As Trump family’s Gulf empire grows, rulers seek influence, arms and tech

Dubai – Ahead of US President Donald Trump’s Gulf visit this week, his son Eric was promoting his crypto firm in Dubai, while Don Jr prepared to talk about “Monetising Maga” in Doha.

In April, the Trump Organisation struck its first luxury real estate deal in Qatar and released details of a billion-dollar skyscraper in Dubai whose apartments can be bought in cryptocurrency.

In a monarchical region awash with petrodollars, the list of Trump-related ventures is long and growing. However, the presidential entourage is not the only party cashing in, analysts say.

“Gulf governments likely see the presence of the Trump brand in their countries as a way to generate goodwill with the new administration,” said Dr Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

If the President chose, he could criss-cross the region from one Trump venture to another when he visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) this week on the first foreign tour of his second term.

From Dubai’s Trump International golf course to a high-rise apartment block in Jeddah and a US$4 billion (S$5.2 billion) golf and real estate project on Omani state-owned land, business links are not hard to find in the desert autocracies.

Asked whether Mr Trump would make visits or meetings linked to his own business interests or those of his family, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “ridiculous” to “even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit” and that he had “lost money for being president”.

At the Dubai crypto conference in April, Mr Eric Trump and Mr Zach Witkoff – the son of Mr Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – announced that Emirati fund MGX would use USD1, a cryptocurrency developed by their firm, to invest US$2 billion in Binance, a crypto exchange.

Political influence

The original title of Mr Donald Trump Jr’s talk at May’s Qatar Economic Forum, Monetising Maga: Investing In Trump’s America, was later changed to the more neutral “Investing in America”, cached versions show. Among such investments is the US$2 billion that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund reportedly ploughed into the private equity fund of Mr Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and former adviser.

The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Lunate have also invested US$1.5 billion into the fund, according to Bloomberg.

The Trump Organisation has been run by the President’s two eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, since his 2016 election win. While he no longer holds an executive title, Mr Trump has retained his stake in the family business via a trust.

For the Gulf states, which are trying to diversify their fossil fuel-reliant economies by attracting tourism and investment, Trump-branded, luxury-focused developments are a good fit.

However, that is not the only benefit, as they spy an easy route to access and influence at the heart of the world’s most powerful country, experts say.

According to Dr Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, signing deals with Mr Donald Trump beats the well-worn approach of buying US weaponry.

“For decades, the Gulf states’ colossal weapons purchases have lined the pockets of US defence companies whose PACs (political action committees) are among the largest donors to US election campaigns,” he said.

“Catering to the Trump family’s commercial interests is perhaps seen as a shorter and more effective route towards the same objective: political influence,” he said.

‘More than commercial plays’

In return, the Gulf states “want US arms, assurances and advanced technology”, notably artificial intelligence (AI), Dr Alhasan said.

One major interest for the UAE, which aims to be a leader in AI, is securing access to advanced US technologies, including AI chips under restricted export. The USD1 transaction by state-owned AI fund MGX, chaired by UAE royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, came after he visited Washington in March and reportedly lobbied for access to the chips.

Gulf dealings with the Trump Organisation pale in comparison with government pledges, including the Saudi promise of US$600 billion for US trade and investments.

The White House has said the UAE has committed to a 10-year, US$1.4 trillion investment framework, a figure neither confirmed nor denied by Abu Dhabi.

Riyadh was Mr Trump’s first official visit in his inaugural term. Ahead of this trip, the US approved a US$3.5 billion sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia.

“From the Gulf side, these investments are far more than just commercial plays – they are strategic transactional levers,” said Middle East analyst Andreas Krieg. AFP