Ivanka Trump touts $1.5 billion 'Trump Island' resort in Albania — and critics question the timing

A $1.5 billion Albanian island resort tied to Ivanka Trump is prompting backlash after she spoke enthusiastically about plans to remake the secluded Mediterranean site as an ultra-luxury retreat, RadarOnline.com reported.

The reaction was especially sharp because her remarks came as many families are still dealing with high living costs and economic uncertainty, while her father is the president of the United States.

What happened?

On David Senra's podcast, Trump discussed a proposal to redevelop Sazan Island, an uninhabited 1,400-acre island off Albania's coast, RadarOnline.com shared. The project is backed by her husband Jared Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners.

The popular Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) account on the social platform X shared a clip of Trump expounding on the project.

Ivanka Trump announces that she and her husband, Jared Kushner, are building a massive off-the-grid private island in the middle of the Mediterranean.

The island spans 1,400 hectares and currently has no power.

They will be working with some of the world's greatest living… pic.twitter.com/0yJqr3nHSw

— Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) June 2, 2026

She said the idea for the resort came from an unexpected discovery during a boating trip.

"We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim," she explained, as RadarOnline.com noted. "Effectively, that's how we found it. We swam to the island, we went on a hike, barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated, and it stayed with us ever since."

Trump called the venture "an incredible project" with her husband in the Mediterranean and said it was "massive in scale."

Trump also said the couple spent years pursuing the deal and insisted the development would be handled "with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful that, really, the architecture has to be fully integrated into it, almost rise from it."

According to the Irish Star, locals have reportedly started calling the development "Ishulli i Trumpëve," or "Trump Island." While some online seemed to support most of Ivanka Trump's points or wrote that it was an "amazing conversation," the majority of comments were sharply critical of the development.

"Albanians are protesting against this. It should be a treasured national park," one wrote. 

Another commenter said: "Why in the hell would she throw this in the face of millions of less fortunate people in a failing economy.. Beyond out of touch."

Why does it matter?

Some of the criticism reflects that many households remain under pressure from high costs and an uncertain economy with the ongoing war in Iran, so a billion-dollar resort doesn't seem to them to be a high priority at this time.

One critical viewer wrote: "How about building houses for the homeless veterans instead?"

Additionally, large-scale developments marketed as environmentally sensitive often attract scrutiny, particularly on islands and along coastal areas. 

As much as Ivanka might reject the notion, any sort of development will reshape landscapes, affect access, and impact nearby communities.

What's being done?

Albanians are just as fired up about the island as commenters online. As NBC News reports, they are using the pink flamingo as a symbol in major protests while lashing out at its potential ecological impacts. 

Joni Vorpsey, an environmentalist with the nongovernmental organization Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania, attacked the potential development in an interview with the network.

"It's one of the most amazing habitats that we have when it comes to protected areas and coastal wetlands," Vorpsey told NBC News. "The construction will wipe out that part of nature there and will be a gate opener for the whole coastline to be developed inside the protected area."

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, meanwhile, is resisting the widespread calls to change course on the development, Reuters reported.

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