Think this is nice? It’s a version of the weekly Under 30 newsletter and would be even better in your inbox.

What do Instagram, Spotify and OpenAI all have in common, besides the fact that they’re all founded by Under 30 alumni, of course? Each of the tech powerhouses count Under 30 alumnus Josh Kushner and his VC firm, Thrive Capital, as an early supporter. Before the world knew what these startups would become, Kushner bet big that they were the future. The risks paid off: This month, seventeen years after launching Thrive, Forbes estimated that Kushner’s personal net worth reached a record $16.7 billion thanks almost entirely to his stake in the firm.

Thrive was founded in 2009 with a $5 million debut fund when Kushner was just 24 years old (it landed him a spot on the inaugural Under 30 list). Fast forward to earlier this year, Thrive raised its tenth fund at a whopping $10 billion. The firm has been on the steady climb since the start, but saw unprecedented growth in the last year. At the end of 2024, Thrive Capital had $23 billion in assets under management. That number jumped to $50 billion by July 2026. But with even more deals into quickly growing companies, it reached $65 billion in assets under management this August.

Investments into SpaceX and AI coding tool Cursor were particularly responsible for that increase in AUM. Thrive’s stake in the space company jumped to $10 billion after its IPO in June, and its 7% stake in the coding tool amounted to $4.2 billion after a $60 billion acquisition (by SpaceX, no less). That deal closed this month.

As Thrive’s assets have skyrocketed, so has Kushner’s net worth. Today, his estimated $16.7 billion has more than tripled from $5.2 billion just a year ago. But Kushner is no stranger to the ultra-wealthy. Married to Karlie Kloss, the two are tight with billionaire Taylor Swift, who’s worth an estimated $2 billion (they even attended the wedding of the year this summer). And he’s the brother of investment firm Affinity Partners’ founder Jared Kushner, who’s also son-in-law to President Trump. But Josh is the richest of the clan. The nearly $17 billion to his name is 17 times his brother’s $1 billion, and more than double President Trump’s $7 billion.

With proven success across the tech industry, Kushner now wants to stake his claim on another area of interest: Sports.

This summer he tried to buy a stake in a FIFA World Cup subsidiary. But that deal was scrapped due to intense backlash about the plan that would give 20% of a new FIFA commercial and events arm to private investors. So he moved on to basketball.

Just days before the Cursor deal closed, Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers, which was valued at $12.5 billion. That deal, however, is still pending following controversy about how much of the franchise was actually for sale. If the sale does go through, Kushner will have to divest from his other NBA asset, the Miami Heat, where he has an estimated $80 million stake—a meager comparison to the estimated $10.4 billion-stake he’d split with Iger.

But as the optimist Kushner wrote on X, “What if everything goes right?”

More next week,
Alex & Zoya

Dolly Parton Gave Away Millions Of Dollars Before She Died

Global icon, singer and actress Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80, might be known for her powerful voice and a legacy that inspired women everywhere, but she’s also leaving behind a quieter record of philanthropy that changed countless lives.

Lister Lowdown

-Blank Street, the Brooklyn-based coffee chain that's taken over numerous corners of New York City and beyond, this week announced a $105 million raise. Founders Vinay Menda and Issam Freiha were on the 2022 Under 30 list when Blank Street had about 15 locations; it has since expanded to more than 100 stores worldwide. The latest raise was led by General Atlantic, bringing Blank Street’s valuation to an estimated $650 million.

-John Melas-Kyriazi, who made the 2017 Under 30 Venture Capital list as a senior associate at Spark Capital, announced a $20 million Series B raise for his startup Standard Metrics. Founded in 2020, the company uses AI to help venture capital and private equity firms manage their portfolios and track the performance of their investments. The new funding was led by 8VC, with participation from other firms including Salesforce Ventures and Spark Capital itself.

-2024 Under 30 lister and four-time Forbes Top Creator Alix Earle is making her television debut with Earle Meets World, a new Netflix reality series centered on her family. Premiering September 4, the show is the latest addition to Earle’s growing résumé, which also includes her recently launched skincare brand, Reale Actives. Read about it here.

One Minute With Benny

We’re bringing you the scoop on new Under 30 community members. Up this week: The cofounders of beverage brand Benny, 2026 Under 30 listers Paige Cey and Julie Letizia. They created a low-sugar energy drink in collaboration with a naturopathic doctor, blending yerba mate and brain-boosting adaptogens for what they describe as a jitter-free lift.

Benny is currently stocked in more than 1,000 stores in Canada and 1,900 Target locations in the United States.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

The ready-to-drink space seems to be incredibly competitive. What gave you the confidence that Benny could break through? 100% pure delusion. We were 22 when we started Benny, and I think that early-20s, naive confidence was essential to launching Benny. We also knew although we didn't have any real industry "competitive advantage,” we would outwork anyone else and build something that truly resonated with our demographic, since we're a part of that group.

Energy drinks have traditionally been associated with intense workouts, late nights and lots of caffeine. Who did you feel the category wasn’t speaking to? We saw energy drinks being “misused.” While traditional energy drinks might make sense when you’re pulling a once-a-semester all-nighter to cram for an exam, they don't make sense for everyday use. We saw a gap for an energy drink truly built for our everyday lives, because we spend way more time working on a spreadsheet than skydiving.

You built Benny with just $200,000 in outside funding. What’s one thing you refused to spend money on early on? Pretty much anything, but especially marketing. We knew our word of mouth and grass roots community would likely be more impactful than anything else, and today it has been.

Going from an idea to more than 1,000 stores in Canada and 1,900 Target locations in the U.S. is a big leap. What do you think convinced retailers to take a chance on Benny? Retailers have been able to see Benny as a true incremental value-add. We’re not taking away from their energy drink set, we're adding new shoppers that hadn't been shopping in the category historically.

What’s the scrappiest thing you did to get Benny onto store shelves? We spent the last dollars in our bank account to fly to Minnesota to meet our Target buyer when the opportunity came up. We stayed in such a cheap hotel, we found out our beds had bedbugs.

What went through your head the first time you saw Benny in Target? What the f*ck!!!! We actually did it?!!!

What’s the biggest misconception people have about energy drinks? That they're "not for them"—we are always trying to speak to the consumer that has been completely ignoring the category because it didn't resonate.

What’s one wellness trend you think is overhyped? Cold plunges.

Be honest, how many Benny cans do you drink in a day personally? What’s your favorite flavor? On a regular day, only one or two. On a trade show day, probably like six. We're both obsessed with our new Cherry Vanilla—seriously addicted.

Is there a crazy flavor you tasted that never made it out? We pitched a pickle flavor collab to one of our fave brands. Yum!

If you were starting Benny again today, what would you do differently, and what would you not change at all? Love this question! If we could go back I think we would've invested sooner in working with experts, instead of always trying to save a buck, but truly we wouldn't be the brand and the founders we are today, so no regrets!