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.

Trump to address Saudi FII Summit next week in Miami

Saudi Arabia has lined up U.S. President Donald Trump to headline its annual FII Priority Summit in Miami, Fla., next week.

The kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative Institute announced on Wednesday that Trump will speak at the conference’s opening session Feb. 19 at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach. 

Among those also scheduled to participate in the three-day event are SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, BlackRock’s Robert S. Kapito, Oracle’s Safra Catz, Point72’s Steven Cohen and Bridgewater’s Nir Bar Dea. Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan is the conference’s host.

The Miami conference will take place in the wake of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s pledge last month to invest at least $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Trump responded with thanks while suggesting that the kingdom raise its investment to $1 trillion.

Florida is a center of Trump family activities, with the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach serving as the President’s home between terms in the White House. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner lives with his wife Ivanka Trump and three children on Miami’s exclusive Indian Creek Island. Kushner’s $4.6 billion private equity fund Affinity Partners, which is backed by sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, is based in Miami.

Trump’s appearance at the conference also comes amid tension between the two countries after the President proposed that the U.S. take possession of the Gaza Strip. The plan would move some 1.8 million Palestinian residents out of the war-ravaged territory while building resort hotels that would turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and other Arab countries have condemned the Trump plan, saying any Gaza reconstruction effort must not force residents to leave.

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative lands in Miami

Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative gabfest is taking the show on the road  — landing in Miami tomorrow for the second annual edition of its Priority Summit. 

The two-day agenda at the Faena Forum is expected to see about 800 executives, investors and policymakers meet around the theme “on the edge of a new frontier,” with a focus on investment opportunities and disruptive technologies.

“The world feels like an increasingly troubled place, with violent conflicts, cost of living crises, climate change, AI uncertainties, pandemic threats and other big problems,” Richard Attias, CEO of the FII Institute, told Arab News. “And so, it has never been more important to convene leaders from investment, business and government to address the root causes and come up with practical answers.”

The FII is a non-profit run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Other editions of FII’s Priority Summits have taken place in Hong Kong, London and New York. The events serve as a tee-up for the big “Davos in the Desert” conference, taking place each November at the Ritz Carlton in Riyadh.

Speakers include Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton, Mary Callahan Erdoes of JP Morgan, David Rubenstein of Carlyle, Dina Powell McCormick of BDT & MSD Partners and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell. Others exploring global economic trends, financial markets, and policy dynamics include Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the PIF and the Chairman of the FII Institute; Princess Reema bint Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.S.; and Khalid A. Al-Falih, the Saudi Minister of Investment.