Trump-Aligned Middle East Firms Dar Global, Damac Announce U.S. Expansions
Two Persian Gulf state firms with long ties to The Trump Organization plan to boost their presence in the U.S. with a string of luxury projects aimed at American and international buyers and billions of dollars in new data centers.
Saudi Arabia-based Dar Global announced in a statement provided to Reuters on Tuesday that it would build luxury residences in “key international cities” in the U.S. and Greece.
Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday morning that Emirati company Damac Properties would invest $20B in data centers across the nation.
Dar Global is the international branch of the Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Co., which was founded in Riyadh. It has a longstanding relationship with The Trump Organization, the privately owned conglomerate that serves as the holding company for Trump's business ventures and real estate investments.
The two firms are working together on two new projects in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, Trump Organization Executive Vice President Eric Trump told Reuters last month. The two firms are also planning new Trump towers in Jeddah and Dubai.
The Trump Organization pledged not to make any new foreign deals while Trump was in office during his first term from 2017-2021, Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon said during a press conference in 2017. The Trump Organization didn't immediately respond to Bisnow’s request for comment.
The latest update from Dar Global came after the firm announced plans to invest $300M in luxury U.S. real estate projects this past summer. Those include ventures in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Powerful real estate players from the Persian Gulf states have been orbiting Trump for years.
Among them is Damac founder Hussain Sajwani, who appeared with Trump at a Tuesday press conference touting the firm's multibillion-dollar investment into U.S. data centers. Phase 1 of the data center rollout will focus on Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, Trump said at the event, according to CNBC, adding that Damac could ultimately double its $20B commitment.
“It’s been amazing news for me and my family when he was elected in November,” Sajwani said, according to The Associated Press.
Sajwani has made an appearance at several of the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve parties, including the most recent one, Salon reported.
Damac and The Trump Organization worked together on a Trump-branded golf course in Dubai. The project began before Trump’s first term started but wasn’t completed until 2017.
Several other residential, hotel and golf projects in the Gulf are listed on the “coming soon” page of The Trump Organization’s website. Those are slated for Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Muscat in Oman, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
