Trump’s close ties to Saudi Arabia’s ruling crown prince drew heavy criticism following its blockade of US-ally Qatar during his administration and the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist critical of the regime.

Loading

Since leaving office, Trump has hosted two tournaments at his properties for the upstart Saudi-funded LIV Golf series that critics say should not be given a venue in the US given the regime’s human-rights record. Trump’s son-in-law and former senior aide, Jared Kushner, has also drawn scrutiny from Democrats for a reportedly $US2 billion investment from a Saudi sovereign wealth fund for his investment fund started after he left the White House.

Unlike Trump’s build-and-own ventures earlier in his career, licensing offers a relatively easy and risk-free way to generate cash assuming his brand remains strong. Before his 2016 election, Trump’s real estate licensing deals generated as much as $US30 million in revenue in 17 months through May of that year, according to financial documents he had to file as a candidate. Much of that revenue was profit since it was Trump’s partners who owned the businesses and bore the costs, not him.

Just how much is profit is unclear, but Trump’s longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, told Businessweek in a 2015 interview that the company overall made about 50 US cents on every $US1 in revenue, thanks partly to licensing. Since the Trump Organisation is private it is nearly impossible to confirm those figures.