'A flashing red light': how Donald Trump Jr. is cashing in on his dad's presidency

Bethany McLean

Mon, May 12, 2025, 12:11 PM 8 min read

Last November, only six days after his father was elected president, Donald Trump Jr. made a career move that, on the surface at least, seemed a bit odd. He became a partner in a small investment startup called 1789 Capital, which is based in Palm Beach, Florida, 2 miles from Mar-a-Lago. At that point, 1789 was a microscopic player in the world of venture capital. It had raised less than $200 million, and it hadn't made many investments beyond leading a group that put $15 million into Tucker Carlson's new media company. Its goal, according to its founders, is to create a "parallel economy," investing in "anti-woke" businesses that align with MAGA values.

Ever since Trump joined 1789, its portfolio has begun to blossom. Despite its tiny size, the firm has been granted shares in several coveted offerings, including Elon Musk's SpaceX. The shares, which are widely viewed as an almost certain home run, are essentially an insider deal: To participate in the offering, you typically have to receive an invitation from someone already in the club. In addition, 1789 has invested in Musk's artificial intelligence company, xAI, as well as a handful of startups that have received or are vying for contracts from the Defense Department. Almost overnight, a VC firm involving the president's son has become a significant beneficiary of the federal bureaucracy long derided by President Trump as "the swamp."

There's nothing wrong with an investment company making bets based on its connections — that's an integral part of the VC game. And there's no evidence that any of 1789's deals break laws prohibiting favoritism to individual contractors. But given their potential for creating a conflict of interest, the firm's investments have alarmed Washington insiders familiar with the process. What's more, the Trump administration's lack of transparency — particularly around moves being made by Musk and DOGE — makes it impossible to tell if the president's family is improperly making money by funneling government business to the companies it invests in.

"This certainly raises serious concerns about the appearance of corruption, because Trump's family is benefiting," says Laura Dickinson, a law professor at George Washington University who has served as special counsel for the Defense Department. "And when you look at this in the context of arbitrary cuts to other programs, it raises questions about whether preferential treatment is being given to family and others who curry favor with Trump."