'Tone Deaf' Ivanka Trump Dragged for Bragging About $1.5Billion Mediterranean Private Island Project with Husband Jared Kushner Amid America's Struggling Economy
Ivanka Trump has been accused of being 'tone deaf' after discussing her family's $1.5 billion Mediterranean island project.
June 2 2026, Published 11:33 a.m. ET
Ivanka Trump has been blasted as "tone deaf" after boasting about a lavish $1.5billion private island project she is developing with her husband, Jared Kushner, while many Americans continue to struggle financially, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The president's daughter recently opened up about transforming Sazan Island, an uninhabited 1,400-acre landmass off the coast of Albania, into an ultra-luxury eco-resort funded through Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners.
Luxury Vision
The president's daughter and husband Jared Kushner are transforming Albania's Sazan Island into an ultra-luxury eco-resort.
Speaking on David Senra's podcast, Ivanka recalled stumbling upon the island by chance during a boating trip with friends.
"We were on a friend's boat, and we stopped for a swim," she explained.
"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," she detailed.
The 44-year-old said she and Kushner spent years pursuing the opportunity before eventually acquiring the island and beginning plans to transform it.
Ivanka revealed she first discovered the island after swimming to it from a friend's boat during a vacation.
Massive in Scale
The former White House adviser described the massive development as 'an incredible project' that is 'massive in scale.'
Ivanka described the development as one of the most ambitious projects of her career.
"I'm working on an incredible project with my husband in the Mediterranean," she said. "It's massive in scale."
She added: "Over the course of 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 has to be fully integrated into it, almost rise from it."
The first daughter also emphasized that the venture is about more than making money.
"You know, it's not even a business for me, despite the scale of it," she said.
'How People Increasingly Want to Live'
Ivanka insisted the venture wasn't business to her but a 'challenge.'
Ivanka went on to describe the island as "a challenge" and said the project draws on decades of experience in real estate and travel.
She explained: "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."
According to Ivanka, the island sits opposite five miles of beachfront on "a beautiful peninsula" featuring a lagoon on one side and the ocean on the other.
She also said creating a private island destination requires "a lot of vision" and the help of "some of the greatest masters that exist."
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Backlash Erupts
Critics blasted the comments as out of touch as many Americans continue to face economic challenges.
Her comments quickly sparked outrage online, with critics arguing the luxury project was a poor look during a period when many Americans are struggling financially.
A furious critic wrote: "This stolen money from the American taxpayers, how about building houses for the homeless veterans instead."
Others focused on what they saw as the timing of Ivanka's remarks.
"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," one person wrote.
Another added: "How profoundly tone deaf of the Trump crying family to even talk about this right now with the way the economy is going."
The backlash comes as locals have reportedly begun referring to the massive development as "Trump Island" — or "Ishulli i Trumpëve," per the Irish Star.
