in 2022 Several attempts at constructing a Serbian property branded with
Donald Trump's name had been established prior to Trump Tower Belgrade, and multiple governments have attempted to restore the Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building, according to Goran Vasić, the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure. In 2013, Trump told then-prime minister
Ivica Dačić that he intended to construct a luxury hotel at the site of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building and several
Trump Organization associates had visited the site, though it did not yield in any discussions before Trump was elected president of the United States
in 2016. During
Trump's first presidency,
Richard Grenell, the special envoy to the
Balkans, advocated for having
Serbia and the
United States rebuild the Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building, including after Serbian president
Aleksandar Vučić met Trump at the
White House in 2020.
The New York Times wrote in April 2024 that Trump Tower Belgrade "benefited from relationships built in part during the Trump administration". In March 2024,
Aleksandar Jovanović Ćuta, a Serbian environmental activist, alleged that a
memorandum of understanding had been signed in December 2022, offering the site of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense Building to Kushner Realty and Atlantic Incubation Partners.
Bloomberg News and
The New York Times later disclosed that
Jared Kushner was pursuing a real estate development in
Belgrade; Kushner later confirmed the reports. The project would be funded by
Affinity Partners, an investment company that had secured billion from the
Public Investment Fund and hundreds of millions from the
Emirates Investment Authority and the
Qatar Investment Authority, though the money was largely uninvested by then. According to Kushner, Grenell encouraged him to seek the Belgrade deal. The outline of the agreement would give Affinity Partners a ninety-nine year lease at no cost. Kushner later told the
Times that the parties of the deal had tentatively agreed to give the
government of Serbia twenty-two percent of the profits from Trump Tower Belgrade. The agreement also includes the option of transferring the property to Affinity Partners after its construction. Trump Tower Belgrade was estimated to cost million. The government of Serbia approved the contract with Kushner in May. The terms of the agreement gave Affinity Partners a set period of time to complete the project. By that month, Kushner had agreed to work with Asher Abehsera, who was designated to oversee development; he had also enlisted Grenell on the project. The site of Trump Tower Belgrade was leased from the government of Serbia. In January 2025, the Trump Organization announced that it would partner with Kushner on the complex. Kushner had also formed a partnership with Emirati property developer
Mohamed Alabbar's company,
Eagle Hills Properties. Construction of the tower faced a setback in May after Vasić, the acting director of the Republican Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, was arrested for allegedly fabricating a document justifying removing the Yugoslav Ministry of Defence Building's cultural status. Vučić later stated that the project would continue, comparing criticism to the arguments raised against
Belgrade Waterfront. In December 2025, Kushner was reported to have withdrawn "hours after Serbian prosecutors charged four senior government officials there with corruption in connection with the half-billion-dollar project". ==Reception==