Jared Kushner says he found Sazan Island by chance on friend's yacht trip amid protests over project

WASHINGTON, DC: Jared Kushner said the idea for his controversial development project in Albania began during a summer vacation. Recalling how he first came across Sazan Island, he said he visited the area in 2021 while sailing on a yacht owned by his friend Nat Rothschild after leaving government service.

The journey started in Montenegro and was bound for the Greek island of Corfu, with the group spending several days exploring Albania’s coastline. During one stop along the way, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama came aboard the yacht for dinner. Kushner said he had not met Rama during his time in government but was struck by the prime minister’s vision for Albania’s future.

Meeting leads to development project

That visit eventually led to plans for one of the largest tourism developments proposed in the Mediterranean.

According to the report, Kushner’s investment firm is backing a $1.4 billion project on Sazan Island that would include up to 10,000 hotel rooms, luxury villas, a marina, and extensive tourism infrastructure.

The Albanian government gave the project strategic investor status, allowing development on the largely undeveloped island.

Prosecutors in Albania investigating corruption have formally opened an inquiry into land reclassifications in 2024 that helped enable the development.

In the meantime, Tirana has seen protests, with people taking to the streets day after day to oppose the project and voice their concerns about environmental protection, transparency and the use of public land.

The controversy intensified after videos circulated appearing to show security guards assaulting a protester during demonstrations. Albanian authorities subsequently revoked the licenses of two security companies linked to the incident.

The accumulation of events has transformed Sazan Island from an investment story into a political one, placing growing pressure on both the Albanian government and the project's backers.

Jared Kushner says investment grew from opportunity, not politics

Kushner has pushed back against criticism by portraying the project as the result of a personal discovery rather than a political arrangement.

Albania is an overlooked destination with immense natural beauty, he said, and its pristine coastline provides a rare opportunity to build a world-class tourism destination.

Some critics have expressed concerns about the politics of the investment around the project, but Kushner said he only became interested after visiting the country and later seeing unique development opportunities.

While talking about the Prime Minister of Albania, Kushner said, "One of the cool things i was attracted to is the fact that he seemed like a very skilled politician as a very strong and smart leader but also the fact that he was an artist i thought it'd be very cool to see what a country really led and built by an artist could be, somebody with amazing taste and great creativity."

“So we went there, we looked for opportunities, and we were able to find some incredible, incredible opportunities. So this really came from obviously a passion,” he said.

While Rothschild's name is likely to attract attention because of his family's prominence, Kushner's account presents him simply as a friend hosting a vacation trip rather than as someone involved in the Albanian project. There is no public indication that Rothschild played a role in securing the development or its government approvals.