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Trump’s Indian real estate empire quadruples: 11 million Sq Ft, 6 cities, and billions in pipeline

Despite branding India a “dead economy,” Donald Trump’s family business has made the country its biggest market outside the US — earning over ₹175 crore and expanding aggressively post-2024 election win.

Amin Masoodi 06 August 2025 05:32

Donald Trump

Even as Donald Trump dismisses India as a “dead economy,” his family’s real estate empire is thriving here like never before. Over the past decade, India has quietly emerged as The Trump Organization’s largest international market, with the US President’s real estate footprint growing nearly four-fold — from 3 million to 11 million square feet across six major cities.

The expansion accelerated sharply following Trump’s re-election as the 47th President of the United States in November 2024. In just eight months since his win, The Trump Organization and its India partner Tribeca Developers have announced at least six new luxury projects—in Pune, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Noida, and Bengaluru — spanning over 8 million square feet.

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While revenue details from the new ventures remain undisclosed, experts point to the low-risk, high-reward model: The Trump Organization doesn't invest capital but licenses its brand for development fees and royalties, typically 3–5% of sales, or upfront licensing payments. The properties are marketed as ultra-luxury developments, commanding a premium simply by carrying the Trump name.

“India has embraced the Trump brand with remarkable enthusiasm,” said Eric Trump, Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization, during the launch of their first commercial project in Pune this March.

A billion-dollar pipeline, zero financial risk

According to Tribeca, the ongoing and upcoming projects in India bring in an estimated sales potential of ₹15,000 crore, while shielding The Trump Organization from construction costs or investment risks. Of the new developments, three projects totaling 4.3 million square feet have already launched this year in Gurugram, Pune, and Hyderabad.

Notably, these ventures have attracted partnerships with India’s most powerful builders—including Reliance Industries Ltd., Lodha Group, M3M Group, Panchshil Realty, Unimark, and IRA Infra. Reliance subsidiary 4IR Realty alone paid $10 million in development fees in 2024, financial disclosures show.

The Trump legacy in India: A timeline

  • 2012–2013: Trump’s India foray began with projects in Pune and Mumbai.
  • 2017: At the start of Trump’s first term, projects in Gurugram and Kolkata were added.
  • 2024–2025: Post re-election, the brand adds six more mega-developments across India.

From 2012 to 2019, Trump’s Indian ventures earned at least $11.3 million in fees. In the first two years of his first presidency, the business raked in $2.3 million, according to US tax records.

To facilitate the 2024 push, the Trump Organization incorporated five India-focused entities, including DT Marks Noida 94 LLC and DT Marks Pune Mundhwa LLC. Today, of the 13 Trump-branded projects in India:

  • 2 are completed
  • 2 nearing completion
  • 3 in early development
  • 3 awaiting launch
  • 2 are stalled
  • 1 by Reliance is still under wraps

Trump family and Tribeca: The Wharton connection

The Trump brand’s surge in India is also rooted in personal ties. Kalpesh Mehta, the Wharton-educated founder of Tribeca Developers, was introduced to Donald Trump Jr. (also a Wharton alum) by a shared professor—an introduction that led to an exclusive brand licensing partnership.

Donald Trump Jr. has publicly called India “the biggest push for our organization,” and that vision is playing out with aggressive speed, even as political rhetoric tells a different story.

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Contradictions aside, India remains Trump’s real estate goldmine

As political tensions simmer between Washington and New Delhi — with Trump frequently attacking India’s trade practices and oil deals with Russia — the real estate numbers tell a different tale. Behind the headlines and hostility, Brand Trump is deeply entrenched in Indian soil, with its footprint only set to grow.

Despite no public comments from the Trump Organization or most of its Indian partners for this report, market indicators point to a booming phase for the brand’s luxury realty avatar in India, making it arguably one of Trump’s most lucrative foreign ventures — ironic, perhaps, for a leader so publicly dismissive of the country.

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