Staff from the Tony Blair Institute joined talks on Gaza’s future, as slides proposed luxury projects and mass displacement

Tony Blair’s thinktank has come under fire after it emerged staff from his institute were involved in discussions around a radical postwar Gaza redevelopment plan featuring a so-called “Trump Riviera” and a futuristic manufacturing zone named after Elon Musk.

Although the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) denies any authorship or formal endorsement of the controversial scheme, it has confirmed that two of its staff participated in calls as the project—led by Israeli business figures and modelled with help from Boston Consulting Group (BCG)—evolved.

The slide deck at the heart of the scandal was reportedly developed to attract attention from Donald Trump and Gulf leaders. It includes proposals to transform Gaza into a glittering investment haven—on the condition that a significant number of Palestinians be paid to leave. Among its ten “mega projects” are the “MBS Ring” and “MBZ Central” highways—named after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed—and an “Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone.”

Perhaps most audaciously, the plans envisioned a luxury coastal resort dubbed the “Trump Riviera”, echoing the US president’s ambitions for the region. In February, Trump had amplified these ideas by retweeting an AI-generated video and musing: “It could be so magnificent… the Riviera of the Middle East.”

TBI insists it played no role in developing the plan or the slide deck itself, describing the documents as “a BCG deck” with no input from Tony Blair or his core team. “Tony Blair himself has neither spoken to the people who prepared this deck nor commented on it,” a spokesperson said.

The institute’s name surfaced after a TBI internal document titled “Gaza Economic Blueprint” was shared in a message group that also included BCG staff and the Israeli project leaders. TBI defended the presence of its staff in the group, stating: “Interacting with people who have Gaza plans doesn’t equal endorsement.”

However, the most explosive allegation is that the plan—branded the “Great Trust”—included financially incentivising the mass relocation of Palestinians. That idea has prompted international outrage, especially as it appears to align with long-denounced proposals to resettle Gaza’s population outside the territory.

The TBI pushed back strongly: “We’re opposed to any plan which tries to make Gazans leave Gaza. We want them to be able to stay and live in Gaza.”

The thinktank framed its engagement as part of broader efforts to study postwar recovery ideas. “Our document is one of many internal papers assessing third-party proposals. It’s not a plan authored or promoted by us,” the spokesperson added.

Tony Blair has long held a vested interest in Middle East diplomacy, having served for nearly eight years as the Quartet’s special representative—tasked with mediating peace between Israel and Palestine—before stepping down in 2015.

BCG, meanwhile, has distanced itself from the debacle, saying it had terminated its contract with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a contentious US- and Israeli-backed outfit. The firm reportedly fired two partners after internal investigations found senior leaders had been misled about the Gaza project’s scope and optics.

Critics have lambasted both BCG and TBI for even tangential involvement in a plan that appears to prioritise profit over justice and reconstruction. Activists say it risks whitewashing Gaza’s devastation with glossy slides and billionaire branding—without addressing the needs or rights of its actual people.

With the situation in Gaza still volatile and humanitarian conditions dire, proposals like the “Trump Riviera” strike many as tone-deaf, if not outright dystopian.