Trump headlines FII Miami, pitching U.S. to Saudi investors

President Donald Trump headlines Saudi Arabia’s FII Priority Summit in Miami today, pitching international investors on American business while the Iran war roils markets around the world.

The three-day conference, sponsored by the kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, drew its usual bevy of Wall Street bankers, who listened to Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan warning about the impact of escalating geopolitical tensions.

“What we’ve seen in the ​last ‌few weeks ⁠is an ​impact beyond what we ​have ‌seen even post-Covid ⁠in terms of supply ⁠chain disruption,” Al Jadaan said. “We really need ⁠to make sure ​we ⁠resolve ‌the conflict very quickly.”

The PIF, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, indicated it will keep investing globally despite the Iran war, with Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan telling the conference that the kingdom’s financial position is solid.

“The Saudi macroeconomic and physical position remains strong, stable and resilient… We measure our returns not in quarters but in decades, and PIF remains committed to its investments around the world,” Al Rummayan said.

Among the conference’s other speakers on Thursday are Steven Mnuchin, the former U.S. Treasury secretary and founder of Liberty Strategic Capital; Dina Powell McCormick, President and Vice Chairman of Meta; Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO of Asset & Wealth Management at JPMorgan Chase; and William E. Ford, Chairman and CEO of General Atlantic.

Before Trump takes the podium at Miami’s Faena Hotel, the conference will hold separate sessions with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Paramount Skydance’s David Ellison and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.

Saudi investor summit opens in Miami with Iran war in focus

Saudi Arabia’s FII Priority Summit opened its formal proceedings in Miami on Thursday, with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund, set to deliver the keynote address to the gathering of global investors and policymakers.

With U.S. President Donald Trump due to speak on Friday, the conference takes place against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and the disruption of global energy markets following Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Among speakers appearing on Wednesday are Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Ambassador to the U.S. Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, and Khalid Al-Falih, the Minister of State who formerly served as Investment Minister.

The lineup includes Dina Powell McCormick, the newly appointed President and Vice Chairman of Meta, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, AI leader Fei-Fei Li of Stanford University, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

Also scheduled to address the gathering are White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, White House advisors Jared Kushner and Massad Boulos, former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, real estate developer Stephen Ross and FIFA head Gianni Infantino.

Before the main sessions, the FII Priority summit on Wednesday focused on Latin America, highlighting the region’s growing importance in global capital flows. The program featured Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez since the U.S. abduction of President Nicolas Maduro. Rodrigues spoke remotely and expressed hope the country will draw more international investors.

Saudi Arabia’s dream train to chug across the desert at $4,000 a night

Paolo Barletta, a dapper Italian railroad impresario, is channeling the spirit of the storied Orient Express and Fellini’s La Dolce Vita to bring luxury train travel to Saudi Arabia.

Starting late next year, his “Dream of the Desert” line will take passengers on an 800-mile journey across the kingdom’s dune-filled landscapes for between $4,000 and $28,000 a night, Barletta, CEO of Rome-based Arsenale Group, told The Circuit in Riyadh.

That shouldn’t be a problem for his target clientele of wealthy Saudis and free-spending international visitors looking for thrills as the once-secluded Gulf state keeps rolling out new tourist attractions.

“People here are spending crazy amounts of money to go to the Red Sea, to go to AlUla, to go to the Aseer region. So why not on a train?” Barletta, 39, said on Tuesday in an interview outside the King Abdulaziz International Convention Center.

Dressed in a grey double-breasted suit with purple polka-dotted tie and a white pocket handkerchief, the 39-year-old chief of his family-owned firm was escorting Saudi cabinet ministers and billionaire corporate executives onto a mock-up coach for the new line set up outside this week’s Future Investment Initiative conference.

The Dream of the Desert luxury train, now being assembled in Italy, evokes a gilded vision of Arabian travel, with interiors conceived by architect and interior designer Aline Asmar d’Amman, blending Italian style, Saudi heritage and the elegance of Europe’s Orient Express. Each coach features plush sleeper cabins with private bathrooms, marble-accented dining cars serving regional cuisine and lounges dressed in brass, walnut, and desert-hued fabrics.

“So we are a vertically integrated, supply-chain company where we engineer, manufacture and operate our own trains,” Barletta said. “The train cars are being made now in our factory in Puglia. They’ll be shipped to Saudi Arabia in Spring 2026 and be operative from the end of the year.”

Saudi Arabia is advancing four of the world’s largest tourism developments as part of its Vision 2030 plan. The $500 billion NEOM project anchors the push with a high-tech city and luxury destinations on the Red Sea. The $20 billion Red Sea Project is building eco-resorts across more than 90 islands, while Qiddiya, near Riyadh, is a $9 billion entertainment hub featuring theme parks and sports venues. Rounding out the effort is Diriyah Gate, a $63 billion heritage and hospitality complex transforming the birthplace of the Saudi state into a global cultural and leisure destination.

Once delivered, the train will feature 31 private cabins and two presidential suites, accommodating a maximum of 66 guests. Guests will have access to two restaurant cars offering a choice between authentic Saudi cuisine and international menus with Italian fusion influences, all “curated to a Michelin-level standard,” according to an Arsenale press release. A central Majlis lounge will provide space for socializing and relaxation.

While pricing has not yet been formally announced, Barletta said it would be similar to Arsenale’s La Dolce Vita Orient Express line, with its Fellini-inspired 60’s-style interiors, where tickets start at 3,500 euros ($4,000) per person per night, based on double occupancy. The top-of-the-line suites on the European route go for 25,000 euros a night.

Dream of the Desert will offer one- and two-night trips from Riyadh to the Al-Jawf station on the northern Saudi-Jordan border. Barletta said Arsenale will spend about $65 million on the Dream of the Desert project as part of a partnership with Saudi Arabia Railways and several government departments. It also has contracts to build luxury train lines in Egypt along the Nile and in Uzbekistan.

Saudi Transport Minister Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser said he was impressed after a walk-through on the model train car.

“It shows that different sectors within the economy – the transport and logistics, the tourism, the culture – working together to bring and facilitate services like this with the private sector is testimony that Saudi Arabia is very attractive to investment,” he said.

As for the pricing, he sees no obstacle.

“Obviously, it is designed to attract the high end of the market, but there are also services that attract different levels of people… priced at a few dollars,” he said. “There are different services that cater to all.”