Washington: The college admissions bribery investigation that led to charges against 50 people, including chief executives and Hollywood celebrities, has placed a new focus on how US President Donald Trump's son-in-law got into Harvard.

Jared Kushner, who serves as a top aide to Trump, and his acceptance to the Ivy League school were investigated as part of the 2006 book The Price of Admission, written by ProPublica senior editor Daniel Golden.

In the spotlight: White House senior adviser Jared Kushner listens as his father-in-law, President Donald Trump, addresses a cabinet meeting. Credit:AP

The book examined how the nation's wealthy buy their children into prestigious schools with tax write-offs and other donations. One such donation was made by Kushner's father, real estate developer Charles Kushner.

Golden wrote a story in 2016, after Trump won the presidency, about his book and specifically a legal $US2.5 million donation that Charles Kushner pledged to Harvard in 1998. It wasn't long after, Golden said, that Jared Kushner was accepted to the prestigious school.