Trump Organization sells iconic high-speed jet from 2016 campaign to GOP donor

The Trump Organization has sold a famous high-speed jet flown by former President Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign to a wealthy Republican donor, public records show.

The 1997 Cessna 750 Citation X was sold for an undisclosed amount earlier this month to MM Fleet Holdings, LLC, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. The midsize business jet, with a cabin space of about 540 cubic feet, is capable of transporting eight passengers and two crew members. Its value ranges from $9 million to $10 million, according to evoJets, a broker for private jet transactions.

State records show the registered agent for the company that bought the plane is Mehrdad Moayedi, an Iranian-American real estate magnate based near Dallas, Texas. Moayedi is president and CEO of Centurion American Development Group, which he founded in 1990. The company has built several thousand homes in Texas and areas of Colorado, according to its website.

Moayedi is also a Republican donor who gifted a total of $245,000 to Trump Victory, a political action committee that supported Trump's 2020 re-election effort, according to Federal Election Commission records. In 2019, he donated the maximal allowable $5,600 to Trump's presidential campaign.

Since 2006, Moayedi has also donated hundreds of thousands to GOP candidates and committees, including the Republican National Committee through its WinRed platform, the Republican Party of Texas, Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and former Trump rival Nikki Haley's 2024 presidential campaign. In 2011, he donated $2,500 to former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, D-Texas, in the Democratic primary. He also gave $2,900 to independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., in 2022. 

Business Insider first reported the sale of Trump's Citation X plane, organized through Jet Edge Partners, an Ohio-based aircraft broker. 

The Trump Organization's website boasts the Citation X flies at speeds up to Mach .92 and altitudes as high as 51,000 feet, referring to it as a "rocket in the sky." The plane was used for entry into smaller airports that could not accommodate Trump's prize Boeing 757, nicknamed "Trump Force One." 

Under his ownership, Trump's Cessna had a decal of his family crest on the fuselage and its tail number was N725DT, a reference to Trump Tower's New York City address, 725 Fifth Avenue, and his initials, Business Insider reported. 

In 2016, Trump neglected to renew the Cessna's registration when it expired in January, but continued to fly the plane until the New York Times reported the error three months later. Trump said at the time the FAA sent the renewal notice to the wrong address.

Trump got the plane back in the air by registering it in Delaware to a new limited liability company, DT Endeavor I. The move cleared the plane to fly almost immediately, avoiding a lengthy registration process under its previous ownership, the Times reported. 

Trump used the plane to travel to various rallies as he campaigned for the presidency in 2016. 

Neither the Trump Organization nor Moayedi responded to requests for comment about the sale.