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The Audio Long Read

From the archive: Sold to the Trump family: one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.22.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2026

⏱️ 21 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2025: Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed By Marzio Mian. Read by Mo Ayoub For more on US politics and the Trump family check out Politics Weekly America. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is The Guardian.

0:02.0

The Guardian

0:06.0

The Guardian Archive Long Read.

0:11.0

Hi, my name is Marcio Mian.

0:22.6

I'm the author of Sold to the Trump family, one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean.

0:31.6

Published June 24, 2025.

0:35.6

I've reported on Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump real estate project to acquire the island of

0:43.4

Sazan off the coast of Albania for the construction of ultra-luxury resorts.

0:50.2

I was able to visit the island which is deserted and controlled by the Albanian Ministry of Defense.

0:57.6

I discover its brave-thinking beauty, its landscapes more tropical than Mediterranean.

1:04.5

Paradoxically, Sazan was preserved thanks to the Albanian communist regime,

1:10.6

which made it a bastion against Soviet and

1:13.9

capitalist imperialism. For this story, I also interviewed Ger Cousner, Trump's son-in-law and

1:22.2

his most trusted international negotiator. He told me how for him and his wife Ivanka,

1:29.3

Sazan is the realization of a real estate dream.

1:33.3

I discovered this incredible project when I was working in Albania on Prime Minister Edirama,

1:40.3

who was without doubt the architect of Albania's emancipation, but also a highly

1:47.1

controversial figure. He's been accused of running the country as if it were his own, especially

1:55.4

now that the dark side behind the Trump family's investments is emerging. In addition to Sazan Island,

2:05.3

companies associated with Jerkuzner have acquired land in a protected area in the south of the

2:12.5

country where the construction of villas and hotels for elite tourism is planned.

2:20.5

This represents a total investment of over $4 billion, including funding from Gulf countries.

...

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