the mansion at a bankruptcy auction less than four years earlier for $ 41.4 million , records show . In 2013 , Trump found a new Russian partner for a Moscow real estate project , Aras Agalarov , an Azeri - born real estate developer who is sometimes called the " Trump of Russia " for his tendency to emblazon his name on his development projects . The Agalarovs are wealthy developers who have received several contracts for state - funded construction projects , a sign of their closeness to the Putin government .