When Donald Trump led the Trump Group, he licensed his identify 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 belongings 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 affords 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 growth referred to as Downtown Tbilisi. The realm is thought for its cobblestone streets and mixture of nineteenth century and Soviet-style buildings.
“It’s going to be essentially the most architecturally important constructing inbuilt Europe in a while,” stated Eric Trump in an interview with The Actual Deal.
The builders held a launch celebration on Tuesday that includes dancers, drone fireworks, and an animated portrayal of the brand new Trump Tower to the tune “YMCA.” Eric Trump appeared by way of video from Florida to talk to a crowd of lots of of onlookers in enterprise apparel.
Trump advised TRD the Trump Org just isn’t an fairness companion within the venture. 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 onerous for us to go discover the Trump Tower of Tbilisi,” stated Trump. “We wouldn’t have that land. You actually need the individuals.”
Alex Sapir, CEO of the Sapir Org, launched Eric Trump to the venture’s Georgian growth companions.
“Alex has been a longtime buddy of the household,” stated Trump. “He is aware of what he’s doing, and he’s been a terrific particular person in our life for a lot of, a few years, an individual that we belief.”
Sapir advised TRD he was launched final yr to Ilia Tsulaia, a founding father of Archi and one of many largest builders in Georgia, by his Miami enterprise companions.
He traveled to the nation in November 2025 for the primary time since he was 5 years previous.
“The journey actually hit me so much,” Sapir stated.
Sapir stated he advised Tsulaia he wished to do one thing for the nation. Tsulaia, it turned out, had plans to assemble the tallest constructing within the heart of town. Sapir advised him he had the right model for a brand new growth: Trump.
From Georgia with love
The Georgian builders agreed to amass the land for the venture in 2023 from a basis managed by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s household, in line with the Wall Street Journal. The builders would pay the inspiration $85 million at a later date, in line with the report. The funds had been paid by July, a spokesperson for the venture advised TRD.
Ivanishvili was the nation’s prime minister in 2012 and 2013 and a founding father of the Russia-friendly Georgian Dream celebration. Ivanishvili was sanctioned by the U.S. in December 2024 for undermining the democracy of Georgia.
The Tbilisi venture 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 alternate for a price and, normally, a portion of income. They don’t seem to be an fairness companion, Trump stated.
Trump Org’s offers have come below 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 way of his varied 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 advised TRD. “My father actually isn’t influenced by anybody. I believe 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 among the richest guys on the planet, so he owns a number of property,” Sapir stated. “Some individuals have a difficulty shopping for from the Vatican. The Vatican is among the largest landowners on the planet.”
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, resembling 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 below stress up to now few years amid increased rates of interest. He bought his NoMo Soho lodge 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 below contract to promote their Miami Seaside waterfront property.
Sapir declined to remark when requested about his different properties and would solely communicate in regards to the Trump Tower.
Georgia is considered one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies. The nation had a GDP development price of about 9.4 p.c in 2024, in comparison with the 1.1 p.c common for the EU. Sapir stated he expects apartment consumers of the Tbilisi tower to come back from the Center East, Europe and the U.S. and to be searching for to make the most of the nation’s development at enticing pricing.
Studios on the Trump venture will begin at $290,000, with pricing at about $650 to $1,000 per sq. foot, in line with a launch saying the venture. The median apartment value in NYC was $1,575 per sq. foot, in line with TRD’s information evaluation.
Sapir stated he hopes the venture 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 referred to as The Dominick.
“They know I’d solely put them in a very good scenario,” stated Sapir.
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