Joshua Kushner, venture capitalist and brother of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, publicly expressed regret on August 31, 2026, over his firm's role in FIFA President Gianni Infantino's abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup commercial rights [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
The FFE plan aimed to create a new commercial subsidiary valued at $20 billion, selling stakes to private investors to raise $4.2 billion intended for increasing investment in poorer football nations among FIFA’s 211 member associations [1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 4, 5, 7]. Kushner’s firm, Thrive Capital, was positioned as the anchor investor expected to lead the private investment effort after working on the scheme in private for months [1, 2, 3, 9, 4, 5, 7].
Kushner said Thrive Capital backed the motivations behind FFE but failed to appreciate the political complexities and power struggles within global football. "Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved," he said [1]. He added, "While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to" [2].
Kushner stressed that money in football is historically concentrated among a few countries. "The idea behind FFE was to direct more capital and equity equally amongst all 211 member countries, providing significantly more investment to underdeveloped nations to nurture local talent, support grassroots football, enhance the fan experience, and ultimately grow the global game everywhere," he explained [6].
The proposal was met with strong opposition from UEFA, the European football governing body, which called the plan a "shady, opaque backroom deal" and demanded Infantino’s removal [2, 8, 4, 5]. UEFA later prepared a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland and requested subpoenas in New York to obtain testimony and documents from Kushner and Thrive Capital. However, Kushner and his firm are not accused of wrongdoing and are not expected defendants in the case [1, 2, 3, 8, 4, 5, 7].
After intense backlash, Infantino withdrew the FFE plan in late July 2026 [3, 9]. UEFA characterized the proposal as an ultimatum with an impending September deadline, while Kushner described it as a vote for all member associations and not a mandatory obligation [2, 6].
Kushner’s net worth is estimated at $16.7 billion as of August 31, 2026, built largely through Thrive Capital [6]. UEFA’s subpoena requests targeting Kushner’s testimony and documents remain pending as the football world continues to scrutinize the fallout from the failed FIFA commercial project [1, 2, 3, 8, 4, 5, 7].
