The $1 Billion Buy-In: Trump’s Board of Peace Privatizes Gaza Reconstruction

Think of the Board of Peace (BoP) as a private equity fund masquerading as a diplomatic mission. It was built on a simple, transactional rule: if you want a seat at the table, you pay $1 billion. This isn't a representative body of the international community; it's a coalition of the wealthy. While 28 countries have signed on, the fact that nearly half of those invited haven't joined is a massive snubLoaded Language. It shows a deep skepticism toward a governance model that puts pay-to-play structures ahead of actual sovereign accountability.

The leadership roster reads like a roll call of Trump’s financial and political network. You've got Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff—both high-stakes real estate developers—and Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management. When you put this much private equity and real estate power in one room, it’s clear Gaza’s 'reconstruction' is being treated as a development opportunity. And here’s the kicker: the power isn't shared. The charter gives Chairman Trump the unilateral right to fire anyone. That $1 billion entrance fee doesn't buy you security; it buys you influence that can be revoked at any time.

“Peace requires the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed.”

On the ground, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) will handle the logistics. But it's a body designed for compliance, not leadership. Led by Ali Shaath, the committee has been explicitly stripped of any real political teeth. By separating 'administrative' needs from political rights, the BoP is basically treating two million Palestinians like residents of a managed estate instead of citizens of a state. It’s a structure that glosses over 72,000 deaths to focus on shiny data centers and luxury high-rises—projects that look like they're for international investors, not the displaced population.

Then there’s the legal side of things, and it’s messy. The board relies on UN Security Council Resolution 2803 for its authority, but the BoP’s own charter doesn't even mention 'Gaza' by name. That's a deliberate loophole. It leaves the door open for the board to expand into other territories, potentially replacing existing international bodies like the UN. Trump himself admitted the board 'might' replace the UN. It’s a clear strategy to dismantle traditional diplomacy in favor of bespoke, U.S.-led corporate entities.

The real mystery is where those billions in 'entrance fees' are actually going. The White House says the funds are for reconstruction, but there’s no public oversight or independent audit to track the money. We don't know how it's being split between security, building projects, and administrative overhead. For the people of Gaza, it means their future is being sketched out in boardrooms in Davos and D.C. In those rooms, the primary metric for success is the return on investment, not the restoration of civil rights or human safety.