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By Monica Sager
Live News Reporter
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President-elect Donald Trump announced businessman Steven Witkoff will serve as his Special Envoy to the Middle East.
Witkoff, 67, is a real estate investor and the founder of the Witkoff Group. He has been a part of Trump's campaign since his speech about his "close friend" at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July. Witkoff was also playing golf with Trump in West Palm Beach on September 15 when a suspected assassination was attempted against the former president.
"Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous," Trump wrote in a statement Tuesday. "Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud."
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At the RNC, after being introduced by his son Zach, Witkoff shared about the "hard work, unwavering loyalty and perseverance" he sees in Trump. Witkoff told the Milwaukee crowd how Trump was there for him after his son, Andrew, died from an opioid overdose, relating it to Elvis Presley's song "An American Trilogy."
"I thought of that song after my dear friend was shot a few days ago, I gave him a call. I expected to leave him a voicemail, so it surprised me when he answered the phone. "But he picked up the phone and said, 'Hi, Steve, I'm really glad you called how are you how are you kids?' It surprised me, but it shouldn't have. I know this man very well. President Trump is as kind and compassionate a man as I've ever met my lifetime."
Witkoff previously told Newsweek that Trump's plans to help lower corporate taxes in 2017 would help grow businesses like his.
"I think you've got to create all those conditions that get the private sector to want to invest," Witkoff told Newsweek. "The president's game plan is more growth. Let's add several trillion more dollars of GDP, expand the tax net, lower the amount that you pay, but expand it.
"More tax revenue means we're going to pay down the deficit."
What is Steven Witkoff's net worth?
Witkoff, who lives in the Upper East Side in Manhattan, now has a net worth estimated over $500 million, according to reporting by the Palm Beach Post.
Witkoff became friends with Trump in the 1990s when he was building up his billion-dollar real estate empire and Trump was buying up properties in Manhattan. Two decades later, Witkoff owns 51 properties—including large buildings in London, Miami, and New York—and has a home in Miami Beach where he lives four months of the year.
In 1985, Witkoff partnered with Dreyer & Traub attorney Laurence Gluck to found Stellar Management. The company expanded to lower Manhattan, and later secured financing to purchase 33 Maiden Lane.
In 1998, he partnered with Robin Schron to purchase the Woolworth Building for $137.5 million. His portfolio continued to expand to areas in Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia.
Update: 11/12/24, 6:24 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.
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