Donald Trump Jr has big plans for monetising MAGA

The names lining up behind Elon Musk read like a who’s who of big money: BlackRock, Fidelity, venture-capital giant Sequoia.

And then there’s 1789 Capital. The upstart investment firm scored a hot ticket recently with Musk, Donald Trump’s wealthiest backer: a rare chance to invest directly in his AI venture, xAI, and his roughly $US350 billion ($360 billion) startup, SpaceX.

Turns out, 1789 has a big attraction: Donald Trump Jr — son of the US president, crown prince of MAGA and now frontman for what fans hail as a “parallel” US economy aimed at the Trump faithful.

The crown prince: Donald Trump Jr before his Dad’s inauguration ceremony in January.Credit: AP

Trump Jr is clear: At 1789, his role is not to crunch the numbers or kick the tyres the way most investors do. Instead, he’s looking to make the firm money by tapping into the MAGA ecosystem and its network of profit-minded believers such as Musk.

Few have arrived at this moment with a better sense for president Trump — and where his second administration might take the nation and the world — than his eldest son.

Only now, Trump Jr is trading Washington to focus on a new mission: monetising his father’s vision for America.

Barely two months into the second Trump administration, 1789 Capital is in a position like few others.

At a time when businesses big and small are trying to navigate all things Trump, Trump Jr’s stamp of approval can mean the difference between access to lucrative opportunities – such as an in at Musk’s xAI and SpaceX — or a cold shoulder. Like his father and brother Eric, who runs the Trump real estate business, Trump Jr has brushed aside concerns about the seemingly unprecedented number of conflicts the first family is facing.

The so-called parallel economy – essentially, right-wing ventures that position themselves as alternatives to mainstream businesses, from social media platforms to e-commerce to investment funds – hasn’t always paid off for the public. In fact, shareholders have occasionally lost big after prominent early backers have cashed out.

But barely two months into the second Trump administration, 1789 Capital is in a position like few others. Based in Palm Beach, two miles from Mar-a-Lago, the firm today sits near the epicentre of Trumpworld with ties both broad and deep.

It was co-founded three years ago by Omeed Malik, an outspoken Trump donor and former Bank of America executive; Chris Buskirk, who established the Rockbridge Network, a powerful conservative advocacy group, with now-Vice President J.D. Vance; and Republican mega-donor Rebekah “Bekah” Mercer, the force behind Steve Bannon’s conservative Breitbart network and daughter of hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer.

The idea for 1789 was hatched over coffee at a 2022 Palm Beach gathering of the Rockbridge Network, the secretive group of wealthy technology executives and allies that’s become a major force within the Republican Party’s donor class.

In Malik’s telling, the three co-founders and Blake Masters, a Peter Thiel protege and Trump-backing Republican who was then running for Senate, were discussing government overreach and how to use the financial industry to “preserve freedom”.

“We knew that we represented the silent majority,” Malik says. So they founded their own investment firm and named it after the year the Bill of Rights was introduced (Masters is on the board).

Trump Jr, 47, formally signed on in November, less than week after his father won the White House again. The move took many in Washington by surprise: Beltway insiders had expected him to stay close to the administration given his role in championing Vance for vice president. He says he hasn’t been to the White House since inauguration.

‘There are people who have become MAGA more recently — and I don’t know they actually believe.’

Donald Trump Jr

Trump Jr says he can sniff out posers and opportunists and separate in-name-only supporters from the true MAGA faithful. He says America First bona fides — or, conversely, any sign of doubt — can make or break a deal.

“I’ve turned down major deals where the ethoses don’t align,” Trump Jr says. “There are people who have become MAGA more recently — and I don’t know they actually believe.”

1789 declined an invite to invest in OpenAI, for one; partly because of Musk’s ongoing feud with founder Sam Altman, partly because he donated to Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. Recent overtures by Altman toward the administration haven’t swayed the firm’s view.

As Trump Jr puts it: “Authenticity is needed to thrive.”

Money magnet

Trump Jr’s role at 1789 will be a sort of MAGA magnet, sourcing deals as well as investors into the firm. Before his father returned to the White House, 1789 had raised roughly $US200 million, a pittance by Wall Street standards. Early backers include Marc Andreessen, a prominent venture capitalist who’s helped nudge Silicon Valley to the right; and Clay Travis, figurative heir to right-wing talk radio star Rush Limbaugh.

Since Inauguration Day, 1789 has pulled in $US500 million more and its investors now number about 30. It’s aiming to collect $US1 billion for its first fund by mid-2025 and then $US3-$US5 billion for a second fund next year, according to a person familiar with the efforts. (1789 declined to comment on any of its fundraising plans.) Among the clients it hopes to woo: endowments and public pensions in Republican-controlled states.

“We’re building a large, multi-strategy asset manager,” Malik, 45, says. “It’s an open lane.” While focused on growth equity now, he’s thinking about launching a private credit vehicle and a hedge fund, too.

1789 recently added Citigroup veteran Paul Abrahimzadeh and, Malik says, is in the market for talent — but only if ideologies align. Malik, who says he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 but flipped Republican in 2019, has become closer to the GOP’s inner circle of influence, helping broker a pre-election alliance between Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr and more recently fundraising for Vivek Ramaswamy’s bid for Ohio governor.

The anti-woke investor: Omeed Malik, co-founder and president of 1789 Capital.Credit: Bloomberg

Malik likens the potential of MAGA-style investing to the late boom in the environmental, social and governance space, which conservatives deride as part of a “woke” liberal agenda that threatens American capitalism. And unlike those investors, he’s happy to invest in weapons or fossil fuel-related companies.

Still, the track record is largely unproven. 1789 has poured more than $US50 million directly across Musk’s xAI and SpaceX, opportunities typically reserved for deep-pocketed investors who’ve struck up a relationship with Musk. Representatives for the two companies didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Other recent investments include a stake in Happy Dad hard seltzer, founded by right-wing YouTubers the Nelk Boys (they packaged their drink to look like a beer because “we are tired of the skinny can bullsh*t”) and the Enhanced Games, a start-up looking to host an Olympics-style competition where athletes are allowed to take performance-enhancing drugs.

Trump Jr is particularly good at drawing and directing attention himself. With some 14.6 million X followers and another 8.9 million on Instagram, plus a podcast, he says he can bring customers and potential investors to those companies.

Another possible play for 1789: banking. As the Trump administration looks to ease rules in the financial industry, the firm is hunting for acquisition targets, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Republicans from the president down have complained that major US financial institutions turn away individuals and businesses for political reasons.

One Trump-centric business 1789 is steering clear of is Trump Media & Technology Group, parent of Truth Social. Trump Jr sits on the board and oversees his father’s $US2.6 billion stake.

Malik says 1789 has no plans to invest alongside Trump Media and that Trump Jr will recuse himself from situations that involve dealing directly with the federal government.

Malik, Buskirk and Trump Jr have been involved in startups before, and Malik is in the process of using another SPAC to take public GrabAGun, an online firearms retailer. Trump Jr is an adviser.

Others have been looking to get into the business of MAGA too. Andreessen Horowitz started a fund called American Dynamism to back companies “that support the national interest.” And 8VC, the firm of Joe Lonsdale, the Silicon Valley investor, Trump supporter and friend of Musk, says on its website that American ideals “are worth striving for.”

These firms have already found themselves in some of the same deals with 1789.

Trump Jr, for his part, has plenty of balls in the air. In addition to his role at 1789, he’s an adviser to Unusual Machines, a manufacturer of drones and related components. He and his brother Eric are also personal investors in biotech-startup-turned fintech Dominari Holdings. On top of that, he maintains his title of executive vice president at the Trump Organization.

But, in typical Trump style, he said he isn’t about to slow down.

“We genuinely believe in the parallel economy,” Trump Jr says.

Bloomberg

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