Greenland Inc.? The Tech Billionaires Behind Trump’s Arctic Obsession
US President Donald Trump has framed Greenland as a nationwide safety precedence. However, beneath this rhetoric, the push seems carefully linked to the pursuits of the American expertise sector.
Greenland’s huge territory, ample mineral reserves, and small inhabitants make it an interesting gateway to crucial assets for superior industries. In this context, the prospect of a US takeover is hardly shocking. America’s tech billionaires have been among the many key monetary backers of Trump’s 2024 marketing campaign. Such help hardly ever comes with out expectations.
Why Greenland Reentered Trump’s Focus
One of the primary occasions Trump mentioned Greenland was in August 2019, throughout his first presidency. During an interview with reporters, Trump confirmed that he was contemplating the idea, referring to it as “a big actual property deal.” However, on the time, he confirmed that the transfer wouldn’t be a high precedence.
Fast ahead six years, and Trump’s listing of priorities has modified.
The occasions which have unfolded over the past few days shouldn’t come as a shock. During Trump’s 2024 election marketing campaign, Greenland stored popping up. Time and time once more, Trump would discuss with it as a missed alternative.
Then, roughly a month earlier than taking workplace, he known as American “possession and management” of Greenland “an absolute necessity.”
This fixation on the island didn’t emerge in a vacuum. Rather than being the originator of an thought, Trump seems extra as a political car for pre-existing tech ambitions.
Private Capital’s Arctic Ambitions
Over the previous decade, a mixture of tech billionaires, enterprise funds, and speculative startups has quietly constructed positions round Greenland.
As the group’s ambitions matured, Trump emerged as the most willing vehicle to translate non-public technological want into state-backed motion.
Greenland’s most vital draw lies in its uncommon earth mineral reserves, that are crucial to fashionable digital units. Since Trump’s first presidency, figures akin to Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, and Jeff Bezos have proven sustained curiosity within the territory.
According to Forbes, the three billionaires have been investing in KoBold Metals since 2019, shortly after Trump first expressed curiosity in buying Greenland. The investments have been made via Breakthrough Energy, a fund led by Gates.
In 2022, OpenAI founder Sam Altman joined as an investor via his enterprise capital agency, Apollo Projects. Other reviews point out that the corporate has additionally attracted backing from Mark Zuckerberg and the hedge fund Andreessen Horowitz.
Beyond mining, Greenland has additionally attracted curiosity as a testing floor for crypto-native governance and financing fashions.
Peter Thiel, a longtime Trump ally, has backed Praxis. This startup, led by CEO Dryden Brown, goals to determine a so-called “community state.”
Praxis has publicly explored Greenland as a possible website and raised greater than $525 million to develop a brand new metropolis constructed round diminished regulation and tokenized real-world assets, positioning the island as a frontier for crypto-enabled city growth.
With Greenland again within the highlight, extractive and experimental ventures are repositioning themselves for entry.
In truth, that net of personal curiosity is now not confined to the sidelines. It now intersects immediately with Trump’s governing circle.
Which Investors Have Direct Policy Influence?
The alignment between Greenland-focused industrial pursuits and Trump’s governing circle extends into the administration itself.
Certain people with ties to firms positioned to profit from Greenland’s assets now maintain roles that immediately affect US coverage.
Howard Lutnick, Trump’s commerce secretary, previously led Cantor Fitzgerald, whose related hedge fund has backed Critical Metals Corp, an organization pursuing mineral initiatives linked to Greenland.
As reported by The New Republic, the buyers behind this firm have a major overlap with these behind Trump Media. Many of those self same figures poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Trump’s newest presidential bid.
US diplomatic appointments have additionally mirrored this convergence.
Last month, Trump appointed Ken Howery, a former enterprise capitalist, because the US ambassador to Denmark. Howery is a former PayPal government and longtime affiliate of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, with whom he labored carefully through the firm’s early years.
As Greenland strikes deeper into Washington’s strategic focus, nationwide safety seems to perform extra as a public rationale than a major driver. Instead, momentum appears to be coming from these well-positioned billionaires with clear industrial stakes within the island.
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