Trump sons back $1bn vehicle targeting sectors championed by US president

{"text":[[{"start":9.5,"text":"Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr have contributed to a $1bn war chest assembled by a New York brokerage that has poured money into US companies in industries that are being championed by the White House."}],[{"start":21.7,"text":"Donald Trump’s sons have invested in vehicles launched by a unit of Trump Tower-headquartered financial group Dominari Holdings called American Ventures, according to two people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":35.65,"text":"Dominari told the FT that American Ventures’ investment thesis “is to target and invest in US-based leaders in new technologies that create American jobs and reduce US dependence on foreign resources”."}],[{"start":49.15,"text":"Palm Beach, Florida-based American Ventures has set up dozens of entities over the past 10 months to channel hundreds of millions of dollars from family offices and wealthy individuals into struggling small-cap stocks and private companies in sectors such as drone manufacturing, crypto and AI."}],[{"start":67.25,"text":"Donald Trump has during his second term as president pledged to make the US the “crypto capital” of the world, promoted the AI boom and signed an executive order to accelerate domestic drone production as he attempts to reshape the world’s biggest economy."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":82,"text":"The brothers’ involvement in American Ventures — which is based near the Trump National Golf Club Jupiter, the pair’s principal business office — underscores the close ties the president’s family has to businesses that stand to gain from the Trump administration’s policy agenda. "}],[{"start":97.15,"text":"“The future is in developing new technologies here [in the US],” one of the people familiar with Dominari’s thinking said. “We’re not trying to rebuild the steel industry. That’s fucking dead.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":108.35000000000001,"text":"Eric Trump and Don Jr own about 12 per cent collectively of Dominari, which owns 90 per cent of American Ventures, according to regulatory filings. The two Trump sons have also contributed to most of American Ventures’ vehicles, according to the two people familiar with the matter, although it is not known specifically how much they invested. "}],[{"start":129,"text":"American Ventures managed a total of $1.04bn in assets spread across 21 vehicles backing businesses ranging from a chain of Florida waxing salons to a Bermuda-based crypto lender and a nuclear energy start-up, filings with US securities regulators to early April show."}],[{"start":146.5,"text":"Donald Trump Jr’s spokesperson said he is a “passive investor in American Ventures and has no operational involvement in the company”. "}],[{"start":154.65,"text":"He added: “He does not interface with the federal government on behalf of any company he invests in or advises.”"}],[{"start":161.75,"text":"A spokesperson for Eric Trump said he “is a passive investor in American Ventures and does not have any management, oversight or visibility in the day-to-day operations of the vehicle”. "}],[{"start":172.85,"text":"Dominari has orchestrated several deals between the private companies that received investments from American Ventures and publicly listed entities, often listed on Nasdaq."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":182.95,"text":"Often, the transactions are structured in such a way that the publicly listed entity is used as a shell company, shutting down its main business operations after its combination with the private group is completed. "}],[{"start":194.6,"text":"The transactions allow the privately held groups to secure coveted Wall Street listing without the large investment banking fees and the lengthy regulatory review typically required for an IPO. "}],[{"start":205.35,"text":"“When we make our first investment, we’re not thinking about drones et cetera . . . American Ventures pivots towards where the puck is going,” said one of the people familiar with American Ventures. “We have great vehicles that can go in any direction.”"}],[{"start":220.1,"text":"Dominari said: “We collaborate with the public entity to clean up the ownership table and eliminate toxic debt or other similar issues that might impact shareholder value. We then fund the vehicle and initiate the process of identifying compelling private American companies to merge into the public entity.”"}],[{"start":239.04999999999998,"text":"Since last June, American Ventures has invested in public companies including toy maker SRM Entertainment, Florida golf course operator Aureus Greenway and meme-coin group Dogehash Technologies. "}],[{"start":251.79999999999998,"text":"The trio have agreed to merge with crypto billionaire Justin Sun’s blockchain platform Tron, drone manufacturer Powerus and marketing group Thumzup Media, respectively. Thumzup later rebranded as a data centre company. "}],[{"start":266.79999999999995,"text":"Sun is separately a major investor in Trump family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial. The two parties are engaged in a high-profile dispute. "}],[{"start":276.09999999999997,"text":"Eric Trump and Don Jr joined Dominari’s advisory board in late 2024 after befriending chief executive Kyle Wool, who last year told the FT that the broker — whose name is Latin for “to dominate” — owed much of its success to “superior products in a superior structure created by me”."}],[{"start":295.79999999999995,"text":"American Ventures has since become one of the Trump brothers’ key investment vehicles as the pair have aggressively expanded their business empires — focusing on crypto last year when digital asset prices were at record highs before pivoting to AI and defence — during their father’s second term as US president."}],[{"start":313.4,"text":"“Eric Trump and Don Jr are anchor investors in most of [American Ventures’] deals. Then a lot of Republican types affiliated with them . . . throw in half a million or so dollars,” said an investor who worked closely with the broker-dealer on one of its recent merger agreements. "}],[{"start":330.29999999999995,"text":"American Ventures was one of several major investors in a $1.5bn deal, announced in February, between Nasdaq-listed JFB Construction and “AI-driven autonomous defence robotics” group XTend. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":343.99999999999994,"text":"XTend in April said it secured a $1.7mn contract with the Israeli Ministry of Defence. Other investors in the JFB-Xtend deal include Unusual Machines, a US drone manufacturer backed by Don Jr that last year won a contract from the Pentagon."}],[{"start":361.49999999999994,"text":"American Ventures in August invested in behind Skyline Builders, a construction group Dominari took public in the US in early 2025."}],[{"start":371.49999999999994,"text":"Skyline last week agreed to merge with Cove Kaz Capital, a US firm that in November secured access to a huge tungsten mine in Kazakhstan. The US Export-Import Bank and the US Development Finance Corporation, two federally funded agencies, have issued letters of interest for a combined $1.6bn in project financing for the mine. "}],[{"start":391.49999999999994,"text":"There is no suggestion that Don Jr and Eric Trump knew that Cove was on the cusp of securing a contract from their father’s US administration when they made their initial investments in Skyline, or that they influenced the awarding of the contract."}],[{"start":406.69999999999993,"text":"Skyline, which is based in Hong Kong, was one of several Dominari-linked companies named in a letter sent to the broker in March by the House committee on China, requesting information about its role facilitating the IPOs of Chinese stocks implicated in suspected pump-and-dump schemes. "}],[{"start":424.3499999999999,"text":"Skyline’s shares plunged almost 90 per cent in a single trading session last July. The company did not respond to a request for comment. Dominari last month said it intends to co-operate with the House Committee."}],[{"start":437.8499999999999,"text":"Aureus Greenway’s transformation from lossmaking Florida golf course operator to partner of drone maker Powerus provides a glimpse into how Dominari itself has transformed from a prolific underwriter of small-cap IPOs into an advisory and venture capital firm specialising in takeovers and private placements."}],[{"start":458.0499999999999,"text":"Dominari acted as lead underwriter for Aureus’s IPO in February 2025. Aureus agreed to merge with Powerus in March 2026. In late April, Powerus said the US Air Force had placed a limited procurement order for its Guardian-2 Interceptor systems."}],[{"start":475.3499999999999,"text":"One investor who has backed at least three American Ventures vehicles, who asked to remain anonymous, described how he had been wooed by the values espoused by Dominari executives."}],[{"start":485.8499999999999,"text":"“I’m bullish on companies that defend western civilisation. That’s important to them, too,” the person said. "}],[{"start":499.44999999999993,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1778228381_9077.mp3"}