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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.