Trumpets & Tycoons: Donald Jr. Teams Up With India’s Crown Jewel

The Trump company has entered into a high-profile business partnership with Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man and chairman of Reliance Industries, the latest move in international deal-making. The Wall Street Journal reported that the partnership is among a gigantic roster of foreign deals for the Trump Organization, with development fees received on such deals increasing fivefold from 2023 levels.

 

Key Highlights:

 

•⁠  ⁠Ambani is one of a small group of foreign investors supporting Trump's property empire, while the Trump group boosts foreign business activity following years of keeping a low profile.

 

•⁠  ⁠The transaction comes on the heels of a wave of Trump-branded developments in such hotspots as Vietnam, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia, with global patrons paying licensing and related fees of $44 million in 2024, up from $8.2 million in 2023.

 

•⁠  ⁠The Ambani-Trump connection indicates the growing proximity of Reliance and US and American interests, with Ambani's business house already attracting major investments by US technology majors and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds.

 

•⁠  ⁠Recent interactions between Trump and Ambani, including state dinners and high-level meetings in Doha, underscore the personal and strategic character of this relationship.

 

Prospects: This partnership will reshape global business diplomacy and real estate. With Ambani's money and Trump's brand, expect new business deals that will reshape markets from Manhattan to Mumbai—making the Ambani-Trump axis a force to be reckoned with in global business.

 

Source: The Wall Street Journal