Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025
Gulf developers accounted for over 60 percent of the revenue, with Saudi and Emirati firms paying the most
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
The Trump Organization has said that the President's financial interests are being managed independently.
Photograph: IBTimes (embedded from source)
What this story says
- President Donald Trump’s foreign real estate licensing income totalled $59.5 million in 2025, up 71 percent from 2024 and nearly ten times the 2023 figure.
- More than 60 percent of the revenue came from Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan and Dubai’s Damac contributing $25.8 million and $11.3 million respectively.
- The White House stated there was no conflict of interest, while ethics watchdogs argued the deals created an unprecedented overlap between Trump’s public role and private wealth.
- No right-rated outlet reported on the story, according to the digests and reports available.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 3 of the 9 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
86/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
18/100
9 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
President Donald Trump earned $59.5 million in 2025 from licensing his name for foreign real estate projects. The figure, drawn from his financial disclosure, marks a 71 percent increase from 2024 and nearly a tenfold rise from 2023. The Trump Organization reversed its first-term pledge to pursue no new foreign deals, and four previously unlisted licensing LLCs generated $20.25 million of the 2025 total.
Gulf countries accounted for over 60 percent of the licensing income. Projects linked to Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan and its subsidiaries contributed $25.8 million, while Dubai’s Damac paid $11.3 million. The United Arab Emirates generated roughly $22 million, Saudi Arabia $9 million, and Qatar $5 million. Some developers were also seeking U.S. investments, government approvals, or favourable diplomatic relations.
The Trump Organization stated it operates separately from the presidency and complies with ethics laws. It appointed an outside ethics adviser to avoid conflicts. The White House told CNBC that Trump’s decisions were guided only by the best interest of the American people. CNBC found no evidence that the payments influenced administration decisions or resulted in special treatment.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran the story, according to the digests and reports available. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the unresolved Foreign Emoluments Clause questions or the ethics watchdogs’ concerns. The Independent’s digest was the only one to quote a critic’s statement that foreign governments were putting money directly into Trump’s pocket.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 11 Aug 2026, 00:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on the scale of the income and its potential ethical implications. CNBC’s full report detailed the $59.5 million figure, the 71 percent increase, and the tenfold rise from 2023. It named the Gulf developers, the sums they paid, and the unresolved questions around the Foreign Emoluments Clause. The report quoted Scott Greytak of Transparency International U.S., who said: "Foreign governments and politically connected businesses now have a direct, incredibly visible way to put money into the sitting president’s pocket."
- The Independent’s digest highlighted the criticism that foreign governments were putting money directly into Trump’s pocket. Joe.My.God.’s digest repeated CNBC’s phrasing, including the 71 percent increase and the tenfold rise from 2023. All three left-rated digests and reports carried the $59.5 million figure, the Gulf share, and the names of the Saudi and Emirati developers.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on the financial scale and the White House’s denial of conflict. IBTimes’s full report led with the $59.5 million figure and the 71 percent increase. It quoted the White House statement that Trump’s decisions were guided only by the best interest of the American people. The report also carried the Trump Organization’s claim that it operates separately from the presidency and complies with ethics laws.
- The digests from thepress.net and Political Wire both repeated CNBC’s phrasing on the $59.5 million figure and the 71 percent increase. Thepress.net’s digest added that nearly two-thirds of the fees came from two Gulf developers pursuing a $20 billion U.S. expansion. All three centre-rated digests and reports carried the $59.5 million figure and the Gulf share, but none named the Saudi or Emirati developers.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
9 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Trump generated $59.5M in his first year back by licensing his brand overseas (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Made $60M Via Foreign Licensing In 2025 (opens Joe.My.God. in a new tab)
Joe.My.God. — is Joe.My.God. biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump’s foreign licensing business booms to $59.5 million as Gulf developers pay (opens CNBC in a new tab)
Centre
3- Foreign Developers Spent Millions Licensing Trump's Name. The White House Says There's No Conflict. (opens IBTimes in a new tab)
- Trump’s foreign licensing business booms to $59.5 million as Gulf developers pay (opens thepress.net in a new tab)
thepress.net — is thepress.net biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump’s Foreign Licensing Income Surged (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
3- Gulf Projects Drive Trump’s Foreign Real Estate Income Up 71% to $59.5 Million (opens NDTV Profit in a new tab)
NDTV Profit — is NDTV Profit biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Is Making Money Off His Name. He Is Doing Well in the Real Estate Business, Earning Almost $60 Million From Licensing. (opens Hospodárske Noviny in a new tab)
Hospodárske Noviny — is Hospodárske Noviny biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Report: Trump Made $59.5 Million in Foreign Real Estate Licensing During 2025 (opens Weekly Real Estate News in a new tab)
Weekly Real Estate News
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 9. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025 left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025 biased?
- Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025 is one event reported by 9 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump earned $59.5m from foreign real estate licensing in 2025?
- 9 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much did Trump earn from foreign real estate licensing in 2025?
- President Donald Trump earned $59.5 million from foreign real estate licensing in 2025. The figure represents a 71 percent increase from 2024 and nearly ten times the revenue reported in 2023, according to his financial disclosure and reports by CNBC and other outlets.
- Which countries contributed the most to Trump’s foreign licensing income?
- Over 60 percent of Trump’s foreign licensing income in 2025 came from Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia’s Dar Al Arkan and its subsidiaries contributed $25.8 million, while Dubai’s Damac paid $11.3 million. The United Arab Emirates generated roughly $22 million in total.
- Did the White House address concerns about conflicts of interest?
- The White House told CNBC that the only special interest guiding President Trump’s decisions was the best interest of the American people. The Trump Organization stated it operates separately from the presidency and complies with ethics laws, but ethics watchdogs argued the deals created potential conflicts.
- Which outlets reported on Trump’s foreign licensing income?
- Left-rated outlets like CNBC, The Independent, and Joe.My.God. reported on the story, as did centre-rated outlets including IBTimes, thepress.net, and Political Wire. No right-rated outlet ran the story, according to the digests and reports available.
How did this read?
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