Trump Organisation and Saudi developer sign deal for Dubai luxury tower
The Trump Organization on Thursday announced a deal with a Saudi developer to build a luxury high-rise tower in Dubai, as the former president’s real estate company continues its expansion in the Gulf region.
The Trump Organization and Dar Global, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development, said the project will launch next year, without providing a cost estimate.
The luxury development will include a Trump hotel and branded residential units. The Trump Organization will own or sell the apartments, but provide its name and brand under licence, the statement added.
The agreement shows how Trump’s brand remains powerful in the Gulf. In recent years, developers in Dubai have cashed in catering to wealthy buyers who want luxury real estate tied to brand names like Versace, Ritz Carlton and Bulgari.
A global wealth report published in May said almost a third of wealthy Muslim buyers eyeing homes in Mecca want similar brand names in the Islamic holy city.
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But the agreement will be scrutinised for more than its business appeal. It signals the deepening business alliance between the former president’s company and Dar Al Arkan, the parent company of Dar Global.
Dar Global’s CEO is Ziad El Chaar, a Lebanese national with a background in luxury development across the oil-rich Gulf region. El Chaar first worked with the Trump family in Dubai to build a Trump International Gulf Club.
Dar Al Arkan
Dar Global is the international wing of Dar Al Arkan, a sprawling development and construction firm with ties to the Saudi government.
The company's chairman, Yousef al-Shelash, is a Saudi national. He was educated in Shariah at Mohamed Bin Saud Islamic University and his business interests span from Bahrain to Oman.
Dar Al Arkan is one of the firms benefiting from a construction boom in Saudi Arabia as a result of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plans. It has signed a deal with the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) to build villas in Sedra, a luxury development north of Riyadh.
In 2022, the Trump Organization partnered with Dar Arkan to build a luxury resort and golf complex in Oman.
In July, the Trump Organization signed a new deal to build a luxury residential tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia with the group.
'Saudis want Trump back'
The deal comes as Trump pulls further ahead of President Joe Biden in polls for the November 2024 presidential elections.
Former US officials who served in the Trump administration told MEE that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are already anticipating his return to the White House and have contacted Trump surrogates expected to serve in the new administration.
“I know people the Saudis have spoken to, and they are very frustrated and want Trump to come back,” Fred Fleitz, the former chief of staff for the National Security Council under Trump's administration, told MEE.
The deals with Dar Al Arkan are likely to invite more scrutiny of Trump’s business practices.
A 2022 congressional report found the foreign governments of six countries, including Saudi Arabia, spent more than $750,000 at a Trump-owned Washington hotel while lobbying his administration in 2017 and 2018.
Besides the Trump Organization’s real estate deals, the former president’s son-in-law and one-time White House advisor Jared Kushner developed a close relationship with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and other Gulf monarchs.
Six months after leaving the Trump administration, Kushner secured a $2bn investment from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund in his Miami-based Affinity Partners investment firm.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also invested $200m each, according to The New York Times.
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