Designs have been revealed for a Trump Tower project in Tbilisi, Georgia, designed by Gensler, which will feature “six architecturally distinctive towers,” including a 70-story skyscraper that is set to be the tallest in the country.
A new Trump Tower in Tbilisi, Georgia is starting to take shape. This week, the developers launched a new version of the planned skyscraper, and the new Trump-licensed property will likely earn President Donald Trump millions of dollars. It is easy to understand why not lucrative foreign agreements while the president is in office.
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Trump Tower Tbilisi will be a 70-storey mixed-use skyscraper overlooking the city’s Central Park. It is part of a broader $2 billion development project called “The Tbilisi Downtown”, which will include shopping, hotels, restaurants and commercial properties. The tower will be Georgia’s tallest building when completed, according to the Trump Organization, which states that they are collaborating on the property with several other real estate development companies.
– Explosion in foreign revenues
The property in Tbilisi is the latest in a series of foreign licensing and branding agreements the Trump Organization has signed since Trump was re-elected. Revenues from foreign licenses exploded by 650 percent in 2024 and only continue to grow.
It’s still unclear exactly how the Georgia estate will benefit the president, but based on recent deals, Trump could easily make more than $5 million from the development.
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Experts: “It’s corruption”
The foreign agreements have caused widespread concern among ethics experts, who believe there is a clear conflict of interest for Trump. Former head of the Office of Government Ethics, Walter Shaub, told Forbes last year:
“It has gone so far that it is the exact opposite of government ethics. I guess we would call it corruption.
The White House and the Trump Organization have not yet responded to requests for comment on the Tbilisi project. But the Trump administration and Eric Trump – the president’s son who now runs the family business – have previously denied that the foreign agreements pose any conflict of interest with his father’s presidency. They justify this by the fact that Trump’s assets are placed in a trust controlled by his children.
Trump is worth $6.2 billion
Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth at $6.2 billion. The income from licensing and management agreements – including foreign properties – accounts for about $533 million of his wealth. – Of this, Donald Trump has earned the most from deals and crypto since he won the election in the US in the fall of 2024.
Long history of Georgia
Trump has a long history with Georgia. As early as 2009, he and his company began to look at the possibility of developing a property there. At that time, businessman Giorgi Rtskhiladze first contacted Trump’s ex-wife Ivana Trump and former “fixer” Michael Cohen. Plans for a Trump Tower in Georgia went ahead, but eventually fell apart during Trump’s first term.
Background: Several agreements in the second presidential term
The amount of foreign Trump deals in the president’s second term is in stark contrast to his first, when the Trump Organization withdrew from foreign investment to avoid the impression of irregularities. However, Trump did not withdraw from his company. Although he retired from the day-to-day running of the business empire, he still caused controversy with measures that could benefit his presidency—including the now-defunct Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Use of Donald Trump’s stablecoin tiol payments and investments in his social media company where he is the only one to have made billions.
Presidents and other federal officials are largely prohibited from making money from office under the so-called “Emoluments Clause,” which prevents them from receiving gifts or other benefits from the United States, states or foreign governments. Lawsuits were filed during Trump’s first administration alleging violations of the Emoluments Clause, but none of them were able to stop Trump’s business activities.
When Trump won the 2024 election, Eric Trump publicly said that the Trump Organization’s strategy for foreign agreements would be “no different” than during the president’s first term. Nevertheless, many foreign agreements quickly followed – especially in the Middle East.
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