Trump foreign licensing income surged to $59.5 million

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

Four Trump-affiliated licensing LLCs not listed in his 2024 disclosure generated $20.25 million in 2025, accounting for 82% of the increase. Five other licensing LLCs that had previously been listed as inactive generated another $9.64 million. 

More than 60% of the licensing income came from projects in Gulf countries.

Some of those developers licensing the Trump name were pursuing major U.S. investments, seeking government permits or pressing for favorable economic and diplomatic relations. Other Trump-branded projects relied on state-owned land, sovereign investment or partnerships with government-controlled companies.

The result, ethics watchdogs told CNBC, is an unprecedented collision between the president’s public power and private wealth. The deals also raise unresolved questions, legal experts told CNBC, about the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause.

CNBC found no evidence that any licensing payment influenced an administration decision, that a developer received special treatment or that Trump intervened on a company’s behalf.

The Trump Organization told CNBC it operates “completely separate from the presidency,” complies with ethics and conflict-of-interest laws and uses an outside ethics adviser to avoid conflicts. The Trump Organization did not respond to questions about specific projects involving foreign licensing.

Asked about Trump’s foreign dealmaking, a White House spokesperson did not address the arrangements directly. The spokesperson said “the only special interest guiding” Trump’s decisions is “the best interest of the American people” and pointed to more than $2 trillion in investment commitments and commercial, defense, aviation and technology deals announced during the president’s May 2025 Gulf trip.

“Foreign governments and politically connected businesses now have a direct, incredibly visible way to put money into the sitting president’s pocket,” said Scott Greytak, deputy executive director of Transparency International U.S., an…