In late 2024, just after the U.S. presidential election, the international arm of a Saudi real-estate development company announced that it was betting big on the Trump name.
The company, Dar Global, was already in business with the Trump Organization. Now, the pair was planning at least three new developments together in Saudi Arabia: Two in the capital of Riyadh as well as a tower in Jeddah — all bearing the Trump brand.
But that was just the beginning. As Mr. Trump returned to the White House, the partnership had its eyes set on other potential deals.
Dar Global has become the Trump Organization’s most important foreign business partner and a key conduit to Gulf Arab governments and companies. Its deals to license the Trump name delivered $21.9 million to the Trump family business last year.
The firm is an offshoot of one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest real-estate developers with close ties to the government, and has ridden the Trump brand to global prominence. Earlier this year, the firm opened its first U.S. office — on the 19th floor of Trump Tower.
Last month, the chief executive, Ziad El Chaar, foreshadowed more Trump-branded deals in Saudi Arabia, where massive government-owned developments are underway.
