Witkoff’s sons tied to billions in Qatar deals during hostage negotiations

Qatar’s prime minister attended Alex Witkoff’s wedding in 2024 and later hosted Steve Witkoff in Doha while ceasefire negotiations were underway.

Two sons of Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and hostage deal negotiator, sought major investments with Qatar during the talks, according to a New York Times report.

Qatar, together with Egypt, has been central to negotiations over hostages and a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, bringing renewed scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest tied to the Witkoff family’s financial connections with the Gulf state.

The article said Witkoff’s sons, Alex and Zach, pursued fundraising in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait.

Alex Witkoff pitched a $4 billion real estate credit fund to the Qatar Investment Authority in 2024, projecting hundreds of millions in management fees over several years.

A spokesperson for the Qatari fund confirmed the approach but said the offer was declined.

Sources told the paper Alex continued seeking backing from Gulf investors as recently as August 2025, while Zach looked for partners for a cryptocurrency venture tied to both the Witkoff and Trump families.

Although Steve Witkoff founded the Witkoff Group in 1997, the company said he has had no role in operations since 2024 and stressed the fund idea was abandoned for economic reasons.

A White House spokesperson added that Witkoff is finalizing his divestment and “takes seriously his compliance with the government ethics rules.”

The report traced long-standing links between the Witkoff family and Qatar.

During Trump’s first term, as the Gulf state faced a regional blockade and criticism in Washington, Qatari lobbyists described Steve Witkoff as an “unofficial adviser” to the president.

Later, a trust partly owned by the Qatari government invested heavily in Witkoff projects, including the Park Lane Hotel in New York and a Palm Beach property purchased in 2025.

Qatar’s prime minister attended Alex Witkoff’s wedding in 2024 and later hosted Steve Witkoff in Doha while ceasefire negotiations were underway.

The company responded sharply, calling many of the claims “patently false” and accusing the Times of bias.

“We never went beyond preliminary discussions regarding forming this fund … The idea that we scrapped this plan because of a media inquiry is genuinely laughable,” a Witkoff Group statement said, adding that suggestions of conflict of interest are “categorically false.”