A short drive from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club, inside a small office a block from the beach, sits the headquarters of 1789 Capital, a firm founded just a few years ago with plans to invest in businesses aligned with conservative values. Since Donald Trump Jr. joined as a partner shortly after his father’s reelection, the firm has rapidly grown to manage roughly $3.5 billion in assets, up from less than a billion last year. Its strategy closely reflects the president’s policies, and according to a CNN analysis of contracting data, companies backed by 1789 Capital have also significantly increased their federal funding under the Trump administration. Ten defense, space and software companies that Trump Jr.’s firm is invested in were awarded over $1.6 billion from federal contracts and grants in the first 500 days of Trump’s second term — a 79% increase over what they received during the same period under Joe Biden. That figure does not include additional federal loans and subcontracts worth more than $1 billion that other startups backed by the firm are on track to receive.
There is no evidence that 1789 Capital or Trump Jr. personally pushed for any of these companies to receive federal funding. Thomas Clare, an attorney representing the firm, said unequivocally that no one at 1789 Capital has discussed federal contracts involving those companies with the Trump administration. A spokesperson for Trump Jr. described him as a “lifelong businessman and serial investor” who does not interface with the federal government as part of his role with any company he invests in or advises. The companies receiving the contracts separately told CNN they have no knowledge of anyone with the firm influencing public funds on their behalf. The White House dismissed the broader criticism as a “tired narrative” pushed by Democrats for a decade, with spokeswoman Anna Kelly stating there are no conflicts of interest and that the president acts only in the best interests of the American public.
At the same time, Trump Jr. has publicly pitched investors that his proximity to the administration gives 1789 Capital an advantage. Speaking at a Saudi business conference last fall, he told attendees that the firm understands what the administration wants to do because it helped craft some of that messaging. That blend of access and ambition has caught the attention of government watchdogs, who warn the arrangement could erode public trust regardless of intent. Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, an interim vice president at the Project on Government Oversight, put it bluntly: taxpayer money is flowing into companies backed by a firm tied to the president’s son, which casts what he called a black cloud over contracting decisions. Founded by Omeed Malik, a former Bank of America managing director and Mar-a-Lago member who left the Democratic Party during Trump’s first term, 1789 Capital pitches itself as dedicated to patriotic capitalism. SEC filings show about 40% of its money comes from foreign investors, though their locations are not disclosed.