Trump Clan Expands Global Ventures as Ethics Concerns Swirl

The Trump Organization is rapidly expanding its global footprint, with multiple high-profile developments announced across three continents in the past two weeks alone, raising significant ethics questions.

Eric Trump, who runs the family firm, has been hustling across the Middle East to promote an ambitious series of luxury developments and cryptocurrency projects, the New York Times reported. The centerpiece is a $1 billion, 80-story Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai, where units are fetching prices up to $20 million. The project launched with a lavish promotional event featuring Eric himself.

In Doha, Qatar, Eric signed a deal for a Trump-branded golf course and luxury villa complex in partnership with a Saudi-based real estate company, which is expected to generate millions in branding and management fees. It adds to five other Middle Eastern projects under development through Dar Global, the international subsidiary of a Saudi real estate firm with royal family connections; additional Trump-branded properties are planned for Saudi Arabia, Oman and another location in Dubai.

“They always arrive at the word ‘yes,’ which is a beautiful thing,” Eric remarked while in Dubai, noting that local permits were secured in just one month.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. has been exploring potential deals in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. During a tour that included Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria, he met with government officials and business leaders. In Serbia, he discussed a planned Trump hotel on government-owned land, a project also involving the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as developer.

Back in Washington, D.C., Trump Jr. is involved in launching “Executive Branch,” an exclusive private membership club in Georgetown with a $500,000 buy-in. The venue’s founding members include prominent figures with business with the administration, including cryptocurrency executives whose companies have recently seen favorable regulatory decisions.

The president’s financial disclosure reports detail how he benefits financially from most of these ventures — despite White House claims that “there are no conflicts of interest” because the assets are in a trust managed by his children.

There are other business ventures elsewhere in Trump’s administration also drawing concerns for their proximity to federal dealings. That includes a pair of cryptocurrency ventures, which involve two sons of U.S. envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff; Zach Witkoff is also one of the co-founders of the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial.

— Holden Walter-Warner