Billionaires Sticking Together: Emirati Tycoon Endorses U.S. Tycoon for President

Khalaf Al Habtoor is backing Donald Trump for president.

GettyImages-81679970crop
GettyImages-81679970crop

He attends polo matches in the company of the queen of England, has made billions of dollars from his real estate developments, and is chummy with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He’s Emirati business tycoon Khalaf Al Habtoor, and on Sunday he endorsed fellow tycoon Donald Trump for U.S. president.

He attends polo matches in the company of the queen of England, has made billions of dollars from his real estate developments, and is chummy with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He’s Emirati business tycoon Khalaf Al Habtoor, and on Sunday he endorsed fellow tycoon Donald Trump for U.S. president.

“Most U.S. presidents come from privileged, insular backgrounds; many have come from the legal profession; few have had any real business acumen and certainly not the kind that Mr. Trump has in buckets,” Habtoor wrote in the National. “He is a strategist with a shrewd business mind, and he has triumphantly rebounded from setbacks time and time again to emerge triumphant. He comes with economic know-how and strong relationships with world leaders and economic giants. Mr. Trump is a man who wants America to be great again.”

Clearly, there’s no one to judge the character of a mogul like Trump than one cut from the same expensive cloth. For the 40th anniversary of his firm, Al Habtoor Group, the Emirati businessman put together this self-promotional video, in which he opines on his work ethic and his company’s many glitzy accomplishments.

And here he is hobnobbing with Queen Elizabeth II at a polo match:

Habtoor also appears to have struck up a warm rapport with Jimmy Carter, with whom he helped inaugurate a Middle East peacemaking initiative at Illinois College.

Photo credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Twitter: @EliasGroll

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.