Money Grab/Charge for access to the president
Trump’s firm earns $284,398 managing a golf club that opened a month after Indonesia halted its resort
Trump International Golf Club Lido opened on March 7, 2025, a month after Indonesia’s Environment Ministry ordered a halt to the wider Lido City development over environmental violations. The club is a joint venture with MNC Land, the company of Indonesian conglomerate owner Hary Tanoesoedibjo. Trump’s 2025 disclosure reports $284,398 in management fees from it.
What happened
Lido City is a 3,000-hectare tourism zone in the hills south of Jakarta, developed by MNC Land. MNC Land is part of the MNC Group conglomerate, controlled by media and property billionaire Hary Tanoesoedibjo. Within it sits a Trump-branded golf course, licensed and managed by Trump Golf under a joint venture with MNC Land.
On February 6, 2025, Indonesia’s Environment Ministry ordered MNC Land to halt the wider Lido development. Satellite images showed Lake Lido had shrunk from 24.7 to 11.9 hectares since construction began. The ministry found significant gaps between approved environmental plans and what was built. MNC said the sedimentation predated its involvement.
On March 7, 2025, a month after the order, Trump International Golf Club Lido opened to members. Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, released June 30, 2026, reported $284,398 in management-fee income from the Lido entity. It also reported $1.25 million from a Dubai golf management LLC.
Who benefited
The Trump Organization, run by Eric Trump, and the president, who reported the $284,398 as his own income, benefited. The fee is small next to the $395 million Trump reported from golf in 2025. It is cash from a foreign partner’s project while he held office.
Who wanted something
Hary Tanoesoedibjo and MNC Land had just seen their resort halted by their own government over environmental violations. A course bearing the sitting U.S. president’s name opened inside it anyway. He has partnered with Trump since 2015 and was a visible ally during the first term.
Who lost out
Indonesian regulators and the public around Lake Lido lost out. The lake lost more than half its surface area to construction runoff. The Trump-branded piece of the project opened a month after the halt order. No U.S. public money is in this record.
Why it matters
The president’s company kept collecting fees from a politically connected foreign tycoon whose project his own government had flagged for environmental violations. The fee was modest. The record documents the arrangement: a sitting president drawing income from a halted foreign development.
Sources NOW! JakartaAssociated Press (via News4Jax)Malay MailFront Office Sports