Yahoo Finance Josh Kushner Is Still Backing Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, Brushing Off Ye’s Rant
(Bloomberg) -- Josh Kushner, a venture capitalist and brother of the former White House senior adviser, responded publicly Wednesday to comments from Ye for the first time since the hip-hop icon criticized one of Kushner’s investments.
Most Read from Bloomberg
A Tense Pay Dispute Overshadows Nintendo’s Upcoming Bayonetta 3
Putin’s War Escalation Is Hastening Demographic Crash for Russia
Chinese Economists Tally Cost of Putin’s War, Warn on Deep Scars
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, wrote “F--- Josh Kushner” in a since-deleted Instagram post condemning an investment by Kushner’s VC firm in SKIMS, an underwear company created by the rapper’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. Soon after, Ye’s accounts on Instagram and Twitter were restricted for posting anti-Semitic comments. (Those later posts weren’t specifically directed at Kushner, who is Jewish.)
“Getting called out by Kanye on Instagram was not on last week’s bingo card for me,” Kushner, the founder of Thrive Capital, said onstage in response to a question at the Bloomberg Invest conference in New York. “We feel really fortunate to work with [SKIMS] in particular and to support Kim and Jens and Emma and all of the people involved.”
The beef with Kushner centers on a disparity in their holdings of Kardashian’s company. Ye said he has 5% of shares and was surprised to learn Kushner’s Thrive has 10%. Ye thinks he should have more. His anti-Semitic comments are harder to explain. He had tweeted that he would go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” an apparent reference to the defense condition DEFCON.
“On a personal level and a human level, I think some of the comments that were made, specifically around anti-Semitism, were disappointing to me,” Kushner said at the Bloomberg conference.
Ye had elaborated on his views in an interview with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson last week. He again criticized Kushner as well as his brother, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of former President Donald Trump. Ye said a peace agreement Jared helped negotiate between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain was designed just “to make money.” He further criticized the Kushner family’s wealth.
The Kanye situation aside, Kushner and a general partner at Thrive Capital, Kareem Zaki, showed optimism for a rebound in the technology industry and for health tech in particular. “I think there will be a reawakening of digital health post-Covid,” he said, in part because of the new digital methods physicians can use to treat patients.
Thrive has built and incubated several companies. Zaki, while at Thrive, helped start the health-tech businesses Cedar and Cadence.
Another Thrive investment, a real estate financing company called Cadre, said in June that co-founder Ryan Williams was stepping aside from the CEO role. Kushner suggested the move was a sign of Williams’ self-awareness.
“He’s really scaled the business to an incredible point,” Kushner said. At the time of his decision, Williams’ mindset was, “I actually think this thing can be so much bigger” and, “How do I bring in someone who is exceptional?” Kushner said. Jared Kaplan, a longtime fintech executive, is the new CEO.
The creator economy is another area Kushner identified as a focus. “One of the things that’s really interesting is the growth of the creator,” he said. “That can be around recognizable individuals like Kim Kardashian and SKIMS, which we invested in, but also new people coming up on new mediums and platforms. We invested in Patreon and Twitch, which have enabled a whole new category of individuals.”
The relationship between Kushner and Zaki dates back to Harvard University, where they were classmates. Kushner reflected on his time in college, saying the friendships he made there were more important than any major. Kushner and Zaki also said they’re excited to work with someone they didn’t go to school with — former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, who said he would join the investment firm as a partner in September.
(Updates with creator economy comment in the penultimate paragraph. A previous version corrected the name of a startup Zaki co-founded and rectified an omission from Kushner’s SKIMS quote.)
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
A Digital Drive to Reform the $11 Trillion Global Gold Market
Exxon’s Exodus: Employees Have Finally Had Enough of Its Toxic Culture
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
