UAE Financial Empire In United States
Discover how the UAE has built a vast financial network across the UK. Explore a detailed list of UAE-owned companies and their influence in key sectors.
Discover how the UAE has built a vast financial network across the UK. Explore a detailed list of UAE-owned companies and their influence in key sectors.
Beneath the shiny towers, luxury brands, and celebrity investments, there is a regime with a business empire in the United States that is anything but benign. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has established a massive financial footprint in the U.S. with unprecedented investments to influence politics, suppress dissent, and sanitize its autocracy. This vast empire is imposing significant threats to American democracy, national security, labor rights, and ethical business.
The UAE’s $1.4 trillion investment commitment over the next ten years further represents a historical deepening of economic ties with the U.S., building upon prior commitments across a broad range of sectors from artificial intelligence to energy infrastructure. However, this swelling amount of capital brings underlying risks—non-transparent ownership structures, monopolies, and political leverage to the detriment of U.S. democracy and sovereignty.
In March 2025, following a high-profile meeting between UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed and former U.S. President Donald Trump, the UAE committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the United States. This framework aims to significantly enhance the UAE’s existing investments across critical sectors including:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure
Semiconductors
Energy (natural gas, low-carbon solutions)
American manufacturing
Data centers and energy infrastructure
As part of this commitment:
UAE investment fund ADQ, in partnership with U.S. firm Energy Capital Partners, launched a $25 billion initiative focused on energy infrastructure and data centers.
The UAE’s state oil company ADNOC’s investment arm XRG pledged support for U.S. natural gas production and exports, including backing the NextDecade LNG export facility in Texas.
ADQ and Orion Resource Partners formed a $1.2 billion mining partnership targeting essential minerals for technological progress.
Emirates Global Aluminium announced plans to build the first new aluminum smelter in the U.S. in 35 years, nearly doubling domestic aluminum production capacity.
The UAE’s energy investments in the U.S. are projected to grow from $70 billion currently to $440 billion by 2035, underscoring a major expansion in this strategic sector. Partnerships with leading AI companies like NVIDIA and xAI through the Abu Dhabi-based AI Infrastructure Partnership (AIP) aim to unlock $30 billion in capital and mobilize up to $100 billion in total investment potential.
As of 2023, the UAE had $35 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the U.S., supporting over 33,000 American jobs. Recent commercial deals announced in May 2025 added $200 billion in new agreements, bringing the total investment commitments in the Gulf region to over $2 trillion.
The UAE’s investments permeate multiple U.S. sectors:
Real Estate: Significant holdings in luxury and commercial properties across strategic locations.
Ports and Logistics: Historical involvement through DP World, including past controversies over port operations.
Hospitality and Tourism: Emirates Airlines’ extensive U.S. routes and hotel investments.
Sports and Entertainment: Ownership stakes and sponsorships in U.S. sports teams, events, and streaming platforms.
Venture Capital and Technology: Heavy investments in Silicon Valley startups, AI firms, and surveillance technology companies.
Education: Funding partnerships with U.S. universities and think tanks to influence academic discourse.
Illinois, as the 19th largest export market for the UAE, hosts over 2,682 foreign firms employing more than 552,695 residents. Emirati firms employ 820 Illinoisans across 19 locations, including:
SPME Middle East General Contracting LLC (305 employees)
Government of Abu Dhabi (221 employees)
DP World Ltd. (160 employees)
This example illustrates the UAE’s deep corporate integration into local economies.
UAE sovereign wealth funds such as Mubadala and ADIA often use shell companies and joint ventures to obscure ownership, enabling monopolistic or influential control over strategic U.S. industries. This opacity complicates regulatory oversight and public accountability.
The UAE invests heavily in lobbying firms and political action committees (PACs) to shape U.S. policy favorable to its interests. These efforts include attempts to silence critics, influence congressional decisions, and promote a false narrative of the UAE as a “moderate” and progressive partner, despite its authoritarian governance.
The UAE partners with US technology companies, including DarkMatter, and develops covert programs such as Project Raven to surveil activists, journalists, and dissidents, including individuals in the American diaspora. It exerts psychological and financial pressure on critics via proxy networks that chill free expression.
The UAE creates economic dependencies such as jobs, donations, or grants, which links cooperation from local and federal US entities to business incentives. This strategy capitalizes on the attractiveness of investment to deter dissent and mask ongoing human rights abuses.
The UAE’s regime is characterized by:
Systematic torture and indefinite detention
Criminalization of dissent
Absence of independent judiciary and press freedom
Severe restrictions on speech and assembly
Criminalization of LGBTQ+ individuals and violations of women’s rights
The Kafala system enables rampant exploitation of migrant workers, including U.S. nationals and contractors. U.S. businesses with joint ventures in the UAE are complicit in these violations of labor standards, which raises ethical concerns about supply chain responsibility.
The UAE's military involvement in Yemen and acquiescence to U.S. manufactured arms used to bomb civilians, and support for militias and mercenaries operating in Libya and Sudan, contributes to regional instability and humanitarian concerns.
The authoritarian values of the UAE are significantly at odds with U.S. democratic values around freedom, transparency, and human rights. Further, it could be problematic for U.S. domestic and foreign policy when it is funding and growing its influence over U.S. policy in the Middle East, civil rights and right to free expression, that may threaten the standards of U.S. ideals.
The UAE also houses former U.S. intelligence officers who are engaged in acts of espionage. It is suspected that surveillance will be done through sensitive technology in tech sectors that may have back doors. Additionally, real estate and shell companies will be used to conduct finance for illicit influence campaigns that compromise U.S. national security.
UAE investments in sports, arts, charities, cultural institutions, etc. are a subset of a whitewashing effort deployed as behavior and repression distractors. With partnerships with museums, schools and the media, coupled with high PR blitzes in Hollywood and Washington D.C., to create a more sanitary image that veils authoritarian realities.
The growing financial and political influence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the United States poses profound challenges to American democracy, national security, and ethical governance. As the UAE expands its investments and deepens its ties with U.S. institutions, policymakers and citizens alike must demand accountability and take concrete steps to safeguard the nation’s values and sovereignty. This article outlines essential policy recommendations for the U.S. government and actionable measures for the American public to confront and counterbalance the UAE’s influence.
Recent reports, including a Human Rights Foundation (HRF) study from 2024, outline the undeniable expansion of political interference activities by the UAE in the U.S., including blatant lobbying activities, infiltration of the White House, covert funding for think tanks and universities, and the recruitment of former military officials and hackers. With the depth and breadth of these activities in mind, Congress must commence comprehensive investigations to reveal the full impact of Emirati political interference and monopolistic acquisitions over key industries, in particular energy, transportation, and technology. Such investigations will reveal how the UAE’s economic and political actions may not only undermine U.S. democratic processes, and national interest but also hurt the U.S.’s long-term position in world events.
The UAE’s authoritarian regime is implicated in systemic human rights violations, including repression of dissent, labor exploitation, and complicity in regional conflicts such as Yemen . The U.S. government should impose targeted sanctions on UAE entities and individuals directly involved in these abuses. Sanctions would serve as a deterrent against further violations and signal that economic partnerships cannot come at the expense of human rights.
The UAE’s investments span sensitive areas such as AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing, with commitments totaling $1.4 trillion over the next decade . While these investments promise economic growth, they also raise national security concerns, especially given the UAE’s opaque ownership structures and use of shell companies. The U.S. must rigorously review foreign ownership in critical sectors and implement restrictions or enhanced scrutiny where necessary to prevent monopolistic control and potential espionage risks.
The UAE’s influence extends into U.S. political spheres through lobbying firms and political action committees (PACs) that often obscure the source of funding. Strengthening transparency requirements for lobbying disclosures and political donations is crucial to ensure that foreign actors do not covertly shape American policy. The government should enforce stricter reporting standards and penalize violations to maintain the integrity of the democratic process.
Consumer power is a potent tool to express disapproval of unethical practices. Americans can choose to boycott UAE-owned or affiliated brands, including airlines like Emirates, real estate developments, and luxury goods linked to Emirati investors. Such economic pressure raises awareness and signals to businesses that complicity with authoritarian regimes carries reputational and financial risks.
Many U.S. cities and states have welcomed Emirati investments, which often come with political and cultural strings attached . Constituents should actively engage with their local and federal representatives, urging them to scrutinize and, where appropriate, sever ties with Emirati investors whose activities conflict with American values. Public advocacy can influence policymaking and foster greater accountability.
The UAE’s repression extends to activists, journalists, and dissidents both inside the country and abroad . American citizens and organizations should support these voices through funding, platforms, and advocacy. Amplifying human rights defenders’ stories helps counter the UAE’s propaganda and builds international solidarity against authoritarianism.
Public awareness is foundational to democratic resilience. Communities, particularly in metropolitan areas with significant UAE investments, should be educated about the implications of these financial ties. Schools, universities, media outlets, and civil society groups can organize forums, publish investigative reports, and foster dialogue to inform citizens about the risks and encourage informed civic participation.
The UAE’s expanding financial empire in the United States is not merely an economic phenomenon but a strategic challenge to American democracy, security, and ethics. Combating this influence requires a dual approach: robust government action to regulate and investigate, and active public engagement to demand transparency and uphold human rights. By implementing these recommendations, the U.S. can protect its sovereignty, preserve democratic norms, and ensure that economic partnerships align with its core values.
Joining the Global Movement: Investigate, Resist, Boycott
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has rapidly expanded its financial and political influence across the United States, raising urgent concerns about the implications for democracy, human rights, and national security. In response, a growing global movement advocates for a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)-style framework targeting the UAE’s imperialist capitalism. This campaign calls on Americans to join international human rights coalitions in demanding thorough investigations, resisting complicity, and boycotting UAE-linked entities.
The Human Rights Foundation’s 2024 report, Infiltrating America, exposes how the UAE has orchestrated one of the most extensive political interference campaigns in U.S. history. From illicit lobbying and infiltration of government institutions to funding think tanks and universities, the UAE’s influence operation is unprecedented among authoritarian regimes. This infiltration threatens to distort U.S. policy, silence dissent, and normalize authoritarian practices under the guise of strategic partnership.
Despite its image as a modern, progressive state, the UAE continues to support repression domestically and abroad, including systemic torture, suppression of free speech, labor exploitation, and involvement in regional conflicts. The regime’s investments in advanced technologies and infrastructure in the U.S. serve as both economic tools and instruments of surveillance and control.
Joining the global call for accountability means embracing a BDS-style approach: boycotting UAE-owned brands and services, divesting from financial networks tied to the regime, and advocating for sanctions against entities complicit in human rights abuses. Americans can amplify the voices of UAE dissidents and human rights defenders, educate their communities—especially in cities with strong UAE financial presence—and pressure policymakers to enforce transparency and restrict foreign influence.
This movement is a moral imperative for all who value liberty, equality, and justice. It challenges the illusion of benign economic partnership and demands that the U.S. uphold its democratic ideals by resisting authoritarian influence.
No data availble
2025 All Rights Reserved © International Boycott UAE Campaign