Trump Org’s Vietnam Resort Highlights Ties with Billionaire

The Trump family’s global real estate ambitions are back in full swing — and seem to already be intertwining with Donald Trump’s presidency.

In May, Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, traveled to Vietnam to launch a $1.5 billion resort development called Trump International Hung Yen, a sprawling 2,500-acre complex featuring a luxury hotel, villas and two Bryson DeChambeau-designed golf courses, Forbes reported.

“It’s a celebration of culture and a lasting investment in Vietnam’s future,” Trump said at the event, alongside Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Vietnamese tycoon Dang Thanh Tam, whose firm is bankrolling the development.

It was a full-circle event, as Donald Trump, during his first term, had helped Dang become one of Vietnam’s richest people.

The Hung Yen deal, signed in September 2024 — two months before Trump’s reelection to the White House — already paid off for the family business. According to Trump’s June financial disclosure, Dang’s company has since wired the Trump Organization $5 million in licensing fees.

Dang, in turn, has plenty to thank Trump for. The 61-year-old developer, who controls stakes in industrial park giant Kinh Bac City Development and telecom infrastructure firm Saigontel, allegedly owes much of his rebound to the U.S.-China trade war that Trump kicked off during his first term.

After overleveraging his empire in the early 2010s, Dang’s fortunes soared again when global manufacturers like Foxconn and LG shifted production to Vietnam to dodge U.S. tariffs. Between 2017 and 2021, Kinh Bac’s revenues jumped 161 percent as Vietnam’s exports to America doubled. Today, Kinh Bac controls nearly 20,000 acres in Vietnam of industrial and residential land, with 90 percent of its tenants ultimately exporting to the U.S.

But Trump’s second term initially rattled that success. This spring, the president imposed 46 percent tariffs on Vietnamese imports, sending Kinh Bac shares tumbling 27 percent in a week. The Trump International Hung Yen groundbreaking likely restored confidence, signaling Dang’s access to the administration — and his renewed alignment with the Trump family. A June trade deal that later slashed tariffs to 20 percent buoyed his stock further.

“The tariffs created short-term uncertainty but accelerated long-term opportunity,” Dang told the outlet, calling Vietnam “a structural winner” of supply chain realignment.

His company’s proximity to southern China, where Apple suppliers Foxconn, Goertek and Luxshare operate, has made Kinh Bac a key hub for global manufacturing.

Financing the Trump-branded resort could test Dang’s reach. Analysts estimate the project’s $1.5 billion price tag will require complex partnerships and non-recourse debt.

“Trump International Hung Yen is just the beginning,” Dang said. “We intend to develop more luxury projects — and we remain open to partnering with Trump.”

— Eric Weilbacher