GREAT Trust Gaza Reconstruction Plan: Who Backs It, Who Pays

WASHINGTON — A slide deck that pictures Gaza as a trade hub administered by a US-led trust has resurfaced in the debate over the Board of Peace’s recovery effort. The GREAT Trust Gaza reconstruction proposal has no confirmed backer, and no source reviewed shows it was adopted, funded or built as of October 2, 2026.

The 38-page document, formally the “Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation” Trust, surfaced in 2025 and was published in full by The Washington Post. This report separates what the deck says, what independent reporting confirms, and what no one has verified.

Key facts

Proposal: a US-led “custodianship” of Gaza, ten “mega projects” and a land-trust financing model, per the Post-published deck. Some outlets write “Reconstruction”; the deck says “Reconstitution.”
Authors: Israeli businessmen led by Michael Eisenberg and Liran Tancman, with modeling by a team then working for Boston Consulting Group, the Post reported.
Deck’s money: $70–100 billion public and $35–65 billion private investment, with no named funder.
Official cost estimate: $71.4 billion over ten years, from the World Bank, UN and EU, released April 20, 2026.
Real pledges: $18 billion pledged to the Board of Peace and $280 million delivered, BBC reported on September 24.
Status: no source reviewed shows the GREAT Trust was adopted, funded or built.

The GREAT Trust Gaza reconstruction proposal in plain terms

The deck’s title is “The GREAT Trust: From a Demolished Iranian Proxy to a Prosperous Abrahamic Ally.” Its governance idea is a custodianship that begins as a US–Israel bilateral deal once Hamas is disarmed, then widens into a multilateral trusteeship. Israel keeps “overarching rights” to meet its security needs. Power eventually passes to a “reformed” Palestinian polity, possibly bound by a Compact of Free Association.

The physical vision is expansive: a Rafah logistics hub, a port and small airport, regional datacenters, a coastal “Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands,” six to eight planned “smart cities,” and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone.” Two ring and highway projects are named after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, The Guardian noted.

The financing hook is a Gaza Land Trust. The deck says public land, 30%-plus of the territory, would be leased to the Trust for 25 to 99 years, with assets tokenized on a blockchain registry. Private owners could swap land for a token redeemable for housing. It also prices “voluntary” relocation at $5,000 per person plus rent subsidies and assumes about a quarter of residents leave. AFP reported that the outline foresees at least temporary relocation of the entire population, abroad or into secured zones inside Gaza.

Who built it, and who is named

The Post reported the deck came from some of the Israelis who created the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, led by Eisenberg and Tancman. WIRED says the file’s metadata matches Tancman’s name and that a third author, shown only as “TF,” is unidentified. Both men declined to comment to WIRED. GHF told WIRED it had no part in developing the deck.

Named or reported entities, and what sources say about each:

Boston Consulting Group: modeling was done by a team working for BCG, per the Post. BCG says two former partners acted without authorization, that it “disavows” the work, and that it was not paid. No funding figure is reported.
Tony Blair Institute: two staff joined calls and a message group, and an institute “Gaza Economic Blueprint” circulated, the Guardian reported, citing the Financial Times. The institute says it did not author or endorse the deck and opposes any plan to make Gazans leave.
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: the deck gives it aid delivery and temporary housing, with $10.8 billion for housing support and $6–10 billion in donor-funded needs, all projections. GHF ended operations on November 24, 2025. WIRED names Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions as its US contractors; neither is reported as a GREAT Trust party.
Corporate logos: WIRED contacted the 28 companies pictured. IKEA, TSMC, IHG and G4S said they were not involved; Tesla, Amazon and Constellis did not respond. A person with knowledge called the deck market research, not a list of agreements.

Money: projections against pledges

By the deck’s own model, the Trust would invest roughly $97 billion and private partners about $36 billion over ten years, producing a projected $324 billion asset value and more than $4.5 billion in annual Trust revenue by year ten. Those are the authors’ numbers. The deck says only that Arab and other countries would “ideally” invest. In the sources reviewed, no government, agency or company has publicly committed money to the GREAT Trust.

Cash has gone to a different vehicle. At the Board of Peace launch on February 19, nine members pledged $7 billion, and the US announced a $10 billion contribution with no stated source, AP reported. The pledgers were Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Kuwait. AP noted Congress would need to authorize the US sum.

By June, The National reported, a World Bank-supervised reconstruction fund had received nothing, and the administration had started notifying Congress of an initial $250 million. In July The Guardian reported the EU’s Palestine Donor Group had raised €883 million, and that the board was negotiating for part of $11 billion in Palestinian funds withheld by Israel. The Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister said those funds must be released unconditionally.

What reconstruction is estimated to cost

The World Bank, UN and EU assessment puts needs at $71.4 billion over a decade, with $26.3 billion in the first 18 months. It counts $35.2 billion in physical damage and $22.7 billion in economic and social losses, and more than 371,000 housing units destroyed or damaged. The World Bank-hosted report says it proposes no implementation arrangements. The EU and UN call for Palestinian-led recovery.

The two numbers are not interchangeable. The deck models about $133 billion, but folds in security forces, relocation payments, tourism and manufacturing that a damage assessment does not price.

Governance and the Board of Peace

The Board of Peace was created under Trump’s 20-point plan and endorsed by the UN Security Council in November 2025, The National reports. Jared Kushner sits on its executive board, Nickolay Mladenov is high representative for Gaza, and the BBC says Eisenberg is now a board member. At Davos on January 22, Kushner showed a “New Gaza” master plan with 180 coastal towers and a “New Rafah” of more than 100,000 housing units, the BBC reported.

Whether the GREAT Trust shaped that plan is disputed. Carnegie analyst Zaha Hassan argues that it informs the board’s work; that is her analysis, not an official acknowledgment. The National says the administration has stated it has no plans to relocate Palestinians.

Progress has been slow. The Guardian reported in July that the full plan had shrunk to a small pilot camp near Rafah, and Axios reported that the $2.45 billion, 66-project plan still depends on Israeli and Hamas cooperation and on Israel’s October 27 election. For the security backdrop, see our reports on Smotrich’s call to annex territory to the Litani and Gaza’s Yellow Line and Israel’s killing of Hamas’s northern Gaza chief.

Reactions

Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim said “Gaza is not for sale,” and another official said no details had reached the group, AFP reported. Gazans interviewed by AFP split: two dismissed the plan, one said he would back it if it stopped the fighting.

Analysts at Arab Center Washington DC called it a blueprint for dispossession that sidelines Palestinians. Ehud Olmert has called the Board of Peace’s Rafah pilot a “concentration camp” in the making, while board officials say residents will move freely. Specific Egyptian, Arab League or Palestinian Authority statements on this deck were not found in the sources reviewed. Arab states did condemn the earlier “Riviera” idea, AFP noted.

What remains unconfirmed

Whether the White House adopted any part of the deck; no decision followed the August 27, 2025 meeting.
The identity of “TF.”
Any named investor, Gulf government or company backing the Trust.
Whether any logo in the deck reflects real contact.
Pledge totals: the BBC says $18 billion, while The Guardian cited $17 billion in July.

FAQ

What does the GREAT Trust stand for?

Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation, according to the deck. Many outlets print “Reconstruction.”

Is it official US policy?

Not on the evidence reviewed. It was discussed at a White House meeting, but no readout or decision followed.

Which companies are involved?

BCG’s modeling team and Tony Blair Institute staff are reported participants; both dispute their roles. Firms whose logos appeared denied involvement when asked.

How much would rebuilding Gaza cost?

The World Bank, UN and EU say $71.4 billion over ten years. The deck models about $133 billion with broader scope.

Who is paying?

No one has publicly funded the GREAT Trust. The Board of Peace has $18 billion in pledges and $280 million delivered, per the BBC.