From golf to the Gulf: Who is Trump’s new Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff?

Steve Witkoff was playing golf with Donald Trump on Sept. 15 at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, when an assassination attempt against the Republican firebrand was foiled by a Secret Service agent on patrol.

Witkoff, who is one of the US-president elect’s closest friends, will soon be more focused on the Gulf than on golf: Trump has nominated him to be special envoy to the Middle East under the upcoming Trump administration.

Witkoff, 67, who is Jewish and pro-Israel, does not have a background in diplomacy, instead being a prominent real estate tycoon like his future boss.

“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. Steve will be an unrelenting voice for peace and make us all proud,” Trump said in a statement Tuesday.

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who played a critical role in moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 under the first Trump administration, praised Witkoff. "Steve is a brilliant businessman and a lover of Israel who will receive a warm welcome throughout the halls of power within the Middle East," he said.

Despite this praise, Witkoff faces a tough job trying to quell a regional war that has been raging since Oct. 7, 2023, between Israel, Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran, through missile attacks and its proxies in the region, has also launched attacks on Israel in response to its sieges of Gaza and Lebanon.

No diplomatic experience, but close to Trump

Witkoff’s experience in real estate could make him more open to discussing the possibility of the US helping to rebuild cities in a region that has been devastated by war. Multiple reports say that the Trump administration has already floated the idea of helping to reconstruct Gaza and parts of Lebanon impacted by the conflict.

Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was Trump's former pick for special envoy to the Middle East during his first term in the White House between 2017 and 2021. Like Witkoff, Kushner did not have any diplomatic experience but ended up being instrumental in brokering the Abraham Accords between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Trump will want Witkoff to finish Kushner’s job and fold Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords — by no means a small feat. 

But like Kushner before him, Witkoff has a direct line with the president. 

"Trump trusts Witkoff very much, and they are very close. This is something that will help Witkoff a lot in his mission," a source close to the president-elect told Axios.

Bronx-born Witkoff also has strong financial ties to Trump and has been one of his major political donors. He graduated from Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, and worked for the New York real estate law firm Dreyer & Traub, where Trump was a client.

Property man

Witkoff founded his eponymous property firm in 1997, constructing over 70 properties in business districts across the US and abroad, according to the company’s website.

Before founding Witkoff, the tycoon cofounded Stellar Management Company with his partner Laurence Gluck, where he acquired and repositioned a portfolio of residential buildings in New York City. It was a boom period for Wall Street and New York real estate. Among Witkoff’s property portfolios are the Woolworth Building, the Daily News building and Park Lane Hotel in New York City.

Witkoff did not miss the opportunity to compliment Trump after their scare on Sept. 15.

“He is as courageous a man as I’ve ever seen,” Witkoff said during an X Spaces event on Sept. 16. “He cared about his friends first. He asked about his friends first. And it was inspiring to watch him.”

“He’s resilient, he’s stoic. Who wouldn’t want those qualities in a leader? He is a natural-born leader.”