The mandatory financial disclosure submitted by US President Donald Trump has disclosed a ‘development fee’ payment of $10 million (₹86.47 crore) by an entity linked to Reliance Industries, controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, for a licence agreement in Mumbai.
The document released by the United States Office of Government of Ethics on June 13 showed Reliance 41R Realty Development Ltd, a subsidiary of RIL, making the licence fee payment, which is usually paid by third parties to acquire the right to use the ‘Trump’ brand name for real estate developments.
It is unclear what Ambani’s Reliance has planned in Mumbai. The company has so far not ventured into commercial real estate projects, be it residential or office space for sale to third parties. However, the company has executed residential development for its use, be it in industrial parks or housing for employees at the plant location.
A spokesperson for RIL did not comment on the development. The deal indicates that the personal relationship Ambani appears to share with the first family of the US is transcending to a business relationship.
So far, Tribeca Developer, led by Kalpesh Mehta, has worked closely with the Trump brand in India. Tribeca has been ‘instrumental’ in creating the largest portfolio of Trump properties outside North America, according to the website of the Mumbai-based developer. One of the ongoing projects of Trump and Tribeca, along with local partners, is located on the EM Bypass in Calcutta.
With the Reliance deal, it appears that the Trump brand will have another home in India, where six Trump-branded luxury real estate projects have been taken up by Mehta’s Tribeca, with the latest being Trump Residences in Gurgaon.
In contrast, the annual report of Reliance 41R Realty Development Ltd described the principal activities of the company as trading of goods and holding strategic interests in businesses and providing business support services.
While the business relationship between Reliance and the Trump Organisation is set to unfold, the proximity of Ambani to Trump has been on display for a while. Ivanka Trump, President Trump’s daughter, along with her husband, Jared Kushner, and children, attended one of the wedding receptions of Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh and Nita Ambani, in 2024.
Ambani’s company, however, was not the only one to make a beeline to collaborate with the Trump Organisation in 2024 ahead of the presidential election. WSJ reported investors planning Trump-branded projects in Vietnam, Dubai and Saudi Arabia and elsewhere paid the Trump Organization $44.6 million in foreign licensing and development fees in 2024, up from $8.2 million in 2023 and $9.4 million in 2022, according to the president’s annual financial disclosure report.