Gaza: The Trump family's Middle East business interests
February 10, 2025
US President Donald Trump's comments on February 4 about Gaza revived an idea previously touted by both him and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
His latest plan positions Gaza in terms of real estate potential, rather than the humanitarian or political situation for its inhabitants. After claiming that the US would "take over the Gaza Strip" and "own it," Donald Trump said:
"We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I don't want to be cute. I don't want to be a wise guy. But the 'Riviera of the Middle East,' this could be something that could be so, this could be so magnificent."
It echoes sentiments expressed by Kushner in an interview at Harvard University in February 2024 when he said Gaza's waterfront property could be "very valuable if people would focus on building up livelihoods." He added that from Israel's perspective he would do his best to "move the people out and then clean it up."
Trump has since doubled down, even suggesting that Palestinians wouldn't be allowed return to Gaza, "because they're going to have much better housing," he told Fox News on February 10.
It's a reminder that for Trump and his family, the Middle East is as much a business interest as anything else.
What are Trump's business interests in the Middle East?
The region has become a growing focus for The Trump Organization, the real estate and hospitality conglomerate currently run by Trump's sons Eric and Donald Junior.
In the last few years, The Trump Organization has struck several agreements with Saudi Arabian real estate company Dar Global, the international arm of Saudi Arabia's Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company.
A luxury Trump-branded hotel and golf resort in Oman is in development, while The Trump Organization and Dar Global have announced plans for two Trump Tower projects, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
A previous Trump Tower for Dubai, comprising of a hotel and apartments, was announced in October 2005. However, the project was cancelled in 2011 due to the global financial crisis.
Trump already owns a golf club in Dubai, which was opened in 2017. The Dubai golf club was built in partnership with DAMAC Properties, run by Hussain Sajwani. In January 2025, Sajwani appeared alongside Trump at a press conference where it was announced that DAMAC would invest "at least" $20 billion (€19.39 billion) to build new data centres across the US.
The new agreements in Oman, Jeddah and Dubai will see The Trump Organization design, manage and brand the towers and the luxury resort. The deals are primarily about branding rather than ownership, earning the family millions in exchange for using their name.
Trump and his relatives have repeatedly spoken of the Middle East's growing relevance to their business interests.
Shortly before the Jeddah deal was announced, Eric Trump told the British financial newspaper Financial Times: "We will definitely be doing other projects in this region. This region has explosive growth, and that's not stopping anytime soon."
What about Saudi Arabia?
As well as the Dar Global goals, the Trump Organization has also collaborated closely with LIV Golf, one of the kingdom's much vaunted and controversial sports investments. The Trump Organization owns many golf courses around the world and has been paid by LIV to host several tournaments at its venues in the US.
Meanwhile, Kushner's own private equity firm, Affinity Partners, which is separate to the Trump Organization, has courted close ties with Saudi Arabia and its sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The PIF, which is chaired by Saudi crown price and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, has invested $2 billion in Affinity. Several other major Gulf investors have also poured money into Kushner's project, including the Qatar Investment Authority and the Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Lunate.
Kushner also has substantial investments in Israel, particularly the insurance company Phoenix Holdings and the Shlomo Group.
Is there a conflict of interest for Trump?
The extensive business interests have led to criticisms that there could be multiple conflict of interests arising for Trump when dealing with issues in the region.
Although Donald Trump resigned from all management roles in his businesses when first elected to the presidency in 2016, his family have remained prominent in his political activities and campaigns despite their continuing roles in the business.
Kushner meanwhile has leveraged contacts he made during his previous role as an adviser in the first Trump administration to build up his investment portfolio in the Middle East. That has been criticized, particularly his close relationship with the Saudi royal family.
However, he defended himself in early 2024 in an interview with US news website Axios, saying: "If you ask me about the work that we did in the White House, for my critics, what I say is: point to a single decision we made that wasn't in the interest of America."
Does Trump genuinely view Gaza as a potential real estate deal?
Both Trump and Kushner are clearly keen on the idea of developing Gaza in terms of a real estate project, rather than as a home for the more than 2 million Palestinians who currently live there.
"The world's people will be living there," Trump said. "Make that into an international, unbelievable place. The potential in the Gaza Strip is unbelievable."
Trump's comments provoked furious reactions from Palestinians and swift condemnations from a wide range of governments around the world. There are huge doubts over its viability on multiple levels.
However, given The Trump Organization's growing real estate business interests in the region, and the unambiguous comments from both Trump and his son-in-law, it appears they, at least, are serious about the idea.
Edited by: Uwe Hessler