Ivanka Trump and Kushner buy military island in Albania
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have bought Sazan Island in Albania for a $1.4 billion luxury resort. Massive protests and a fraud investigation have marred the project.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Sazan Island: the Trumps' new Albanian paradise sparks outrage
Albania had never been a favorite destination for the international jet set, but that changed when Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner announced the purchase of Sazan Island, a former Cold War military base with 3,600 nuclear bunkers, to build a luxury resort valued at $1.4 billion. The deal, dubbed by some as the "new Epstein island, Balkan edition," has triggered mass protests in Tirana and a fraud investigation that has already frozen part of Kushner's assets.
The business that divides opinion
Sazan, spanning 1,400 hectares off the Albanian coast, was declassified for civilian use in December 2024. A month later, the Trump-Kushner couple presented an eco-resort project for millionaires, supposedly environmentally friendly. The reality is that the island is home to protected species and forms part of a fragile ecosystem. Albanians took to the streets with banners reading "Israel, get out, our land is not for sale," while Ivanka Trump herself justified her whim with statements like "I found an island and decided I want to live there." Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors, far from standing idly by, peine an investigation that has already frozen some of Kushner's assets.
Bunkers for oligarchs
The island, used successively by Italy, the Soviet Union and Albania during the twentieth century, is riddled with bunkers that could serve as survival shelters. Critics point out that the resort is not just a real estate business, but a luxury bunker for global elites to wait out the collapse. The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein has loomed over the debates, though without concrete evidence. What is clear is that the Trump-Kushner couple is playing with fire in a country where endemic corruption and national pride collide head-on.
The case remains open. While prosecutors review the contracts and Albanian public opinion boils over, the Sazan project has become the symbol of a globalization that sells off even territorial sovereignty. When capitalism turns a military island into a playground for billionaires, perhaps all that is left are the banners.
Related discussions in the forum
Albania had never been a favorite destination for the international jet set, but that changed when Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner announced the purchase of Sazan Island, a former Cold War military base with 3,600 nuclear bunkers, to build a luxury resort valued at $1.4 billion. The deal, dubbed by some as the "new Epstein island, Balkan edition," has triggered mass protests in Tirana and a fraud investigation that has already frozen part of Kushner's assets.
The business that divides opinion
Sazan, spanning 1,400 hectares off the Albanian coast, was declassified for civilian use in December 2024. A month later, the Trump-Kushner couple presented an eco-resort project for millionaires, supposedly environmentally friendly. The reality is that the island is home to protected species and forms part of a fragile ecosystem. Albanians took to the streets with banners reading "Israel, get out, our land is not for sale," while Ivanka Trump herself justified her whim with statements like "I found an island and decided I want to live there." Albania's anti-corruption prosecutors, far from standing idly by, peine an investigation that has already frozen some of Kushner's assets.
Bunkers for oligarchs
The island, used successively by Italy, the Soviet Union and Albania during the twentieth century, is riddled with bunkers that could serve as survival shelters. Critics point out that the resort is not just a real estate business, but a luxury bunker for global elites to wait out the collapse. The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein has loomed over the debates, though without concrete evidence. What is clear is that the Trump-Kushner couple is playing with fire in a country where endemic corruption and national pride collide head-on.
The case remains open. While prosecutors review the contracts and Albanian public opinion boils over, the Sazan project has become the symbol of a globalization that sells off even territorial sovereignty. When capitalism turns a military island into a playground for billionaires, perhaps all that is left are the banners.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (22 replies).
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