Trump Organization and Saudi developer unveil $10bn in projects
US President Donald Trump’s family business unveiled billions of dollars worth of real estate deals in Saudi Arabia, deepening its ties to a company close to the Saudi government.
Dar Global announced on Monday that it had officially launched Trump Plaza Jeddah, which will include apartments, a private park, office space, and “Trump townhouses”.
The project is valued at over $1bn, the statement said.
“Expanding our presence in Saudi Arabia with Trump Plaza Jeddah underscores our commitment to world-class quality and iconic design,” the US president’s son, Eric, said in a statement, adding that the project reflected the Trump family’s “confidence in Jeddah as a dynamic, globally relevant city”.
Ziad el-Chaar, the CEO of Dar Global, told Reuters that the projects together are valued at around $10bn.
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In a statement, he said the tower in Jeddah would be a “carefully curated urban ecosystem designed for global residents who want to live, work, and connect within the best address in Jeddah”.
On Sunday, the Trump Organization and Dar al-Arkan real estate announced a separate project to build a sprawling 2.6 million square metre Golf resort in the Saudi city of Diriyah outside Riyadh.
The deals come as Saudi Arabia looks to turbocharge its real estate sector, announcing in January that non-Saudis would be allowed to purchase property in Riyadh and Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia is trying to garner foreign investor interest in sectors from AI to mining and tourism. The real estate sector underscores some of the challenges it faces amid concerns over Saudi laws and investor rights.
For example, in September 2025, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman froze rents across Riyadh for five years. While some politicians in the West, including New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, are calling for such measures amid a cost-of-living crisis, global investors say they chill property prices. It is unclear whether luxury developments will be included in the freeze.
Gulf ties
Trump has denied benefitting from any of his family’s deals, but announcements are likely to increase criticism that his children are profiting from their father’s ties to Gulf governments.
Dar Global opened its first US office earlier this year at Trump Tower in New York City. Dar Global is a subsidiary of the sprawling Saudi development firm Dar al-Arkan, which has close ties to the Saudi government.
The company has emerged as the Trump Organization's most important overseas partner.
It is involved in the construction of a Golf course and luxury hotel in Oman and a Trump International Golf Club and villas in Simaisma, a resort town some 30 kilometres north of the Qatari capital, Doha.
Meanwhile, in the UAE, an 80-storey Trump hotel is being built by Dar al-Arkan featuring "the highest outdoor pool in the world”.
Trump properties outside the US are typically constructed by foreign firms. The Trump Organization makes money by selling the Trump brand name and, with it, its reputation.
Those licensing fees have proven very lucrative for Trump’s children. According to The New York Times, Dar Global’s purchase of rights to the Trump name generated $21.9m for the Trump family business last year.
Jeddah is the gateway to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, where the kingdom is building beach resorts.
Diriyah is the original home of the ruling Al-Saud family and includes a mud-brick village that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. The city, a 20-minute drive from Riyadh, is undergoing a $63bn development into a luxury destination with hotels, restaurants, shops, and museums.
Trump toured the site in May during his visit to the kingdom. Trump met again with the Saudi Crown prince in November when he visited the White House.
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