Nearly two-thirds of Trump’s foreign licensing fees came from two Gulf developers, in the UAE and Qatar, including one pursuing a $20 billion U.S. expansion.

President Donald Trump’s foreign real-estate licensing business boomed during his first year back in office, generating $59.5 million in 2025 as international developers paid a premium to brand luxury towers, golf courses and coastal resorts with the Trump name.

Foreign licensing revenue, including for the use of the Trump name on properties around the world, rose 71% from 2024. The sum was nearly 10 times higher than in 2023, according to a CNBC analysis of Trump’s annual financial disclosure — fueled by the Trump Organization’s reversal of the company’s first-term pledge to pursue “no new foreign deals whatsoever.”

The Trump Organization’s second-term ethics policy bars new material transactions with foreign governments but allows deals with private foreign companies