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NEW YORK (AFX) - The 25-year-old son of a disgraced real estate mogul has bought The New York Observer, a weekly newspaper with a small but dedicated readership.
Arthur L. Carter, who founded the paper in 1987, sold the paper this week to Jared Kushner, a student pursuing an MBA and a law degree at New York University.
The paper announced the sale on its Web site on Monday.
In an interview, Kushner declined to disclose the purchase price. The salmon-colored newspaper has a circulation of about 50,000 and is losing about $2 million a year.
Kushner has been involved for a number of years in his father's New Jersey real estate business. He said he would continue to be involved in Kushner Cos. as time allows.
His father, Charles Kushner, a philanthropist and Democratic fundraiser, was sentenced in March 2005 to two years in prison for assisting in the filing of false tax returns, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, and retaliating against a witness in the case -- his sister.
He hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, made a videotape of the encounter and then sent it to his sister, the man's wife, in retaliation for her cooperation with federal authorities who were looking into his business activities.
Charles Kushner was a top fundraiser for New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey. He withdrew as McGreevey's nominee to head the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 2003 after he was accused in lawsuits of using business funds for political and personal reasons.
Jared Kushner said his father has no involvement in The Observer transaction.
"I love my father, and have a tremendous amount of respect for him," he said. "But this is not about him."
He said he bought the paper with his own capital, some of which came from fixing up and selling property in Massachusetts while he was an undergraduate at Harvard University.
Carter will keep a minority stake in the newspaper, the Observer said. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
