Trump Organization to build luxury housing in Saudi capital: What we know
The two companies this week will also launch the Trump Tower in Jeddah, the third project between Dar Global and the Trump Organization.
The Trump Organization and London-listed Dar Global will launch two new projects in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, as the incoming US president’s family business continues to invest in the Gulf and capitalize on the region's growing real estate sector.
The real estate projects will be the fourth and fifth between the two companies, they announced in a statement Monday.
No further details were given of the projects.
The two companies this week will also launch the Trump Tower in Jeddah, the third project between Dar Global and the Trump Organization. The Jeddah project is aimed at the luxury Saudi market and international investors, Dar Global said in a statement.
Dar Global, based in London, is the international subsidiary of the Saudi real estate firm Dar Al Arkan. Dar Al Arkan, Dar Global’s parent company, has $7.5 billion in projects under development in Oman, Qatar, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.
Trump Organization, owned by Donald Trump, is a conglomerate with around 250 affiliates that mainly invests in luxury real estate, such as skyscrapers, hotels and golf courses.
Family ties
The Trump Organization has significant exposure in the Gulf and has strong ties to the region. For example, the Trump National Doral golf course hosted the Miami tournament for the Saudi Public Investment Fund-owned LIV Golf in April. LIV Golf has hosted competitions at Trump’s courses since the league began in 2022.
In July, the Trump Organization announced it was working with Dar Global to build a Trump Tower in Dubai.
In 2022, the two companies signed a deal to use the Trump brand for a $4 billion project in Oman, which includes a golf course, hotel and villas.
Eric Trump, one of the president-elect's sons, told the Financial Times in July that the Trump Organization wanted to pursue more deals in the Middle East.
Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who runs the family business with Eric, traveled to Oman and Dubai in June. Trump Jr posted on his TikTok account that he took a "day trip" to the region to check in on the family's projects in Oman and the UAE. The development of a Trump International Hotel in the Omani capital Muscat is slated to be completed in December 2028.
The president-elect’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also has a private equity fund, called Affinity Partners, which he set up after leaving as Trump's Middle East envoy in the White House in early 2021. Saudi Arabia has invested $2 billion into the fund, according to congressional investigators. The New York Times also reported that sovereign wealth funds from the UAE and Qatar have invested in Affinity Partners, too.
