Albania has given preliminary approval to Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to build a $1.4 billion luxury hotel complex on an abandoned military base.
The deal raises eyebrows, given Trump will oversee foreign policy for Albania and has a track record of seeking revenge when people or businesses don’t do what he wants.
The hotel will be built on a 111-acre section of the 2.2-square-mile island of Sazan, which can be reached by ferry from Albania’s mainland.
Ivanka Trump—who has sworn off politics—is apparently also working on the project.
“The fact that such a renowned American entrepreneur shows his interest in investing in Albania makes us very proud and happy,” a spokesman for Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama told The New York Times last year.
Kushner’s private equity company, Affinity Partners, was also given preliminary approval for a luxury hotel complex in Serbia, another country with vested interest in U.S. relations.
While the Albanian government insists that its only motive behind approving the hotel is tourism, Albania and Serbia both have pending foreign policy matters with the United States as they attempt to join the European Union.
The United States also has a vested interest in bolstering its relationship with Serbia to sway the country from supporting Russia.
Kushner started Affinity Partners after he left his controversial White House role during Trump’s first term, during which he established relationships with the Middle East and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who provided Kushner’s firm $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund.
Kushner’s hotel venture is just one example of questionable business deals circling Trump’s family leading up to his inauguration.
Trump’s real estate company met last week to discuss reclaiming its former Washington, D.C., hotel, which has been owned by Hilton since the Trump family sold the lease rights in 2022 for $375 million.
During Trump’s first term, Democrats claimed that his financial stake violated a constitutional provision known as the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Should the family buy back the hotel, this would revive concerns.
The perks rolling in for Trump’s family are hardly shocking considering his first term. For example, in 2018, China granted 18 trademarks to companies tied to Ivanka and her father over a two-month span. Sixteen of those went to Ivanka Trump Marks LLC, raising her total of trademarks in China at the time to 34 for products such as handbags and sunglasses.
Trump’s other children have also benefited immensely from business, real-estate deals, and other ventures since 2016. Now they’re at it again, and their father hasn’t even taken office yet.
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