After an eight-year lull in domestic real-estate activity, the Trump Organization appears poised to ramp up its U.S. operations. Recent documents uncovered by Forbes indicate the first family is plotting an aggressive expansion of their property holdings nationwide.
Two Delaware-registered companies emerged without fanfare on September 22: DT Marks Nashville LLC and DT Marks Nashville Member Corp. While details remain scarce, their names follow a telltale pattern shared by roughly 20 Trump Organization licensing ventures, all registered through Corporation Service Company—the administrative firm the Trumps routinely use for new business entities.
President Trump Visited Nashville at Municipal Auditorium
The Trump Organization has made no public announcement about Nashville plans, though the city has been on their radar before. If confirmed, this would mark the company’s first new U.S. real-estate licensing agreement since at least 2017—and signal how Trump’s return to power is translating into fresh business ventures. The Trump Organization declined to comment, and Forbes hasn’t independently verified the entities’ ownership or intent.
The naming structure mirrors other Trump projects worldwide—from Vietnam and Romania to Qatar and the UAE—combining the president’s initials with “Marks” and a location. Trump doesn’t actually own the Trump International Hotel in Oman; instead, he controls DT Marks Oman LLC and its companion corporation, collecting licensing fees. The same arrangement applies to the Trump International Golf Club near Dubai, operating through corresponding DT Marks Dubai entities. Corporation Service Company registered all these ventures in Delaware, alongside dozens more.
Trump’s international licensing portfolio has exploded since his political resurgence—ballooning from $100 million to $500 million in value. His domestic licensing business, however, has stagnated, producing no significant new deals throughout his eight-year political journey. Early in Trump’s first presidency, his sons Eric and Don Jr. launched two hotel brands—Scion and American Idea—stripped of the family name, apparently to create distance from the White House while targeting markets beyond the coastal liberal strongholds their father traditionally favored.
Trump Organization representatives periodically claimed between nine and 39 deals tied to these brands, spanning Dallas, Cincinnati, Austin, New York, and Nashville. Almost none materialized. The only revenue—$37,000 in 2017 and 2018—came from the Mississippi Delta, where the Chawla family, hoteliers who immigrated in the 1970s, partnered with Trump during his presidency. Every other rumored project generated zero income.
The Trump sons eventually shifted focus to asset management rather than expansion, biding time until their father left office. Then the January 6 Capitol riot tarnished the brand. “He has done permanent damage to the Trump name and image, at least for two, three decades,” Morningstar analyst Kevin Brown declared a month later. Social media platforms banned Trump, and financial partners distanced themselves.
Post-presidency, Donald Trump pursued political vindication while building his own social network. In 2022, an executive from a previous UAE collaboration brought the family an Oman opportunity. Additional foreign deals accumulated, accelerating with Trump’s 2024 campaign momentum. Yet the brand remained polarizing domestically—developers became more inclined to strip Trump’s name from buildings than attach it.
When Trump reentered the White House this year, he was earning from just one U.S. real-estate licensing deal—a hotel near Miami generating approximately $400,000 annually. That property initially hemorrhaged group bookings once Trump politicized the brand. “People who were holding conventions would just take the path of least resistance and go to a Westin-type hotel, or something, where they wouldn’t offend half of their guests,” explains Gil Dezer, Trump’s partner on six buildings. Rather than retreat, Dezer doubled down. “We pivoted. We said half of America maybe doesn’t like him, but half of America does like him. And in today’s digital world, it’s easy to reach those people through identifying who they are. And we did campaigns and et cetera to those kinds of groups, and we filled the hotel.”
A Trump-branded Nashville property—in a progressive city within a conservative state—would inevitably spark controversy. Petitions circulated in 2017 when the Trump Organization first mentioned Nashville ambitions.
Trump joined by Kid Rock as he signs order to crack down on ticket scalpers
Tennessee hosts plenty of Trump supporters, though potential project partners remain unclear. A spokesperson for country artist John Rich, who won Celebrity Apprentice in 2011 and maintains Trump family ties, said he knew nothing about it. Representatives for Trump supporter Kid Rock, who operates a Nashville bar, didn’t respond. Local developer Paul Boyle, when asked, replied cryptically: “Not that I can comment on.”
For anyone betting on Trump’s brand, timing may be optimal—at least according to Dezer. “He’s in the office. He’s making the right moves. He’s making himself look good. So Trump is hot right now. That’s a great brand to sell.”
