The Trump Organization is bringing a new Trump Tower into the world. But not in the U.S. — this one will be in Saudi Arabia.
The company and its partner, Dar Global, on Wednesday launched the new hotel resort in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second-largest city, about five months after it was first announced by the pair. According to the companies, the 2 billion riyal ($532 million) planned hotel will feature 47 floors and 350 residential apartments. Construction will take about four years.
“We want to bring five-star luxury, and I’m talking about real five-star luxury, our brand, everything that we believe in, everything that we stand for,” to Saudi Arabia, Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump said at an event, according to a recording posted on social media. “And I know it’s gonna be a project we’re going to be proud of.”
The project is just one of several the company has planned in the Middle East with Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan. That includes two new projects announced on Monday that will feature the Trump name and be built in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
The deals follow a trend established shortly before President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration when his company entered into a slew of real estate deals ahead of his inauguration, setting up plans for buildings in Canada, Dubai, Mexico, and other countries, according to The Associated Press. After winning the 2016 Republican nomination, Trump’s businesses made deals to sell at least 37 luxury condos and home lots for more than $20 million to shell companies, USA Today reported in 2017.
It also underscores a slew of concerns about conflicts of interest that could come with the next Trump presidency.
A private equity firm established by Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former senior advisor, received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in 2022. That drew criticism, especially since Kushner was one of Trump’s key advisors on the Middle East, and led to a House investigation. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has launched a separate investigation into Kushner’s dealings in the region.
According to The Hill, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — who embraced Trump during his first term — said last year that he plans to keep his investment, even if Trump won the election. Wyden and others have argued that the investments create potential conflicts of interest and counterintelligence risks.
The Trump Organization and Dar Global have also joined together on a $200 million villa in Oman that aims to cater to the uber-wealthy and which quickly drew ethics concerns. According to The New York Times, migrant workers were being paid as little as $340 a month and living in cramped trailers during the first phase of construction.
Additionally, the Omani government is providing the land for the development and plans to get a cut of the profits from the villa. The Trump Organization isn’t putting up any cash for the development but will be paid to design a Trump-branded hotel, golf course, and golf club, which it will manage for up to 30 years.
In July, Dar Global said it would collaborate with the Trump Organization on a Dubai hotel in 2025. The Trump Organization also has several planned projects with other companies in India and Vietnam and recently opened a golf course in Indonesia. The Times reported that the company had also pursued a deal for an Israeli hotel in the heart of Jerusalem.
During the first Trump administration, the organization was criticized for profiting from money spent by foreign governments at Trump properties; a House report found that 20 foreign governments had spent almost $8 million at Trump’s properties. China and Saudi Arabia were the biggest spenders.