Latest news with #TrumpTowerDubai
Gulf Insider
17-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Insider
Trump Tower Dubai Sales Are An Early Hit - Investors Eye '30% Resale Potential'
OK, the Trump Tower launch for Abu Dhabi didn't happen during the US President's visit this week – but there was a lot of action happening in Dubai. Buyer interest in the apartments at the recently launched Trump International Hotel & Tower in Downtown Dubai have been rated as 'rock solid' by estate agents, with a lot of attention coming from potential investors in the region and overseas. 'All available market indicators suggest a robust response,' said Farooq Syed, CEO of Springfield Properties. 'The demand signals a healthy absorption early into the sales launch of Trump Tower Dubai. What it also shows in an alignment with demand for branded, high-end real estate in Dubai.' 'The resale potential gain for Trump Tower units is forecasted at approximately 30%.' That's exactly what a number of investors would be thinking about, with the Trump Tower Dubai looking at completion in 2031. Market sources were saying that President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE over the week was the 'best promotion' the two Trump Towers in Jeddah and Dubai could have got. Multi-billion dollar deals in technology, defense and aircraft acquisitions flowed, with the visit generating unprecedented levels of global attention. 'Trump Tower Dubai offers a compelling proposition for buyers seeking lifestyle differentiation and long-term value': Farooq Syed of Springfield Properties 'More Trump-branded real estate in the Gulf states will happen in no time,' said an industry source. 'Only question is how soon an Abu Dhabi launch will happen.' 'Trump Towers Dubai and Jeddah got the best spotlight ever – President Trump's visit to the Gulf' : Dubai estate agent What the market knows for sure is that there will be two projects launched back to back in Riyadh, with Dar Global as the developer. The company is also responsible for the Trump Tower Dubai. 'The 80-storey tower introduces one of the highest outdoor pools globally,' said Syed. 'Residents have exclusive access to the Trump Membership Club. While memberships are not tied directly to unit ownership, it unlocks benefits across Trump International Towers worldwide. 'The Trump Tower Dubai is situated at the entrance of Downtown, offering a rare balance of visibility, access, and proximity to the city's most iconic landmarks. Its location supports both residential appeal and long-term asset value.' Starting prices at Trump Tower are Dh3.8 million for two-bedroom residences and Dh6.3 million for three-bedroom layouts. This 'reflects its positioning within Downtown's upper-tier market', according to Syed. 'The most exclusive two-bedroom units are priced at Dh7.6 million, while select three-bedroom residences reach Dh8.7 million. These reflect preferred layouts, elevations, and view lines – marking the upper range of each category.' In May 2024, Omniyat Properties confirmed the same of a penthouse at The Lana Residences, Dorchester Collection in Downtown Dubai for Dh139 million. This was the most expensive property to be sold with Burj Khalifa district. 'The Downtown Dubai continues to command some of the highest-value residential transactions in the region,' said Syed. 'Notable sales include a penthouse at Kempinski, The Boulevard sold for Dh80 million, and a residence at Il Primo, which transacted for Dh66.5 million. These sales underline sustained demand for ultra-prime products in the heart of the city.' The SZR is buzzing with the sounds of new projects getting started, most notably the 725 meter tall and 131 storey Burj Azizi. 'Dubai Marina, JLT and surrounding corridors among Dubai's most resilient sub-markets, recording rental yields of 7–10%' : Ravi Menon of Sobha And recently, there was the launch of the 'Sobha Central', a six-tower cluster on SZR. It will have a whole lot of apartments as well as '250,000 square feet of lush green parks, 175,000 square feet of leasable office spaces and 160,000 square feet of retail spaces including an in-built mall', is how the developer Sobha puts it. 'Recent industry reports highlight (Dubai) Marina, JLT and surrounding corridors among Dubai's most resilient sub-markets, recording rental yields of 7–10% and consistent capital appreciation,' said Ravi Menon, Chairman of Sobha. 'Sobha Central caters to the evolving aspirations of homeowners and investors seeking long-term investment value in a vibrant, central location.' The Sheikh Zayed Road is offering up quite a lot of that…
The Hill
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Trump's Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just the 'gesture' of a $400 million luxury plane that President Donald Trump says he's smart to accept from Qatar. Or that he effectively auctioned off the first destination on his first major foreign trip, heading to Saudi Arabia because the kingdom was ready to make big investments in U.S. companies. It's not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East that run deep and offer the potential of vast profits. Instead, it's the idea that the combination of these things and more — deals that show the close ties between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts — could cause the United States to show preferential treatment to Middle Eastern leaders when it comes to American affairs of state. Before Trump began his visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks. They were drumming up business for The Trump Organization, which they are running in their father's stead while he's in the White House. Eric Trump announced plans for an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE's largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto company, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff. 'We are proud to expand our presence in the region,' Eric Trump said last month in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall. The presidential visit to the region, as his children work the same part of the world for the family's moneymaking opportunities, puts a spotlight on Trump's willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking while in the White House, even in the face of growing concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family's bottom line. The Trump family's business interests in the region include a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund. The family is also leasing its brand to two new real estate projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, in partnership with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer and subsidiary of private Saudi real estate firm Al Arkan. The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower set to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming Trump International Hotel and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman. During the crypto conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial's stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested. 'I don't know anything about it,' Trump said when asked by reporters about the transaction on Wednesday. Then there's the Saudi government-backed LIV Golf, which has forged close business relationships with the president and hosted tournaments at Trump's Doral resort in South Florida. 'Given the extensive ties between LIV Golf and the PIF, or between Trump enterprises more generally and the Gulf, I'd say there's a pretty glaring conflict of interest here,' said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. He was referring to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has invested heavily in everything from global sports giants to video game maker Nintendo with the aim of diversifying the kingdom's economy beyond oil. Trump said he did not talk about LIV Golf during his visit in Saudi Arabia. The president announced in January a $20 billion investment for U.S. data centers promised by DAMAC Properties, an Emirati company led by billionaire Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani. Trump bills that as benefiting the country's technological and economic standing rather than his family business. But Sajwani was a close business partner of Trump and his family since long before the 2016 election. Asked before he left for the Middle East if Trump might use the trip to meet with people tied to his family's business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was 'ridiculous' to 'suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.' 'The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,' she said. Administration officials have brushed off such concerns about the president's policy decisions bleeding into the business interests of his family by noting that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. A voluntary ethics agreement released by The Trump Organization also bars the firm from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement still allows deals with private companies abroad. In Trump's first term, the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting deals with both foreign governments and foreign companies. The president, according to the second-term ethics agreement, isn't involved in any day-to-day decision-making for the family business. But his political and corporate brands remain inextricably linked. 'The president is a successful businessman,' Leavitt said, 'and I think, frankly, that it's one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.' Timothy P. Carney, senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn't want to see U.S. foreign policy being affected by Trump's feelings about how other countries have treated his family's business. 'Even if he's not running the company, he profits when the company does well,' Carney said. 'When he leaves the White House, the company is worth more, his personal wealth goes up.' His family business aside, the president wasn't shy about saying he'd shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo. Trump's first stop was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced that the actual figure is $600 billion. How much of that will actually be new investment — or come to fruition — remains to be seen. The president is also headed to the UAE, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and Boeing and GE Aerospace announced a $96 billion deal while he was in Qatar on Wednesday that will see that country's state-owned airline acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing aircraft. Trump, meanwhile, says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives. Trump's first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on 'The Apprentice.' A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city's manmade island shaped like a palm tree. It never materialized. Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani's DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, 'And I turned it down.' 'I didn't have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president,' Trump said then. This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump's side at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC's investment in U.S. data centers. 'It's been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,' Sajwani said. 'For the last four years, we've been waiting for this moment.'
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump's Middle East visit comes as his family deepens its business, crypto ties in the region
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just the 'gesture' of a $400 million luxury plane that President Donald Trump says he's smart to accept from Qatar. Or that he effectively auctioned off the first destination on his first major foreign trip, heading to Saudi Arabia because the kingdom was ready to make big investments in U.S. companies. It's not even that the Trump family has fast-growing business ties in the Middle East that run deep and offer the potential of vast profits. Instead, it's the idea that the combination of these things and more — deals that show the close ties between a family whose patriarch oversees the U.S. government and a region whose leaders are fond of currying favor through money and lavish gifts — could cause the United States to show preferential treatment to Middle Eastern leaders when it comes to American affairs of state. Before Trump began his visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, his sons Eric and Donald Jr. had already traveled the Middle East extensively in recent weeks. They were drumming up business for The Trump Organization, which they are running in their father's stead while he's in the White House. Eric Trump announced plans for an 80-story Trump Tower in Dubai, the UAE's largest city. He also attended a recent cryptocurrency conference there with Zach Witkoff, a founder of the Trump family crypto company, World Liberty Financial, and son of Trump's do-everything envoy to the Mideast, Steve Witkoff. 'We are proud to expand our presence in the region,' Eric Trump said last month in announcing that Trump Tower Dubai was set to start construction this fall. The presidential visit to the region, as his children work the same part of the world for the family's moneymaking opportunities, puts a spotlight on Trump's willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking while in the White House, even in the face of growing concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family's bottom line. Nowhere is the potential overlap more prevalent than in the Middle East The Trump family's business interests in the region include a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that country's sovereign wealth fund. The family is also leasing its brand to two new real estate projects in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, in partnership with Dar Global, a London-based luxury real estate developer and subsidiary of private Saudi real estate firm Al Arkan. The Trump Organization has similarly partnered with Dar Global on a Trump Tower set to be built in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and an upcoming Trump International Hotel and luxury golf development in neighboring Oman. During the crypto conference, a state-backed investment company in Abu Dhabi announced it had chosen USD, World Liberty Financial's stablecoin, to back a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. Critics say that allows Trump family-aligned interests to essentially take a cut of each dollar invested. 'I don't know anything about it,' Trump said when asked by reporters about the transaction on Wednesday. Then there's the Saudi government-backed LIV Golf, which has forged close business relationships with the president and hosted tournaments at Trump's Doral resort in South Florida. 'Given the extensive ties between LIV Golf and the PIF, or between Trump enterprises more generally and the Gulf, I'd say there's a pretty glaring conflict of interest here," said Jon Hoffman, a research fellow in defense and foreign policy at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. He was referring to Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which has invested heavily in everything from global sports giants to video game maker Nintendo with the aim of diversifying the kingdom's economy beyond oil. Trump said he did not talk about LIV Golf during his visit in Saudi Arabia. The president announced in January a $20 billion investment for U.S. data centers promised by DAMAC Properties, an Emirati company led by billionaire Dubai developer Hussain Sajwani. Trump bills that as benefiting the country's technological and economic standing rather than his family business. But Sajwani was a close business partner of Trump and his family since long before the 2016 election. White House bristles at conflict of interest concerns Asked before he left for the Middle East if Trump might use the trip to meet with people tied to his family's business, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was 'ridiculous' to 'suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.' 'The president is abiding by all conflict of interest laws,' she said. Administration officials have brushed off such concerns about the president's policy decisions bleeding into the business interests of his family by noting that Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. A voluntary ethics agreement released by The Trump Organization also bars the firm from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement still allows deals with private companies abroad. In Trump's first term, the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting deals with both foreign governments and foreign companies. The president, according to the second-term ethics agreement, isn't involved in any day-to-day decision-making for the family business. But his political and corporate brands remain inextricably linked. 'The president is a successful businessman,' Leavitt said, "and I think, frankly, that it's one of the many reasons that people reelected him back to this office.' Timothy P. Carney, senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he doesn't want to see U.S. foreign policy being affected by Trump's feelings about how other countries have treated his family's business. 'Even if he's not running the company, he profits when the company does well,' Carney said. 'When he leaves the White House, the company is worth more, his personal wealth goes up.' Promises of US investment shaped Trump's trip His family business aside, the president wasn't shy about saying he'd shape the itinerary of his first extended overseas trip on quid pro quo. Trump's first stop was Saudi Arabia, just as during his first term. He picked the destination after he said the kingdom had pledged to spend $1 trillion on U.S. companies over four years. The White House has since announced that the actual figure is $600 billion. How much of that will actually be new investment — or come to fruition — remains to be seen. The president is also stopping in the UAE, which has pledged $1.4 trillion in U.S. investments over the next 10 years, and in Qatar, where Trump says accepting the gift of a Boeing 747 from the ruling family is a no-brainer, dismissing security and ethical concerns raised by Democrats and even some conservatives. Trump's Middle East business ties predate his presidencies Trump's first commercial foray in the Middle East came in 2005, during just his second year of starring on 'The Apprentice.' A Trump Tower Dubai project was envisioned as a tulip-shaped hotel to be perched on the city's manmade island shaped like a palm tree. It never materialized. Instead, February 2017 saw the announced opening of Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with Sajwani's DAMAC Properties. Just a month earlier, Trump had said that Sajwani had tried to make a $2 billion deal with him, 'And I turned it down." 'I didn't have to turn it down, because as you know, I have a no-conflict situation because I'm president,' Trump said then. This January, there was a beaming Sajwani standing triumphantly by Trump's side at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, to announce DAMAC's investment in U.S. data centers. 'It's been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,' Sajwani said. 'For the last four years, we've been waiting for this moment.'
News.com.au
04-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Donald Trump's newest tower boasts ‘world's highest pool'
In Trump world, everything is often the biggest and the best and the US President's latest real estate project is no different. Donald Trump is making his first foray into Middle East high-rise development with Trump Tower Dubai and like most things the 45th and 47th President does, it will shakes things up. The tower in the city known for its largesse will be 80 storeys and 335m high or more than 1000 feet tall on the old scale. In comparison, Australia's tallest building Q1 on the Gold Coast is 322.5m tall. Trump Tower Dubai is promising the epitome in luxury living, boasting deluxe hotel rooms and suites complete with flawless views out over the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 821m, and Arabian Sea. But the headline grabbing, social media attention tweaking feature is the world's highest outdoor pool. According to renderings of the project, which is due to be completed in December 2031, the luxury pool will sit at the top of the grand tower and have 360 degree views. With ample pool space for swimming and covered poolside seating for taking it easy, the pool will surely feature on billions of social media feeds when it does open. 'Trump International Hotel & Tower, Dubai is a project that reflects our unwavering commitment to excellence, luxury and innovation,' Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said. 'Dubai is a global destination that shares our vision for iconic development, and we're proud to expand the Trump brand in one of the most dynamic cities on earth.' It will be the region's only Trump-branded tower. Trump Tower Dubai will sit in the downtown precinct and will feature a hotel and apartments, the best of which will be two 'sky-pool penthouses' which have been modelled on New York City's Trump Tower penthouse. Prices for the tower have yet to be released but are expected to be as stratospheric as the project itself. An apartment in the nearby Burj Khalifa recently hit the market for a jawdropping $83m. At 460m above sea level, the unit is said to be the world's highest residential property on sale. It sits on the 107th and 108th stories of the Dubai skyscraper. That 'Sky Palace' apartment boasts access to 12 parking spaces, gated gardens, three gyms, multiple tennis courts and almost 2000 sqm of internal space.
Gulf Business
01-05-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
Eric Trump on why the Gulf is the future of luxury real estate
Image: Getty Images Beyond its scale and prime location, the tower's duplex penthouses with private sky pools are inspired by the iconic Trump Tower penthouse on New York's Fifth Avenue. Floor-to-ceiling glass, opulent interiors, and panoramic skyline views come together to set a new benchmark for high-end living in Dubai. Also central to the development is The Trump — a members-only private club that will offer hand-curated experiences in wellness, gastronomy, and leisure, catering to Dubai's most discerning clientele. To mark the official launch, Eric Trump, executive vice president of The Trump Organization, visited Dubai and spoke with Gulf Business editor Neesha Salian. From the tower's rapid approval to the region's 'yes-first' attitude to development, Trump shared why Dubai, and the wider Gulf are becoming the Trump Organization's most exciting frontier for luxury real estate. Here are excerpts from the conversation. The Trump Organization is actively expanding across the Gulf, including iconic projects like Trump Tower Dubai. What excites you most about being in this region? It's every developer's biggest playground. There are no 'no's' in Dubai and other parts of the Gulf. You go around the world — Europe especially frustrates me, and that's tough because my mother was European, and I spent a lot of time there. But you try to get anything done, and all you hear is 'no'. In the Gulf, you're met with 'yes — and make it bigger, better, more luxurious'. That's an amazing attitude. Most countries are always looking backward. The Gulf doesn't do that. It only looks forward. You visit places that talk about history from 800 years ago. Here, they're talking about where they'll be in 50 years, in 30 years, in a decade. Big aspirations, smart people, monumental capital and mega projects. It's genuinely exciting to be part of. I tell people all the time, as many think their country or system does it better. I always say, be careful, because there are regions out there that are winning the race and doing so in a very big way. As a businessman, as a capitalist, as someone who values efficiency and loves to create, it's inspiring to watch what's happening — not just in Dubai, Abu Dhabi but across the Gulf. Look at Saudi. We've got two, maybe three projects there. Look at Diriyah and some of the masterplans. Nowhere else in the world could they pull something like that off. It's a lot of fun to be part of. How do the forward-looking values here align with those of the Trump Organization? We charge hard. We make decisions fast. In Europe, if you want to build a golf course and move one green seven feet, you'll spend five years in approvals, environmental studies, other surveys — you name it. Now look at Dubai. We got Trump Tower Dubai—an 1,150-foot-tall building with the world's highest outdoor swimming pool — approved in under a month. And that's not because we're Trump. It's because this country is pro-business and wants to see great things happen. Around the world, I see so many projects I'd love to do. But they take too long, cost too much, and are too hard to get off the ground. If they had the Gulf mentality and just said yes, I'd start tomorrow. But I don't have the energy to spend seven years fighting for something I want to do out of passion. So, it doesn't get done. And honestly, I don't think many countries realise how much that holds them back. Tell us about your partnership with Dar Global. We truly fell in love with them. I've known Ziad [ El Chaar, the CEO of Dar Global] for about 15 years now and I worked with him on an incredible gold course project. Honestly, Dar global are exceptional at what they do. They're fast, pragmatic, and incredibly focused on luxury. They're determined to undertake the most beautiful, most incredible projects in the world. Beyond that, I truly enjoy working with them as people. Let's be honest, we're fortunate enough to work with anyone, but when you find people who not only meet all the professional criteria but also ones you genuinely enjoy being around, that's a 'marriage made in heaven'. For me, the people component is more important now. Life is short — you want to enjoy the journey. If you're going to travel around the world for four or five days, you want to have a great time. You want to create something incredible, but you also want to enjoy the experience. And with them, we're so focused on work, we'll be in a place for five days and barely sleep — but we enjoy every second of it. That's what truly defines a partnership. It's not just about the physical product — we can do great work with a lot of people. But it's the partnership itself, the love, the attention, the professionalism, and the honesty. Those qualities matter to me tremendously. Trump properties span across the globe. How do you ensure consistency in maintaining the unique identity of each project while managing such a diverse portfolio? We're building projects globally, but we haven't become one of those 'shotgun' companies with multiple hotels in the same city. Many big hotel brands do this, and while they've done well, it makes their properties lose their lustre — they all blend together and lose their uniqueness. I travel 200 days a year, and sometimes I can't even tell which five-star brand I stayed at because they all feel the same, like clay that just blends together. You can't be unique when that happens. And I never want to be that company. I want all our projects to look so different. We have wineries in the US with 19 rooms in 2,000 acres of vineyards in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have projects on the Las Vegas Strip with 1,282 rooms in the tallest building in Las Vegas. We've got what's going to be the tallest outdoor pool in the world in [Trump Tower] Dubai, and then we have Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. Every single one of our projects is unique. It's contextual to the location. You can feel it; you can see it. And when you look at our employees, they're families of ours. They're not these big public corporations. They're not numbers. They're not people who come and go. They're people who have stayed with us for decades, and you can feel that when you walk through the doors. You can feel the sense of family. When you walk through the doors of a lot of other places, you may not feel the warmth. You can tell that people might do a nice job, it might be a nice experience, you might have a beautiful room, but people are a lot less invested in what that building is. It doesn't feel like their own. It just feels like they're in it, but not really part of it. We take tremendous pride in this. We want the best projects in the world. We want them to be uniquely ours. We don't want the 'mass'. We want the best. And that's my focus. It enables me to avoid the problem you asked about. Don't get me wrong, we're incredibly busy. We've got close to 30 projects all over the world, but it allows us to put attention into all of them and really know them, feel them. I'll know every single hotel, every building we have. I'll know every detail of those projects. How do you think technology is changing real estate, from tokenisation to the way we build and experience structures? I could talk about this one forever. Obviously, technology is having a huge impact. We'll probably be the first mass-market project on a truly global scale to literally offer people the ability to buy their units in Bitcoin, in cryptocurrency. I spend a lot of time in that world. Tokenisation of real estate — it's coming, and it's coming very, very quickly. That actually benefits us more than most, because guess what? It's a lot harder to tokenise a very low-profile project — one no one's heard of, in a bad location, with no brand recognition — than it is to say, 'Hey, we're building Trump Tower Dubai'. It's the best hotel in the city, the best views, the best amenities, the best private club. We minted 20 million tokens — who wants to buy in? That's a massive advantage for brands like ours. We're in demand. We're phenomenal locations where people want to be a part of the story. Tokenisation opens access to a financial world that most people could never have been involved in. Someone might own a millionth of a percentage of a project — but they still get to feel that ownership, that pride of being part of something significant. It also really opens up capital markets. So many investors today have limited options. You've got public companies — but they probably make up less than 1 per cent of the companies out there — yet everyone's concentrated in those. Tokenisation changes that. Suddenly, you don't need the public markets. You can invest in Trump Tower Dubai. And that's a cool thing. Technology affects so many aspects of the business. On the customer side: booking, service, overall experience. More and more, your phone is becoming your room key. You bypass the front desk, get to your room faster. The room service menu pops right onto your screen. It makes the entire travel experience more seamless. But on the finance side — tokenisation, crypto, stablecoins, Bitcoin — that's where the real shift is coming. Sit here in 10 years, and watch: you'll see a major intersection between the tangible world and the intangible world. That includes buying and selling, of course, but also financing, paying vendors, staff, receiving customer payments, issuing refunds. All of it — quicker, cheaper, more transparent. And that's a very exciting thing. There's been a lot of global debate around President Donald Trump's tariffs. What are you seeing in terms of reaction from the Gulf? And what's your broader take on it? That's a really interesting question because the Gulf is one of those regions that isn't impacted by tariffs the way other parts of the world are. The Gulf isn't producing mass-market consumer goods and dumping them worldwide for pennies. That's not the focus here. This region is built around hospitality, big business, oil and gas — and those sectors typically aren't targets for tariffs. What the Gulf really values are safety and security. Now, if you look at the last four years globally, we've seen what happens when there's weak leadership in America. The world changed—and not for the better. Conflicts erupted, like the Russia–Ukraine crisis. The Middle East, which had been one of the most stable regions, saw escalating tensions. What the UAE and others in the Gulf are saying is simple: we want peace, we want prosperity. In my view, there aren't many regions in the world that are more aligned with American values right now than parts of the Middle East. In fact, I'd say the UAE has been one of America's strongest allies, especially when you consider that many other nations have taken advantage of US generosity — taking jobs, industry, and support without giving much back. The Gulf is different. It's built its success through vision, creativity, independence, and smart investment. And that makes for a very strong and mutually respectful relationship. So yes, tariffs are a powerful tool, and the US will no longer be used or taken advantage of. Those days are over. Countries that continue to operate that way will feel the impact. But regions like the Gulf — where the focus is long-term growth, partnership, and mutual respect — will flourish in this kind of environment. And at the core of that success is what makes Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the wider region so unique: a commitment to security, stability, and forward-thinking leadership. A strong America only makes that foundation stronger. What are the leadership values you've taken from your family that help shape how you build and grow your business today? This might sound a bit contrite — and I think most real estate developers would say it — but I'm not sure all of them truly mean it: attention to detail. Detail is everything. Many companies have high turnover — people come and go, without a real sense of belonging. But in this industry, you need a deep love for what you do. Real estate, especially globally, is complex and demanding, with constant travel and time away from family. It's not for everyone — you have to truly love it. You have to be willing to sleep in beds that aren't yours a lot of nights. But at the end of the day, you can sit back in some of these places, look at a skyline, and say, 'That's pretty cool — that's there because of our efforts'. That building will be home to thousands of guests every night. It'll support employees, their families, children going to local schools. You create a whole ecosystem. So, love what you do, work hard, pay attention to small details, and have fun. Do the projects you want to do — not just the ones that are the most profitable. That's how I've shaped my life.
