NEW DELHI: Dozens of property investors and their families will be treated to dinner with Donald Trump junior in Delhi this week after snapping up flats in a Trump Towers luxury development on the outskirts of the Indian capital.
Trump’s local partners have promised dinner with the US president’s son to anyone who buys into the development of high-rise apartments boasting floor-to-ceiling windows, state of the art amenities and a “lifestyle concierge.”
At 2.5 million rupees (around $39,000) just for the downpayment on the smallest and cheapest flat, that is well beyond most Indians.
Nonetheless around 75 people have already stumped up and Indian developer Tribeca expects that number to increase to 100 before the promotion deadline expires on Thursday, a staff member told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“The meeting is a token of gratitude to the clients for showing tremendous faith in the upcoming project,” said the Tribeca employee.
The 47-story towers will comprise 250 homes and are expected to be completed by 2023, with price ranging from 55-110 million rupees ($850,000-$1.7 million).
Adverts in Indian newspapers on Monday promised prospective buyers their neighbors would include a “renowned industrialist,” “art maestro” and “famous Indian cricketer” — although it was not clear whether this was based on the identity of the existing buyers.
“Trump is here. Are you invited? read the full-page advert in Monday’s Times of India.
The development is in the modern satellite city of Gurgaon, where many major companies now have their headquarters.
India is already the Trump Organization’s biggest international market, with developments in four major cities — Mumbai, Pune, Gurgaon and Kolkata.
All are being built with local partners, with the Trump Organization giving permission to use its brand and taking a share of the profits.
According to media reports, the estimated cost of developing these projects is $1.5 billion.
The Trump family earned $3 million in royalties in 2016 from ventures in India, according to a New York Times report.
Trump junior and his brother now head the company after their father stood down when he became president amid concerns over a conflict of interest.
Although the US embassy says he is in Delhi on an unofficial visit, Trump junior is due to speak on Indo-Pacific relations at a business conference on Friday at which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the keynote speaker.
The luxury property in Gurgaon is being developed by Indian firms Tribeca and M3M, with construction expected to start toward the end of the year.
India’s residential property market has struggled in recent years, hit by a glut in urban centers combined with the impact of a 2016 move to tackle tax evasion with a ban on high-value banknotes.
Trump junior to entertain luxury flat buyers in India
Trump junior to entertain luxury flat buyers in India
US pump prices surge as Iran war upends global energy supply
- Fuel prices jump over 10 percent as oil prices surge
- Analysts predict further price rises due to market conditions
MARIETTA/NEW YORK : US retail gasoline and diesel prices are soaring as the US-Israel war with Iran constrains oil and fuel exports, which could be a political test for President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of midterm elections in November.
Fuel prices jumped more than 10 percent this week as oil rose above $90 a barrel, its highest in years, adding pain at the pump for consumers already strained by inflation.
Trump on Thursday shrugged off higher gasoline prices in an interview with Reuters, saying “if they rise, they rise.”
The president had vowed to lower energy prices and unleash US oil and gas drilling during his second term, but much of his tenure has been marked by volatility and uncertainty amid shifts in policies like tariffs and geopolitical turmoil.
The US is the world’s largest oil producer. It is a major exporter but also imports millions of barrels a day since it is the world’s largest oil consumer.
As of Friday, the national average prices for regular gasoline stood at $3.32 a gallon, up 11 percent from a week ago and the highest since September 2024, according to data from the motorists association AAA. Diesel was at $4.33, up 15 percent from a week ago, surging to the highest since November 2023.
Midwest, south feel the pinch
US motorists in parts of the Midwest and the South, including states that supported Trump, have seen some of the steepest increases in fuel costs since the conflict in Iran started.
In Georgia, a swing state, average retail gasoline prices rose 40.1 cents a gallon over the past week, according to fuel tracking site GasBuddy.
Andrenna McDaniel, a health care insurance worker in South Fulton, Georgia, said she was surprised to see prices skyrocket overnight.
“They jumped up so quickly,” she said on Friday, adding that she does not agree with the war at all.
McDaniel, a Democrat, said that for now she is only driving for the most important things, and feels lucky that she works from home so she does not have to drive as much as other people do. Georgia voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump voter Richard Soule, 69, a US Air Force veteran and a retired firefighter, said a little pain at the pump is worth Trump’s efforts to protect America.
“When President Trump went in there and bombed out their nuclear, and they just thumbed their nose at it, I believe he did the right thing at the right time,” Soule said on Friday as he filled up his Ford F-150 truck in Marietta, Georgia.
Other states, including Indiana and West Virginia have seen prices rise by 44.3 cents and 43.9 cents, respectively.
Prices may rise further
More pain may be on the way, analysts said, as oil prices continue to trend upward. On Friday, US oil futures settled at $90.90 a barrel, up nearly $10 and the biggest single-day rise since April 2020.
“Given current market conditions, the national average price of gasoline could climb toward $3.50 to $3.70 per gallon in the coming days if oil continues rising and supply disruptions persist,” GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan said.
The disruptions in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade conduit, have boosted demand for US oil abroad, which in turn has driven up prices for domestic refiners too.
“The US has weaned itself off of its dependence on Middle Eastern crude, but obviously Asian refineries, and to a lesser extent, European refineries have not,” Denton Cinquegrana, chief oil analyst with OPIS. “That’s what you’re seeing happen in the spot market, because the demand for US exports rise, and so the price rise.”
Seasonal factors could add further pressure. Gasoline prices typically go up in the spring and peak in the summer due to higher gasoline demand and production of summer-blend gasoline, which is more costly to produce. Diesel fuel saw an even more aggressive jump since Iran began retaliating against US and Israeli strikes, significantly disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Global diesel inventories have remained in tight supply due to heavy demand for heating and power generation during a prolonged winter in the US and other parts of the world and a structural tightness of refining capacity. Sticker prices of everything from food to furniture go up when the cost of diesel goes up, as the fuel is mainly used in freight transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, and global shipping, analysts said.
“In a world where buzzword seems to be ‘affordability’, that is certainly not going to help,” Cinquegrana said.
