Donald Trump knows glitzy towers. He knows high-stakes casinos. But what does he know about a field in São Paulo?

Evidently not much. "We haven't even seen it yet," George Ross, executive vice-president at the Trump Organisation, tells Observer.

Such a formality hasn't stopped Trump from considering building a golf resort in South America's largest city.

He is now pondering plans for the Villa Trump - what else did you expect it to be called? - and has asked his Brazilian partners to exercise their option to buy the land.

"They deal in hectares down there, but it's a big, big chunk of land," says Ross. The company has until the end of the month to exercise its option on the 100-plus-acre plot, he says.

The extent of Trump's involvement has yet to be decided. "We indicated that yes, we have an interest in making the Trump Organisation involved in this sort of property," Ross says. "But is it money, putting in our expertise? That depends on a lot of things."

Isn't Trump, the capitalist's capitalist, worried that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva - who announced a proposal to eradicate social inequality - might not be receptive to the idea of an exclusive golf course on the outskirts of the poverty-stricken city?

"In the event we are not welcome in Brazil, then we won't go there," says. Ross. "But in general people in municipalities are happy to have us. It's a feather in their cap because we don't build everywhere."

Observer hopes Lula's plan for redistributing wealth doesn't throw a wedge into their plans.