Kushner's Affinity Partners still looking for Middle East deals

Context: At the BFD, Kushner said the pivot to private equity wasn't a plan, even though the entity, Affinity Partners, was incorporated soon after his departure from the White House.

• Miami-based Affinity Partners is backed by $2 billion from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.

What they're saying: "That was just a name that I set up as a shell entity," Kushner said.

• "I didn't know what we were going to do exactly," he said.

Yes, but: Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, and the subsequent war in Gaza have complicated efforts to bring Middle Eastern investment to Israel. But Affinity is still looking.

• "We're actively looking at several other deals in Israel right now, " he said.