US president’s family in talks to build Trump Tower in Surfers Paradise

The Trump family is in advanced discussions with developers to build Australia’s first Trump Tower on the Gold Coast.

A source with inside knowledge of the deal, but not authorised to speak publicly on the matter, confirmed to this masthead “there are conversations happening” for a site to be developed at Surfers Paradise to feature the US president’s famous real estate insignia.

But they stressed the deal was yet to be finalised, with the site’s owner concerned that undue publicity from “big mouth [council] planners on the Gold Coast” could jeopardise the transaction.

The Trump Organisation is eyeing a 3494-square-metre site at 3 Trickett Street in Surfers Paradise.

The site had been home to the Iluka Resort, which was knocked down in 2013.

The land was advertised for sale by owner Loi Keong Kuong in 2024, after he bought it for $56.5 million in 2019.

A 285-metre tower with almost 700 units was approved for the site in 2015, but was never built.

A spokesperson for Mayor Tom Tate could not confirm the project when contacted by this masthead.

Local councillor Darren Taylor’s office referred to the mayor’s office for comment.

“If it was to go ahead, it would obviously be a great outcome for Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast,” Tate’s office said.

The US president has reportedly been eyeing Australian property for many years.
However, in 2008 he told the Australian Financial Review he would not enter the Australian property market alone.

“Maybe I’ll even get involved in Australia,” he said. “If I do something in Australia, I’d want to have a partner in Australia.”

Many Trump-branded properties merely license the rights to the family name, with a local partner in the project. Sources say this would be the likely scenario in Surfers Paradise.

The Trump Organisation’s most famous property is the Trump Tower in New York, which was finished in 1983. The organisation has an extensive US portfolio.

It has existing and upcoming hotel developments in Scotland, Ireland, the Maldives, Vietnam, Dubai, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. It also has existing or planned residential properties in India, the Philippines, South Korea, Turkey, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Vietnam, and Uruguay.

Trump’s grandmother and father founded the company in 1927 as E. Trump & Son. Trump joined it in 1968 and took over in 1971, renaming it The Trump Organisation soon after.

When elected as US president in 2016, he handed the company’s leadership to his children.

Alongside its real estate ventures, The Trump Organisation has been involved in cryptocurrency and produced goods including vodka, fragrances, Bibles, jewellery, chocolate, and mobile phones.

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