ByDan Alexander,
Forbes Staff.
O
n January 11, 2017, nine days before he became president the first time, Donald Trump revealed how he planned to handle his multibillion-dollar business while in the White House. He would not sell his assets. Nor would he give them to his heirs. Nor create a blind trust, nor empower an independent executive. But there was one line he promised to never cross—there would be no new foreign business deals. “Over the weekend,” the president-elect explained at a press conference inside Trump Tower, “I was offered $2 billion to do a deal in Dubai—a number of deals. And I turned it down.”
Eight years later, the United Arab Emirates, home to the metropolises of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, has become a hub for the Trump Organization’s international expansion. With first sons Don Jr. and Eric serving as emissaries, the president and his family have entered into at least nine agreements with ties to the gulf nation—some involving government entities in the country, many stemming from business relationships developed there. Together, the ventures, which include five licensing agreements and three cryptocurrency deals, will provide an estimated $500 million in 2025—and about $50 million annually for years into the future.
