His relationship with his brother eventually deteriorated over investment decisions, especially Murray's veto on the purchase of Berkshire Realty, a firm that owned 24,000 apartments, which would have made Kushner Properties the largest privately held real-estate firm in the region.[1] In 2000, the brothers decided to no longer work together as business partners.[1] His firm The KRE Group, has since grown to more than 100 full-time employees, with a portfolio of 9,000 apartments and 6 million square feet of office and industrial property.[6]

KRE has developed projects throughout the Northeast Corridor, with several located in Downtown Jersey City.[7][8][9] In July, 2014, the company began construction on the first phase of Journal Squared, a residential development adjacent to the Journal Square Transportation Center. The project will be constructed in three phases, and is approved for a total of 1,838 units, including a 70-story building, which will be one of the tallest buildings in Jersey City when completed.[10][11][12][13][14]

Kushner married Lee Kushner,[1] and they raised their children in Modern Orthodox Judaism.[15] He has two sons, Jon and Ari. His first wife died and he remarried. His wife came into the marriage with a son and daughter. His son Jonathan Kushner has taken over The KRE Group. [16][17] He has a son Ari Kushner that passed away on September 16, 2020. His son Marc is an architect and married Christopher Barley in a Jewish ceremony in 2012. [15] Kushner is a prominent supporter of governor Chris Christie.[16] His wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the mid-1990s, and they dedicate much of their philanthropic activities to finding a cure.[18] He remains estranged from his brother Charles Kushner.[16]