Left-wing Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is running as a crusader for the working class, owns a rental property in Dubai, according to his latest financial disclosure. While the property's exact location is unknown, the disclosure provides a clue, listing an outstanding debt of as much as $100,000 to the luxury developer behind a "resort-style" community located in "the heart of New Dubai," complete with a "stunning lagoon and white sandy beaches."
El-Sayed released the disclosure on Monday afternoon, shortly before the final debate against his primary opponent, congresswoman Haley Stevens, who had criticized El-Sayed for requesting an extension allowing him to delay the disclosure until after the Aug. 4 election. El-Sayed said he did so because his "wife and her family own property abroad," making the disclosure "complicated" to complete.
Indeed, the disclosure lists "Rental Property 3," a "Single Family Home" in "Dubai, U.A.E.," adding to El-Sayed's rental properties in Ann Arbor, Mich. and Bangalore, India, which he disclosed in 2025. It also lists a liability of between $50,000 and $100,000 to a Dubai-based company, Majid Al Futtaim Tilal Al Ghaf Phase A LLC.
A subsidiary of the Emirati real estate conglomerate Majid Al Futtaim Holdings, the company was registered in 2018 to launch Tilal Al Ghaf, a gated community "nestled in the heart of new Dubai, with a stunning lagoon and white sandy beaches" that offers "luxury resort-style living with a fresh urban feeling," according to its promotional page. The community is separated into distinct "neighbourhoods" that include different types of homes, from "duplex townhouses" and "top-tier twin villas" to "bespoke mansions," including some that sit on a man-made island that provide private access to a lagoon the size of 18 football fields that runs throughout the community.
Majid Al Futtaim is not without controversy. In 2024, the company was accused of exploiting migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, according to Amnesty International, which alleged in a 2024 report that Majid Al Futtaim may have "directly caused human rights abuses – including treatment which could amount to forced labour – by managers reportedly coercing contracted staff to work unpaid overtime hours, and denying them rest days, under threat of being 'fired.'"
While there are hurdles to foreigners owning property in the United Arab Emirates, they can purchase homes in government-designated areas, known as freehold areas, and Tilal Al Ghaf falls within one of those zones.
El-Sayed's Dubai property is a reflection of the wealth the Democrat has accumulated since his unsuccessful gubernatorial run in 2018.
The tax returns he released during that campaign showed $237,000 in gross income. That's nearly $450,000 less than the $686,000 in total income he brought in last year, according to his 2025 tax return, a portion of which El-Sayed released on July 15. That places him in the top 1 percent of Michigan earners, though El-Sayed has billed himself as a crusader against the oligarchy and a champion of the working class.
Some of the money stems from rental income El-Sayed and his wife, psychiatrist Sarah Jukaku, generated from their three rental properties. El-Sayed's latest disclosure lists up to $50,000 in rental income from the Ann Arbor property, up to $15,000 in rental income from the India property, and up to $15,000 in rental income from the Dubai property.
El-Sayed's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
The exact details of El-Sayed's Dubai property—including its address, purchase price, and purchase date—are unclear, and El-Sayed is not required to disclose that information. The city of Dubai does not release real estate records containing buyers' names to the public.
The liability listed on El-Sayed's disclosure, however, is classified as a "Developer Credit Balance," which could refer to a payment plan Majid Al Futtaim has advertised for its Tilal Al Ghaf properties in which the buyer of a new development pays 40 percent of the purchase price over a two-year period after the property is complete. The plans are interest-free, and El-Sayed's disclosure lists an interest rate of 0 percent.
The disclosure also states that El-Sayed took on the debt in 2025. Majid Al Futtaim began selling Tilal Al Ghaf properties to the public in 2020, and the first 900 units in the community were completed in 2023, corporate records show. At least 913 units in the community have been rented, according to the Dubai real estate database PropertyIndex, which aggregates data from Dubai's land department.
If the property listed on El-Sayed's disclosure is indeed within Tilal Al Ghaf, he is likely not the only owner. The disclosure indicates that the asset is worth between $100,000 and $250,000. Smaller units within Tilal Al Ghaf's least expensive townhouse neighborhood, "Elan," typically sold for between $300,000 and $400,000 when they launched in 2020 and now sell for roughly double what they did then, according to PropertyIndex.
All Tilal Al Ghaf residents, regardless of neighborhood, have access to the community's swanky amenities. They include "Lagoon Al Ghaf," the "recreational lagoon" where residents can lounge on "spectacular white sandy beaches" and "indulge in swimming in crystal clear waters"; a park complete with "beautifully crafted green spaces and crystal-clear lakes"; and walking and cycling trails "winding throughout the entire Tilal Al Ghaf community." The Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai, an elite British day school, is also located within the community, as is a Montessori nursery and the Majid Al Futtaim Mosque. Tilal Al Ghaf's Distrikt shopping mall includes a gourmet restaurant, a grocery store, a hair and beauty salon, and a pharmacy.
El-Sayed has lashed out at critics of his foreign properties, saying after Monday's debate, "I wonder why they're so focused on 'foreign' properties for somebody with a name like mine. Do you think it might fit with a well-worn trope?" He also said his wife's family "inherited" the properties "and then put in their and all their kids' names, and then sold," though El-Sayed reported rental income from all three properties in his disclosure, which covered 2025 through July 2026, indicating that he and his wife still own the properties.
Chuck Ross contributed to this report.
