Author: Zen, PANews
A venture capital institution called 1789 Capital has only a management scale of US$150 million in 2024, but it will "expand" to more than US$3 billion by the summer of 2026. In less than two years, the scale has expanded more than 20 times.
Now it is in talks to raise another $3 billion for a second growth fund, and has raised about $2 billion from existing investors.
This growth rate is surprising, but when you know that the partner of this fund is Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. (hereinafter referred to as "Little Trump"), you will suddenly understand and smile.
From campaigner to fund partner
In the summer of 2018, Trump Jr.’s then-girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle introduced him to banker Omeed Malik at a barbecue party in the Hamptons, New York.
At that time, Trump was spending his first term in the White House, and Trump Jr. and his brother Eric were managing the family real estate business that their father had left in their hands. But since Trump decided to participate in the presidential election, Trump Jr.'s political activities have also increased.
As early as the 2016 election, the 39-year-old Trump Jr. was sent to small towns and villages to win over voters for his father. In 2018, he attended more than 70 events for Republican candidates and state party organizations alone. Through speeches, canvassing and fundraising activities, he gradually accumulated his political connections and gained a group of conservative supporters.
Malik is one of them. The former Democrat and Trump Jr. share a common political language: In October 2020, the two co-signed on the conservative website "The Daily Caller" to criticize American companies' dependence on the Chinese market and advocated that companies cooperate with the government's national security goals and regain control of the supply chain.
On the eve of the Capitol Hill riots in early 2021, Trump Jr. hosted a "Save America" rally with his father. He took a tough stance at the event, threatening to challenge Republican congressmen who did not support his father in the party primaries. He even threatened: "This is not their Republican Party anymore, this is Donald Trump's Republican Party!"
By 2024, Trump Jr. has been deeply involved in his father's campaign to return to the White House. Where the father has no other skills, the son fills the role. While Trump was attending a civil fraud trial in New York, Trump Jr. came to the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale, Iowa, to canvass voters for him.
Regarding the vice presidential candidate, Trump Jr. also actively lobbied his father to choose his good friend, Ohio Senator Vance. On election night, Trump Jr. half-jokingly described his investment in an interview: "I used 10,000% of my political capital."
In November 2024, the results of the presidential election will be announced, and Trump will return to the White House victoriously. On the evening of November 10, the first weekend after his father won the election, Trump Jr. attended the Rockbridge donor event in Las Vegas, a gathering of the conservative donor network that gathered aides and funders from the Trump camp. Facing hundreds of political donors, Trump Jr. announced that he would join 1789 Capital.
When his father returned to the center of power, Trump Jr. chose "fund partner" for his new identity. In 1789, Trump Jr. was responsible for identifying investment opportunities, raising capital and formulating strategy. The official website particularly emphasizes that his extensive relationships between companies and investors can expand the organization's network.
1789 Capital was founded in 2022 by Malik, Christopher Buskirk and Rebecca Mercer, an important Republican donor, and announced its launch in 2023. The company takes its name from 1789, when the Bill of Rights was proposed, focuses on products and companies related to conservative values, and prides itself on being anti-ESG (environmental, social, governance).
Supported by grand narratives, its investment philosophy is also called "patriotic capitalism." The reshoring of manufacturing, supply chain security, and companies serving conservative consumers are all targets for its funds.
This investment institution, which was unknown before Trump Jr. joined, did not have much funding and investment opportunities in its early days. It invested in 5 companies in 2023 and 2024. One of its earlier well-known investments was its participation in the US$15 million financing of conservative host Tucker Carlson's new media company.
As Trump once again entered the White House, Trump Jr. strongly joined. Relying on a network of intertwined relationships between politics and business, 1789 began to move into a vast and controversial field.
Transform political and business networks into investment portfolios
On the evening of June 13, 2025, in Georgetown, Washington, a private club called The Executive Branch, co-founded by Trump Jr. and Malik, held an opening party. The Executive Branch, literally translated as "administrative department".
According to the New York Post, founding members paid as much as $500,000 in membership fees. Finance Minister Bessant, Commerce Secretary Lutnick and Nvidia founder Jensen Huang were among the guests. Photography is prohibited inside the venue, and cell phone cameras need to have stickers attached.
The Executive Branch obviously provides more than just a place for drinking and chatting. When government officials, technology entrepreneurs, and political donors can meet in the same space, a resource that was originally difficult to price is packaged into a set of expensive business services. Although this club is organizationally independent from 1789, it shares the top relationship network.
The gate of the private club is far from demarcating the boundaries of political and business interactions between Trump Jr. and Malik. During the Trump campaign, Malik met Musk and subsequently participated in investments in SpaceX, xAI and Neuralink. In March 2025, the Financial Times reported that 1789 had invested more than $50 million in xAI and SpaceX.
In less than two years, 1789 has achieved rocket-speed growth - its funding scale has grown from approximately US$150 million in 2024 to over US$3 billion by the summer of 2026, expanding its scale to more than 20 times its original size.
According to a person familiar with the matter, as of June 30 this year, the return rate of its main investment funds was approximately 200%. Although it's still early in 1789's investment cycle, these returns far exceed the average return of about 21% for venture capital firms launched in 2023, according to financial data provider PitchBook.
The venture capital firm's success has also drawn attention from House Democrats. In August, Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter to 1789’s leadership requesting information on the company’s investment list, records of communications with the government, and the decision to hire Trump Jr.
While Trump Jr. and Malik acknowledged their relationships with the president's broader circle of donors, influential supporters and senior officials, they dismissed 1789's success as coming from direct contact with the president and scoffed at such doubts.
Trump Jr. argued that as a private citizen he could invest freely and had done nothing illegal. He said that he speaks to his father every few weeks, never discusses business matters with his father, and does not have any policy positions or positions in the government. Malik emphasized his physical distance from the political center, saying he had never set foot in the White House.
However, even if he keeps his distance from the president, for Trump Jr., who is close to policymakers, mixing business and politics will still cause criticism from the outside world. In March of this year, Trump Jr. spoke out for the prediction market at an event of the Republican State Attorneys General Association, advocating that regulation should be handed over to the federal level.
Whether states can restrict these platforms under gambling laws has been a central dispute facing the industry for nearly a year. Trump Jr.’s voice for the prediction market is not out of righteousness, but entirely driven by interests.
Guests of the two major prediction markets
In July 2024, during the Republican National Convention, Polymarket founder Shane Copeland, wearing a black T-shirt, was surrounded by Republicans in suits and ties at a rooftop bar in Milwaukee. What impressed him most was probably Trump Jr. and Malik sitting at the same table.
At that time, Trump Jr. expressed his recognition to Polymarket and believed that the above election trends were consistent with what he heard from voters. Soon after, 1789 made its first investment in Polymarket ahead of the 2024 election. After Trump won the presidential election and Trump Jr. joined 1789 as a partner, the company invested in Polymarket again.
Polymarket, which received widespread attention due to the US election, was still subject to US market access restrictions at that time. As early as 2022, it reached a settlement with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and paid a fine of US$1.4 million due to issues such as failure to register in accordance with the law. For Polymarket, the election brought traffic and reputation, but to convert these into larger business, regulatory issues still need to be solved.
On the other hand, Kalshi won space to conduct election contract transactions through litigation in 2024. This platform, which is regulated by the CFTC, has also entered the Trump family’s sights. According to Trump Jr.’s own account, on election night, at Mar-a-Lago, he and his relatives and friends observed the election through Kalshi and were convinced that his father had won earlier than the television media. This experience was later included in Kalshi's announcement of hiring him, becoming a personal endorsement of the prediction market from the president's eldest son.
Two months later, on January 13, 2025, one week before Trump's official inauguration, Kalshi announced that Trump Jr. would serve as a strategic advisor, hoping to use his business experience and influence to reach more partners and users and make the prediction market mainstream.
Joining as a consultant, Trump Jr. was also awarded Kalshi shares worth approximately US$300,000. At that time, Kalshi was valued at less than US$2 billion. As Kalshi continues to expand, by May 2026, the company's valuation in a round of financing has reached US$22 billion.
In the summer of 2025, Polymarket also ushered in a turning point. After the criminal and civil investigations against the company ended, it subsequently acquired QCEX, which holds a CFTC-related license, for US$112 million, paving a compliance path for its return to the U.S. market.
On August 26, Polymarket announced that it had received strategic investment from 1789 and hired Trump Jr. to join its advisory board. In November 2025, Polymarket obtained a revised designation order from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and began to actively expand into the U.S. market.
The two prediction market giants have always been in tit-for-tat competition for users and market share, but they are surprisingly consistent when it comes to hiring the president’s son. In February 2026, Kalshi founder Tariq Mansour was interviewed by the Financial Times and commented on Trump Jr.: "He is very helpful."
The cooperation between Trump Jr. and 1789 and the prediction market continues to deepen. At the end of June this year, Copeland came to Malik's home in the Hamptons to discuss how to improve Polymarket's operations in preparation for a possible listing.
At the end of August, the Wall Street Journal reported that 1789 served as the lead investor in Polymarket’s US$1 billion financing round and expected to invest approximately US$300 million. Additionally, the plan would value Polymarket at $21 billion.
From a dining table during the campaign to advisory seats, equity and continued additional investments, Trump Jr. has closely linked his business interests to the prospects of prediction markets.
Going back to 1789’s ongoing $3 billion fundraising, investors need to judge not only the company’s products, orders, and valuation, but also the business advantages that this fund’s location close to the center of power can bring.
As for Trump Jr., no matter how rich his career resume and job description are, it will never be able to match the blood relationship of "Trump's eldest son" hidden behind it.