When Donald Trump led the Trump Group, he licensed his title to developer Tamir Sapir for the 46-story Trump Soho hotel-condo.
That was twenty years in the past. Sapir died in 2014. Trump’s serving his second time period as president after placing his actual property property in a belief throughout his first stint in workplace.
Now, the agency, led by the president’s sons Eric and Donald Jr., is teaming up with Sapir’s son Alex to assemble a Trump Tower within the former Soviet republic of Georgia, the place Tamir Sapir was born. The plan provides a window on how the Trump scions lean on previous connections to license their model to overseas builders.
The Trump Org, Sapir Group and their Georgian companions Archi Group and INVIA launched a grandiose advertising marketing campaign for a deliberate 62-story apartment tower in Tbilisi, Georgia, which might be the tallest within the nation.
Trump’s apartment tower, overlooking Tbilisi’s new Central Park, is designed by Gensler and would be the first section of a $2 billion, six-tower master-planned improvement known as Downtown Tbilisi. The realm is understood for its cobblestone streets and mixture of nineteenth century and Soviet-style buildings.
“It’s going to be essentially the most architecturally important constructing in-built Europe in a while,” stated Eric Trump in an interview with The Actual Deal.
The builders held a launch get together on Tuesday that includes dancers, drone fireworks, and an animated portrayal of the brand new Trump Tower to the music “YMCA.” Eric Trump appeared by way of video from Florida to talk to a crowd of lots of of onlookers in enterprise apparel.
Trump informed TRD the Trump Org is just not an fairness companion within the undertaking. Trump Org will work on the design, advertising and administration of the property, however depends on its native companions, Archi and INVIA, he stated.
“As an American firm going into Tbilisi, it’d be very laborious for us to go discover the Trump Tower of Tbilisi,” stated Trump. “We wouldn’t have that land. You really want the folks.”
Alex Sapir, CEO of the Sapir Org, launched Eric Trump to the undertaking’s Georgian improvement companions.
“Alex has been a longtime good friend of the household,” stated Trump. “He is aware of what he’s doing, and he’s been an amazing particular person in our life for a lot of, a few years, an individual that we belief.”
Sapir informed TRD he was launched final yr to Ilia Tsulaia, a founding father of Archi and one of many largest builders in Georgia, by his enterprise companions within the European nation.
He traveled to the nation in November 2025 for the primary time since he was 5 years previous.
“The journey actually hit me quite a bit,” Sapir stated.
Sapir stated he informed Tsulaia he needed to do one thing for the nation. Tsulaia, it turned out, had plans to assemble the tallest constructing within the middle of town. Sapir informed him he had the proper model for a brand new improvement: Trump.
From Georgia with love
The Georgian builders agreed to amass the land for the undertaking in 2023 from a basis managed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s household, in keeping with the Wall Street Journal. The builders would pay the inspiration $85 million at a later date, in keeping with the report. The funds have been paid by July, a spokesperson for the undertaking informed TRD.
Ivanishvili was the nation’s prime minister in 2012 and 2013 and a founding father of the Russia-friendly Georgian Dream get together. Ivanishvili was sanctioned by the U.S. in December 2024 for undermining the democracy of Georgia.
The Tbilisi undertaking follows a sample of comparable abroad offers for the Trump Org, together with in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. Trump Org licenses its model in trade for a charge and, normally, a portion of income. They aren’t an fairness companion, Trump stated.
Trump Org’s offers have come beneath scrutiny from critics who declare they’re a means for overseas pursuits to purchase entry or goodwill with the Trump administration. President Trump made greater than $2 billion in income in 2025 by means of his numerous companies, in comparison with $622 million the yr prior, monetary disclosures present.
The White Home didn’t return a request for remark.
“[Trump Tower Tbilisi] has nothing to do with the affect of a authorities or the affect of my father,” Eric Trump informed TRD. “My father definitely isn’t influenced by anybody. I feel he’s confirmed that fairly dramatically over many, many, a few years.”
Sapir stated the Trump Tower in Tbilisi is strictly an actual property deal.
“On the finish of the day, the man [Ivanishvili] is likely one of the richest guys on the earth, so he owns lots of property,” Sapir stated. “Some folks have a problem shopping for from the Vatican. The Vatican is likely one of the largest landowners on the earth.”
Sapir inherited a property empire from his father Tamir, who immigrated to the U.S. and labored as a cab driver prior to purchasing actual property in Manhattan, reminiscent of 11 Madison Avenue, 100 Church Avenue and 50 Murray Avenue. The youthful Sapir charted his personal path, creating the boutique apartment Arte in Surfside, Florida, which famously rented out the penthouse to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner in 2021.
Sapir’s portfolio has come beneath stress up to now few years amid larger rates of interest. He bought his NoMo Soho resort and an workplace property at 260 Madison Avenue in New York Metropolis. Sapir additionally listed a 1.5-acre assemblage in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood on the market. This week, TRD reported that Sapir and his estranged spouse are beneath contract to promote their Miami Seaside waterfront property.
Sapir declined to remark when requested about his different properties and would solely converse concerning the Trump Tower.
Georgia is considered one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies. The nation had a GDP progress charge of about 9.4 % in 2024, in comparison with the 1.1 % common for the EU. Sapir stated he expects apartment patrons of the Tbilisi tower to return from the Center East, Europe and the U.S. and to be looking for to reap the benefits of the nation’s progress at engaging pricing.
Studios on the Trump undertaking will begin at $290,000, with pricing at about $650 to $1,000 per sq. foot, in keeping with a launch saying the undertaking. The median apartment value in NYC was $1,575 per sq. foot, in keeping with TRD’s information evaluation.
Sapir stated he hopes the undertaking will put Georgia on the map for worldwide buyers. He famous that he and the Trumps return years to their Trump Soho days, a property the Trump Org exited in 2017 and which is now known as The Dominick.
“They know I might solely put them in a very good scenario,” stated Sapir.
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