Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump’s daughter, spoke about an ambitious $1.5 billion luxury resort project that she is developing with her husband, Jared Kushner, on a remote island off the coast of Albania. The project centers on Sazan Island, a 1,400-acre uninhabited island in the Mediterranean that the couple plans to transform into an exclusive eco-resort.

Ivanka described the project as a personal passion rather than a traditional business venture. She shared details of the project during an appearance on entrepreneur David Senra’s podcast. She recalled finding Sazan Island during a boating trip with friends several years ago. “We were on a friend’s boat, and we stopped for a swim,” Ivanka said.

“Effectively, that’s how we found it. We swam to the island, hiked barefoot all the way up to the top, and we were just captivated, and it stayed with us ever since,” she added. 

How Ivanka Trump found Sazan Island

According to Ivanka, the island left a lasting impression on her and Jared Kushner. After that first visit, the couple spent years pursuing an opportunity to acquire the site and develop it into a luxury destination.

The project is backed by Affinity Partners, Kushner’s private equity firm. The island sits off Albania’s coastline and remains largely untouched by modern development, reported Radar Online. Ivanka said its natural beauty became a main reason she wanted to preserve its character while building the resort.

She described the venture as one of the most significant projects she has ever undertaken.

“I’m working on an incredible project with my husband in the Mediterranean,” she said. “It’s massive in scale,” she added. 

Ivanka said the team intends to design the resort with careful attention to the landscape. Rather than altering the island dramatically, she wants the architecture to blend into the environment. “Over many years, we developed the opportunity to help realize its potential and transform it, but with a lot of restraint and care because the land is so beautiful that, really, the architecture must be fully integrated into it, almost rising from it,” she said.

What does Ivanka want to create on island?

Ivanka said the project represents more than a financial investment. She described it as the culmination of years spent working in real estate, traveling around the world and thinking about how people want to experience luxury and nature. “You know, it’s not even a business for me, despite the scale of it,” she said.

She added, “The culmination of all of my experience in real estate, all of my travel, a lot of reflection on how I want to live, how I think people increasingly want to live, and trying to really build something that’s a tangible manifestation of that.”

Ivanka also offered a glimpse of the island’s surroundings. She said Sazan Island faces several miles of beachfront on a nearby peninsula and features a lagoon on one side and the open sea on the other. She described the project as a major challenge requiring imagination, long-term planning and the expertise of world-class architects and designers.