The eldest sons of the US President, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., invested in at least 15 companies in the military-industrial complex. Most of the investments were made after the election of Donald Trump to a second presidential term. These data were cited by The Washington Post (WP) based on its own investigation and analysis of US government procurement.
The companies in which Trump's sons invested subsequently received about $6.3 billion from the state. We are talking about enterprises working in the field of defense technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, unmanned systems and space development. Of the total amount, $3.2 billion were direct payments, and another $3.1 billion were contracts with a deferred execution date.
Some companies have also entered pre-approved contractor lists, allowing them to compete for nearly $200 billion in government contracts.
The bulk of direct funding came from two companies – SpaceX and Anduril. They received about $2.1 billion and $1 billion, respectively. Together, they accounted for 97% of direct government payments and 42% of options among the defense companies included in the investment portfolio of Trump's sons.
Excluding SpaceX and Anduril, the remaining 13 startups received about $1.9 billion. These include Vulcan Elements, which produces magnets from rare earth metals, drone developer Unusual Machines, Hadrian, which produces industrial components using artificial intelligence, as well as Aeon Industrial, PsiQuantum and others.
As the publication notes, five of the 15 companies did not have a single government contract before receiving investments from Trump’s sons.
Critics say such investments could create a potential conflict of interest, as the president's sons could benefit financially from the administration's decisions and increases in defense spending. The extent of the Trump family's involvement in private companies interested in federal contracts and government support raises new ethical issues, experts say.
Former defense officials and public policy experts say that under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has become less transparent in making decisions to advance the interests of individual companies.
Representatives of the mentioned enterprises told WP that they received federal orders due to the quality of their goods and services, having passed the strict selection procedures prescribed by the Pentagon. According to them, the president's family did not provide them with any assistance and did not interfere in the contracting process. Some companies also claim that their executives barely know the brothers or have only met them a few times.
Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez said that “no company receives preferential treatment” and “external relations, investors and political contacts play no role in the agency’s funding decisions.”
As RTVI previously reported, during Trump’s second presidential term, his sons instantly increased their wealth by about 10 times thanks to investments in cryptocurrency, real estate transactions and income from shares of financial and defense companies. Trump himself earned over $1.2 billion last year from cryptocurrency projects alone.
