How Peace Envoy Steve Witkoff Got Richer Thanks To Trump And Elon Musk

Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate developer and peace envoy for Donald Trump, has experienced a financially lucrative year despite mixed diplomatic results. Appointed as Middle East envoy in November 2024, Witkoff secured a Gaza ceasefire in 2025, attempted peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and worked on a nuclear deal with Iran. While a new Gaza ceasefire was achieved last October, Russia and Ukraine remain at odds, and a war between the US, Israel, and Iran began in February. However, Witkoff's personal fortune increased by $1.5 billion, rising to an estimated $3.5 billion. This growth is largely attributed to his investments in World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm co-founded by his sons Zach and Alex with Trump's sons. Forbes estimates the Witkoffs earned $130 million from selling WLFI crypto tokens. They also sold about half their stake in World Liberty to R.E.M. Investment, backed by Sheikh Tanun bin Zayed Al Nayyan, for an estimated $48 million post-tax. This left Witkoff with an estimated 6.4% stake in the company's stablecoin business, valued at about $60 million, and 375 million World Liberty Financial tokens, worth about $25 million. Additionally, Witkoff benefited from a $100 million investment in Elon Musk's privatization of Twitter (now X) in October 2022. Although his initial 0.3% stake was diluted to 0.017% after X merged with XAI and SpaceX, it is now valued at around $210 million, effectively doubling his initial investment. The bulk of Witkoff's wealth remains in his real estate firm, Witkoff Group, valued at $1.6 billion, with assets including the Shore Club in Miami and the Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, Florida.