Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner buy the defunct ‘Life’ magazine and plan to republish it

From the end of the 19th century to the dawn of the 21st century, Life magazine recorded one of the great wonders of the last centuries: photography. Throughout its pages, great stories were accompanied by spectacular images by photographers such as Robert Capa, the iconic Spanish Civil War photographer. However, with the arrival of the internet, social media and the overabundance of videos and photographs, Life began to slowly fall into demise, until it died 15 years ago. Now it has been reborn from its ashes. Model Karlie Kloss and her husband, millionaire investor Joshua Kushner, have announced that they have purchased the rights to the publication and intend to republish it.

Kloss, 31, is one of the biggest supermodels of the last decade, as well as a programmer (she even has a programming school for girls) and businesswoman. In October 2018, she married Joshua Kushner, 38, in a small Jewish ceremony held as a surprise in front of 80 guests. That’s how Kloss became related to the Trump family: Joshua is the brother of Jared Kushner, who is the husband of Ivanka Trump, daughter of the former president — and the Republican candidate for the White House. In fact, both were presidential advisors during Trump’s term.

The Kushner-Klosses, on the other hand, have always positioned themselves on the progressive end of the political spectrum, and the model has not hesitated to give her support to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. She has even said that it’s “tough” to be part of the Trump family, however remotely connected. Since getting married five years ago, the couple has had two children, Levi and Elijah, and has undertaken interesting projects through several companies such as Bedford Media, of which Kloss is CEO. Their most recent project is republishing Life magazine, which will be led by Kushner as editor.

For the relaunch of Life — which, after leaving newsstands in 2000, practically disappeared in 2008 — Bedford Media has teamed up with one of the largest media companies in the United States, Dotdash Meredith, owner of almost 50 publications including People, InStyle, Food&Wine, Travel + Leisure or Entertainment Weekly. Dotdash Meredith is also the owner of Time magazine, which in turn used to be the owner of Life.

So far, there is no set date for its relaunch, but it is known that the Kushner-Kloss company will manage the entire publication, “including editorial strategy, revenue and media initiatives,” according to a press release issued by Bedford, published by Variety on March 28. For its part, Dotdash Meredith will have all rights to the magazine’s extensive archive dating back to the 1930s and will be in charge of bringing the special issues to newsstands.

“We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape,” Kloss said in the statement. “While Bedford is a new media company, we are deeply inspired by Life’s iconic legacy and ability to connect diverse audiences with universal narratives of humanity.”

For his part, Kushner stated that “Life’s legacy lies in its ability to blend culture, current events, and everyday life — highlighting the triumphs, challenges, and unique perspectives that define us.”

This is not Kushner and Kloss’s first foray into publishing. In August 2020, the model and businesswoman was part of a group of investors that bought W Magazine, a fashion magazine that belonged to Condé Nast (the publisher of Vogue, Vanity Fair and GQ). In November 2023, through Bedford Media, Kloss also took over the British magazine i-D, a cult British publication in fashion and trends that had previously belonged to publishing group Vice. At first, she announced that its director, Alastair McKimm, would continue at the helm, but he announced in mid-February via Instagram that he was abandoning ship. The magazine barely has a dozen employees, but according to journalists familiar with the situation, there have been several layoffs in recent weeks.

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