Here’s Everything We Know About Trump’s Financial Ties To Saudi Arabia

Forbes

Donald Trump has had business dealings with the Saudis for decades. The big money arrived after he became president.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/11/14/how-trumps-finances-got-tangled-up-with-saudi-arabia/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, here's everything we know about Trump's financial ties to Saudi Arabia.

00:07On October 16th, 2018, one day after parroting a claim from Saudi Arabia's king

00:13that he did not know what happened to murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi,

00:18Donald Trump tweeted, quote,

00:20For the record, I have no financial interests in Saudi Arabia, or Russia for that matter.

00:25Any suggestion that I have is just more fake news, of which there is plenty.

00:31Trump may not have had any interests in Saudi Arabia at the time,

00:35but he had done sporadic business with Saudi Arabia,

00:38offloading the Plaza Hotel to a Saudi prince in 1995,

00:42and selling a set of condos to the Saudi government in 2001.

00:46Trump's ties to the Arab nation grew stronger in the wake of the Khashoggi murder, however,

00:52especially after his first term in office ended.

00:54Since then, the president and his family struck at least nine deals with Saudi investors,

01:00pushing millions into the president's golf properties,

01:03tens of millions into his licensing business,

01:06and billions into private equity funds, according to Forbes calculations.

01:11In 2024 alone, Trump and his extended family collected an estimated $50 million from deals

01:17connected to Saudi Arabia.

01:20All that money may help explain why Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,

01:24the man the U.S. intelligence community believes approved a plan to capture or kill Khashoggi,

01:30is expected to receive a warm welcome when he returns to the White House on Tuesday.

01:34The prince, who has said he did not order the murder,

01:38will surely want to focus on other matters.

01:40There's much to discuss.

01:42Military equipment, oil supplies, peace negotiations, and, of course, money.

01:48The topic that has bound Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia for decades.

01:53Here are some key moments in the relationship's timeline.

01:571991.

01:58A mountain of casino-fuel debt crashes down on Trump,

02:02leading to a string of bankruptcies.

02:04Under pressure, the real estate mogul parts with some of his toys,

02:08including the Trump princess yacht,

02:10which ends up in the hands of Saudi Prince Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al-Sawood.

02:171995.

02:18Trump offloads the Plaza Hotel to Al-Walid as well,

02:22along with Singaporean billionaire Quek Lang Bang,

02:24in a sale that values the property at $325 million,

02:29about $80 million less than the New York tycoon paid for it.

02:322001.

02:35Trump sells the entire 45th floor of Trump World Tower,

02:39with five apartments and a combined 10,000 square feet near the United Nations,

02:44to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for $12 million,

02:47according to an analysis of real estate records.

02:49At a campaign event in 2015, Trump says,

02:53quote,

02:54Saudi Arabia, and I get along great with all of them,

02:57they buy apartments from me.

02:59Am I supposed to dislike them?

03:00I like them very much.

03:03August 2015.

03:04Two months after launching his first presidential campaign,

03:09Donald Trump creates eight new business entities,

03:11including THC Jetta Hotel Manager LLC

03:14and DT Jetta Technical Services Manager LLC.

03:18The naming conventions of those companies resemble other entities Trump uses with far-flung licensing and management deals,

03:25such as ones in Indonesia and Vancouver.

03:28Trump does not officially announce a project in Jetta,

03:31but the existence of the companies suggests he may have been working on one during his 2016 campaign.

03:37October 26th, 2016.

03:41The Trump International Hotel officially opens in Washington, D.C.,

03:45guaranteeing the president an address on Pennsylvania Avenue,

03:48regardless of whether he wins the election.

03:50The Saudi government quickly pays its respects,

03:53spending at least $270,000 there by the end of March 2017,

03:58$78,000 of it on catering.

04:02May 20th, 2017.

04:04Trump takes his first trip as president to Saudi Arabia

04:08instead of a traditional destination like Canada, Mexico, or the United Kingdom.

04:13Alongside a picture of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

04:17greeting him on the red carpet in front of Air Force One,

04:20the president tweets,

04:21quote,

04:22Great to be in Riyadh.

04:23The next day, Trump touches a glowing orb alongside the king.

04:27A photo of the moment goes viral.

04:312021.

04:31Out of office, first son-in-law Jared Kushner

04:35opens a private equity shop named Affinity Partners.

04:38By 2024, Kushner secures capital commitments of $2 billion

04:43from the Saudi government's public investment fund,

04:46according to a letter from Ron Wyden,

04:48former chairman of the Senate's Committee on Finance.

04:51Those funds, committed through August 2026,

04:54come with a 1.25% management fee,

04:57suggesting the Saudis will pay Kushner's firm

05:00at least $125 million over five years,

05:04helping push Kushner's personal net worth

05:06north of $1 billion.

05:09For full coverage and to see the whole timeline,

05:12check out Dan Alexander's piece on Forbes.com.

05:17This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:19Thanks for tuning in.

05:27Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:28Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

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05:39Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

05:40Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

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