The President's son; partner, 1789 Capital; co-founder, Executive Branch club
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What the record shows
Donald Trump Jr.The President's son; partner, 1789 Capital; co-founder, Executive Branch club
Fund grew from about $150 million to about $3 billion under management; board seats at companies whose shares jumped on his name; a $500,000-a-head club
Trump Jr.'s venture fund invested in Vulcan Elements three months before a White House aide pushed a $620 million Pentagon loan to the company, per ProPublica. He sits on the boards of GrabAGun, Dominari and Polymarket, each of which saw regulatory good news or share spikes after his arrival. His Executive Branch club sells access blocks from the White House for $500,000.
Response: Trump Jr.'s spokesperson said he never discussed Vulcan with the aide and does not discuss investments with federal officials; 1789's counsel called the House Democrats' letter "unsubstantiated talking points."
Holding office, or a family name, is not a crime. This page says only what the sources say, and carries the response where one was given.
In the timeline
Every entry that names Donald Trump Jr.
14 dated entries from the Grift Files timeline, oldest first, each with its source.
House records: Trump company billed Secret Service at least $1.4 million, up to $1,185 a night
$1.4MThe President
Documents released by the House Oversight Committee showed the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service at least $1.4 million for rooms at Trump properties from 2017 through September 2021, with rates above government-approved levels at least 40 times. One charge was $1,185 a night at the Trump hotel in Washington for a 2017 stay by Donald Trump Jr., more than five times the approved rate. The committee said the true total was likely higher because records were incomplete.
The response: Eric Trump said the services were provided at the government's request 'at cost, heavily discounted or for free,' and that the Trump family is likely the first in American history not to profit from the U.S. government (AP via PBS, Oct. 17, 2022).
Trump moves 114.75 million Trump Media shares, worth about $4 billion, into a trust run by Don Jr.
$4BThe President
SEC filings showed Trump transferred all 114,750,000 of his shares in Trump Media & Technology Group, parent of Truth Social, into the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. Donald Trump Jr. is sole trustee with voting power, but Trump remains the beneficiary and indirect owner. The stake was nearly 53 percent of the company and worth about $4 billion at the time. Because he is the beneficiary, any rise in the stock still benefits Trump personally.
Trump sons join a Trump Tower penny stock's board; shares soar 580% beforehand
The family
Dominari Holdings, a small money-losing investment bank headquartered in Trump Tower, announced Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were joining its advisory board and investing in a private placement. The stock, under $1 in December, jumped as much as 84% that day after a 91% gain the day before. The Financial Times later found Dominari shares had risen 580% in the six weeks before the announcement, with daily volume up from 11,700 shares to 1.2 million, and that each brother received 966,000 shares, about 6.7% of the company, before the news was public.
The response: Dominari did not respond to the Telegraph's or FT's requests for comment; CEO Kyle Wool said the brothers would help the firm focus on AI and data centers.
Don Jr. and partners open 'Executive Branch,' a $500,000 private club blocks from the White House
$500,000 membership feeThe family
Donald Trump Jr., Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk of 1789 Capital, and Alex and Zach Witkoff, sons of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, launched a members-only club in Georgetown called Executive Branch. The fee is $500,000 plus undisclosed annual dues, membership is by referral and screened by the founders, and some applicants reportedly offered $1 million. Founding members were said to include David Sacks, the Winklevoss twins and Chamath Palihapitiya.
The response: A person close to the club told CNBC the club does not want media or lobbyists as members so members can talk in privacy.
Trump Jr. and the Witkoff sons open a $500,000-a-head club blocks from the White House
$500,000 membership feeThe family
Donald Trump Jr., his 1789 Capital partners Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk, and Alex and Zach Witkoff, sons of Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, co-founded Executive Branch, a private members' club in Georgetown with a $500,000 initiation fee plus undisclosed annual dues. Founding members reportedly included White House crypto czar David Sacks and the Winklevoss twins; a launch party drew administration officials. CNBC reported a waiting list before it opened.
Sitting president launches 'Victory 45-47' perfume and cologne at $249 a bottle
$2.5MThe President
Trump announced on Truth Social a fragrance line called 'Victory 45-47,' priced at $249 and described as 'all about Winning, Strength, and Success.' It joined a December 'Fight! Fight! Fight!' fragrance at $199, the $69.99 'God Bless the USA' Bible, $299 'Trump Landslide' boots, sneakers, guitars, coins and watches. A disclosure released in June 2025 showed Trump earned $2.5 million in 2024 from sneakers and fragrances alone; his business assets sit in a trust controlled by Donald Trump Jr.
The response: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in May 2025 that Trump abides by all applicable conflict-of-interest laws and called the idea that he is profiting off the presidency 'absurd' (ABC News).
Trump Jr. rings the NYSE bell for GrabAGun, an online gun seller he sits on the board of
$179MThe family
GrabAGun, a Texas online firearms retailer, went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PEW through a merger with a SPAC run by 1789 Capital's Omeed Malik, raising $179 million. Donald Trump Jr., a board member, adviser and shareholder, rang the opening bell as traders chanted "USA!"; a June prospectus projected he would hold about 300,000 shares, roughly 1% of the company. The stock fell more than 20% in its first hours and, per Rep. Raskin's August 2026 letter, was down 75% from its listing by mid-2026.
Trump Jr. joins Polymarket's board as his fund invests and the feds drop their probe
The family
Prediction market Polymarket, fined $1.4 million by the CFTC in 2022 and ordered to block U.S. users, took a strategic investment from 1789 Capital (Axios estimated "double-digit millions") and put Donald Trump Jr. on its advisory board. The move came weeks after CFTC and Justice Department investigations into the platform were closed and Polymarket bought a CFTC-licensed exchange for $112 million to re-enter the U.S. market. Trump Jr. said Polymarket "cuts through media spin."
The response: Trump Jr. praised the platform; terms were not disclosed.
Eric Trump's American Bitcoin lists on Nasdaq, briefly valued near $8.5 billion
$8.5BThe family
American Bitcoin, created in March 2025 when miner Hut 8 spun its mining business into a new company, went public in early September 2025. Hut 8 kept 80%; the other 20% went to shareholders of American Data Centers, a company launched by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Eric Trump is co-founder and chief strategy officer. The company was valued at nearly $8.5 billion at its September 9 peak and had five employees; by mid-January 2026 the stock was down more than 70%.
Eric Trump's stake in American Bitcoin worth $548 million on its first trading day
$548MThe family
American Bitcoin, a bitcoin-mining company co-founded by Eric Trump (its chief strategy officer) and backed by Donald Trump Jr., began trading on Nasdaq as ABTC after merging with Gryphon Digital Mining. Shares more than doubled intraday, trading was halted repeatedly, and the stock closed at $8.04, up about 17%. Bloomberg calculated Eric Trump's roughly 7.5% stake at about $548 million. Hut 8 holds 80% of the company; the Trump sons' American Data Centers holds the rest. The company said it was worth "above $5 billion" and planned a $2.1 billion share sale to buy more bitcoin.
Trump granted a full pardon to Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao, who pleaded guilty in 2023 to enabling money laundering as part of Binance's $4.3 billion settlement with the Justice Department and served four months in prison. Binance's blockchain hosts World Liberty's USD1, the stablecoin used in the $2 billion MGX deal, and Binance had hired a lobbyist friend of Donald Trump Jr. for $450,000 to seek 'executive relief.' Asked why he pardoned Zhao, Trump said: 'I don't know, he was recommended by a lot of people.'
The response: Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Biden administration pursued Zhao 'despite no allegations of fraud or identifiable victims' and that 'the Biden Administration's war on crypto is over.' A World Liberty spokesperson said the company 'had no role in the clemency process.'
White House aide pushed a $620 million Pentagon loan to a startup Trump Jr.'s fund had just bought into
$620MThe family
ProPublica reported that Peter Navarro, a White House adviser and friend of Donald Trump Jr., initiated a $620 million Pentagon loan to Vulcan Elements, a three-year-old North Carolina rare-earth magnet startup with no record of government work; a Pentagon official said it was the only one of dozens of candidates started by a top presidential aide, and staff rushed a months-long process into weeks. 1789 Capital, where Trump Jr. is a partner, had taken an undisclosed stake about three months earlier, in an August 2025 round. Commerce added a $50 million CHIPS Act grant. Bloomberg reported Vulcan's valuation rose from about $200 million to about $2 billion.
The response: Trump Jr.'s spokesperson said he never discussed Vulcan with Navarro and does not discuss investments with federal officials; 1789 said it learned of the loan only when it became public; the Pentagon said no company gets preferential treatment; the White House said it acts in the nation's interest. Navarro and Vulcan did not respond.
ATF moves to allow fully online gun sales, a windfall for the gun retailer Trump Jr. part-owns
The family
The Washington Post reported that the ATF's April 29, 2026 proposal to amend or scrap 34 gun regulations would let firearm purchases happen entirely online, and a Postal Service proposal would let dealers mail handguns, following a January Justice Department legal opinion that the mail ban is unconstitutional. GrabAGun, whose CEO called the change potentially "the most significant change to firearms retail distribution in decades," filed a comment supporting it; Donald Trump Jr. holds 300,000 shares (1.1%) and a board seat, and sits on the board of PublicSquare, whose Credova unit finances GrabAGun purchases. The CFPB had dropped its investigation of Credova in August 2025. Senators Murphy and Blumenthal asked DOJ whether the rule was changed "to help Trump's kids get rich."
The response: Trump Jr.'s spokesman said he "had zero involvement in this particular decision"; a White House official said the proposals were about protecting the Second Amendment and had nothing to do with his business; the ATF said the rule "modernizes and strengthens identity-verification requirements."
House Democrats open an insider-access probe into Trump Jr.'s 1789 Capital
$3BThe family
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on House Judiciary, wrote to 1789 Capital's Omeed Malik, Christopher Buskirk and Donald Trump Jr. demanding portfolio records and all communications with government officials by Sept. 9. The letter says the firm grew from about $150 million under management to more than $3 billion after naming Trump Jr. a partner on Nov. 9, 2024, that its main fund posted a roughly 200% return by June 30, 2026 (per The New York Times), and that portfolio companies Vulcan Elements, Anduril, Juul and Polymarket each received federal money or favorable regulatory decisions soon after 1789 invested. Democrats lack subpoena power in the minority; Republicans blocked a subpoena over Vulcan in March.
The response: 1789 counsel AJ Merton called the letter "unsubstantiated talking points" and a partisan stunt and disputed several factual claims; Trump Jr. told The New York Times he had no "inside information" about Vulcan; White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the President's own portfolio is managed by third parties. MS NOW noted no evidence the firm broke the law.
3 records you can open and read yourself: financial disclosures, securities filings, court dockets, budget-office estimates, Treasury figures and congressional reports. Every link goes to the official copy or the original report.
Footnoted record of 1789's growth from $150 million to $3 billion, the Vulcan Elements loan sequence, and the Anduril, Juul and Polymarket investments, with a Sept. 9 document deadline.
Based on Defense Department records and interviews: Peter Navarro initiated the Vulcan loan, the only one of dozens started by a top presidential aide, three months after 1789 invested.
Ties the ATF's 34-regulation rollback and the Postal Service handgun-mailing proposal to GrabAGun's business and Trump Jr.'s SEC-reported 300,000 shares, with all sides' statements.
