Joshua Kushner

Background

Joshua Kushner is an American businessman and venture capitalist, born in 1985 in New Jersey ¹. He is the son of real estate developer Charles Kushner and brother of Jared Kushner ¹. Kushner graduated from Harvard University (B.A. 2008) and Harvard Business School (MBA 2011) ². He married supermodel Karlie Kloss in 2018 ².

Before founding Thrive Capital, Kushner worked briefly at Goldman Sachs and co-founded the social gaming startup Vostu ². He began making angel investments in New York startups while still a student ².

Kushner founded Thrive Capital in 2009 at age 24 ¹³. Joel Cutler, co-founder of General Catalyst, provided the initial $5 million in seed money for the firm in 2010 and served as an early mentor ²³. The firm’s first fund raised $40 million in 2011 ³.

Thrive Capital has grown dramatically, raising progressively larger funds: $40M (Fund I, 2011), $150M (Fund III, 2012), $400M (Fund IV, 2014), $700M (Fund V, 2016), $1B (Fund VI, 2018), $2B (Fund VII, 2021), $3B (Fund VIII, 2022), $5B (Fund IX, 2024), and $10B (Fund X, 2026) ³⁴⁵. The firm now manages over $25 billion ³.

Kushner also co-founded Oscar Health, a technology-focused health insurance company that later went public ¹². He holds a minority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team (since 2019) ².

Forbes estimated Kushner’s net worth at $5.2 billion as of November 2025, primarily from his 96.7% ownership stake in Thrive Capital ². He was named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in AI in 2025 ⁶.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Kushner says publicly about his approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Kushner has described Thrive’s investment philosophy in several interviews:

• High-conviction, concentrated bets: Sam Altman has said of Kushner: “He invests in a style that is close to what I do myself. Josh makes high-conviction bets on high-quality companies and founders, and he doesn’t care too much about what other investors think” ².

• Partnership-oriented: Kushner has described Thrive as “an operating company whose product is partnership” and its mission as “to invest and be the most meaningful partner to those that we’re fortunate enough to partner with” ⁷.

• Long-term ownership mindset: Kushner has stated: “You want to invest in Fifth Avenue, you want to be in the high quality companies that you want to own for decades to come” ⁷.

• Founder credit: Kushner has said: “The founders of these companies are really the heroes. They are really the ones deserving the credit” ⁷.

• Discipline and restraint: Thrive’s culture is built around “discipline, perspective, and restraint” ⁷.

• Homegrown talent: Rather than hiring experienced VCs, Kushner has said they “find that young, hungry person” and “teach them our way, and help them grow” ⁷.

Inferred Thesis

Based on analysis of 22 verified investments in the table below, from Thrive Capital’s portfolio of hundreds of investments across its funds:

Stage focus: - Thrive operates a barbell strategy: early-stage seed investments plus growth rounds in breakout companies ³. The firm’s largest bets are growth-stage: $1B in OpenAI (2026), $1B in Stripe’s Series I (2024), and $130M in OpenAI’s first round (2022) ⁵⁸⁹.

Sector concentration (of 22 verified investments): - Enterprise software & developer tools: 5 companies (23%) — Airtable, GitHub, Benchling, Databricks, Anysphere/Cursor ²³⁸ - AI & machine learning: 4 companies (18%) — OpenAI, Anysphere/Cursor, Physical Intelligence, Isomorphic Labs ⁵⁸¹⁰ - Consumer internet & social: 4 companies (18%) — Instagram, Spotify, Warby Parker, Glossier ²³ - Fintech: 3 companies (14%) — Stripe, Robinhood, Ramp ³⁸ - Health & biotech: 2 companies (9%) — Oscar Health, Benchling ¹² - Media & entertainment: 2 companies (9%) — A24, Twitch ¹³ - Defense & industrial: 1 company (5%) — Anduril ⁸ - Other: 1 company (5%) — Skims ²

Note: Overlap between AI and enterprise categories. Sample represents a fraction of Thrive’s total portfolio.

Geographic patterns: - Thrive is headquartered in Manhattan, giving it an East Coast advantage ². Portfolio spans both coasts, with strong representation in both NYC and SF-based companies.

Distinctive patterns: - Aggressive accumulation: Thrive is known for aggressively building ownership stakes through tender offers (buying employee shares). The firm accumulated near-10% stakes in GitHub, Benchling, and Skims through this strategy ². - Counter-cyclical buying: When tech valuations slumped in 2022-2023, Thrive aggressively added to positions in SpaceX, Stripe, OpenAI, Databricks, Ramp, and Wiz ⁸. - Co-creation model: Kushner has co-created companies through Thrive, including Oscar Health and The Browser Company ². - OpenAI relationship: Thrive was the only investor to offer OpenAI a term sheet when it raised its 2022 round at $29B valuation. Kushner’s personal relationship with Altman and his support during the November 2023 board crisis deepened the relationship ².

Portfolio

Note: Many investment years are approximate (founding year proxies marked with ~). Thrive’s full portfolio spans hundreds of companies across its nine funds.

In Their Own Words

“We can’t make the right decision every single time we’re looking at an investment, but we can have the right conversation.” — Joshua Kushner, Fortune profile, 2023 ²

“I want this place to last for a long time and I want it to be the best version of itself.” — Joshua Kushner, Fortune profile, 2023 ²

“The founders of these companies are really the heroes. They are really the ones deserving the credit.” — Joshua Kushner, interview ⁷

“You want to invest in Fifth Avenue, you want to be in the high quality companies that you want to own for decades to come.” — Joshua Kushner, interview ⁷

What Founders Say

Kevin Systrom, co-founder of Instagram, on Kushner: “The one person who was consistently there anytime I needed to ask a question, or work on things, or just as a friend, was Josh.” — Fortune profile, 2023 ²

Chris Wanstrath, co-founder of GitHub, on Kushner’s approach: “In Silicon Valley, you dismiss people who are kind as weak. It’s a lot more difficult to be kind than it is to be a hard-ass.” — Fortune profile, 2023 ²

Brad Lightcap, COO of OpenAI, on Kushner’s response during the November 2023 board crisis: “Josh’s priority was not to sort through anything related to the investment or Thrive. It was, ‘How are you? How’s the company? I’m here for you, I support you guys. What can I do to help?’” — Fortune profile, 2023 ²

Josh Miller, founder of The Browser Company, was surprised when Kushner returned equity after Miller spun his startup out of Thrive, saying it was the “right thing to do” ².

The Fortune profile noted that across more than 35 interviews, no one cited a hostile exchange with Kushner. He checked in frequently with founders, offering product ideas, holiday gifts, and booking same-day cross-country trips for impromptu dinners ².

Sources