The Gulf Connection – Trump’s Quiet Rise Inside Saudi Arabia’s Real Estate Empire

The scene speaks for itself: A sitting U.S. president who discusses security agreements, nuclear technology and regional power questions in Riyadh, while at the same time opening doors that lead directly into private business floors. As Washington approaches one of the most important state visits of the year, signs are growing that Donald Trump and his family have entered a new phase of financial expansion in the Gulf. At the center of the scene is Saudi Arabia, flanked by Dubai, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. And everywhere the same name appears: Trump.

In Diriyah, the historical starting point of the Saudi monarchy, a new district is being built for 63 billion dollars, one of the largest luxury projects in the country. Hotels, residential complexes, restaurants, office buildings, museums – an entirely new cosmos of concrete, sandstone and steel. And in the middle of it, talks are underway about a Trump property meant to add an extra layer of shine to the project. This is not confirmed through indirect channels but directly from the top of the project: Jerry Inzerillo, head of the Diriyah Board and connected to Trump for decades, openly speaks of a deal that is “only a matter of time.”

The scene he describes looks like a showcase of the new political reality. In May, Inzerillo personally guided Trump through the grounds, showing cranes, models and planned hotels even before the state visit officially began. “We approached him as a developer – and he loved it,” he says. That such talks take place parallel to sensitive security issues troubles no one in Saudi Arabia. It is a world where political interests and business interests do not need to be separated – and where an American president can appear simultaneously as a brand name and a business partner.

What the public barely sees: The Trump Organization receives millions for such projects without having to provide any capital. Saudi partners like Dar Global pay licensing fees for the name – last year about 22 million dollars – while planning, construction costs and risk lie entirely on the Saudi side. For Trump, this model is almost ideal: revenue without investment, trust without control, access without obligations.

The Trump Organization is in talks about a Trump property in the Saudi 63 billion dollar Diriyah project. The licensing deal would run through Dar Global. CEO Jerry Inzerillo, a longtime friend of Trump, says the agreement will likely come soon. Trump had already shown enthusiasm during his visit in May.

But Diriyah is only one part of the picture. In Jeddah, another tower is already in the pipeline, a project worth around one billion dollars. Preparations for additional sites are underway in Riyadh. A new complex is growing in Dubai, and a golf course in Qatar has been arranged with a state-owned real estate company. All of these deals run through Dar Global, the international arm of the Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan. Its chief, Ziad El Chaar, openly announces that “more Trump projects in the kingdom” will be seen soon.

Trump himself, his sons and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have long been part of this architecture again. Kushner’s investment fund, founded shortly after the end of Trump’s first term, started with two billion dollars from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund. That fund also supports the infrastructure and real estate projects that prepare the ground for new Trump deals. The fact that Kushner appears regularly in Riyadh, often parallel to business talks of the Trump family, gives the entire structure an additional edge.

In Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman is not only crown prince and prime minister but also chairman of all major state development and real estate projects. Whoever invests there, invests under his supervision. And whoever builds there does so under the eyes of a man whose relationship with Trump has been extremely close for years. While Trump defended the crown prince, for example after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, business opportunities for his family grew at the same time. In these moments the roles blur completely. Trump negotiates in Washington about a possible defense agreement that could grant Saudi Arabia far-reaching security guarantees. A few days later he sits with Mohammed bin Salman – a man who is also a key figure in a potential Trump deal. It is a political world in which state visits and private conversations overlap without anyone attempting to draw clear lines.

Diriyah itself is growing at a pace that other Saudi mega projects have long lost. More than five square miles of construction site, forty planned hotels, residential units worth four billion dollars already sold. For Trump, it is a perfect place: a project with global visibility, financed by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, economically lucrative and politically secured. That his name alone is enough to make projects visible on the international market fits the logic of this new relationship. What remains is a scene that raises questions for the United States that go far beyond real estate. A president who appears as head of state while his family simultaneously negotiates business opportunities that directly benefit from his political position. An environment in which a contract with a sovereign wealth fund and a conversation about missile defense occupy the same schedule. And a partnership in which political influence and economic opportunity are inseparable.

In Saudi Arabia, this is seen as no contradiction. In the United States, it was once a warning sign. Today it shows how closely global politics and personal profit have moved together – and how much space this interplay now occupies. The Gulf Connection is not a side issue. It is a look at how quickly political power can turn into business pathways. And how easily a president can be both at the same time: statesman and business partner.