As the Trump Gulf empire grows, rulers pursue access, influence

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.

Eric Trump, executive vice-president of The Trump Organisation, arrives on stage for an event during Token 2049, a crypto event, in Dubai on May 1. Picture: AP

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

Last month, 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 purchased 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 Robert Mogielnicki, from the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

If the President chose, he could hopscotch the region from one Trump venture to another when he visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next 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 $US4bn ($6.23bn) golf/real estate project on Omani state-owned land, business links are not hard to find in the desert autocracies.

At the Dubai crypto conference in April, Eric Trump and Zach Witkoff, son of the President’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, announced that Emirati fund MGX would use USD1, a cryptocurrency developed by their firm, to invest $US2bn in Binance, a crypto exchange.

The original title of Don Jr’s talk at this month’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 $US2bn Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund reportedly ploughed into the private equity fund of Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser.

The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Lunate have also invested $US1.5bn into the fund, according to Bloomberg.

The Trump Organisation has been run by Don Jr and Eric since their father’s 2016 election win.

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. But 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 Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS think tank, signing deals with Mr 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 toward the same objective: political influence.”

AFP