Businesses linked to the families of former President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stand to profit significantly from a $1.6 billion mining deal in Kazakhstan, according to a report by The New York Times. The deal, which involves Kaz Resources, an American company, mining one of the world's largest untapped reserves of tungsten, secured American backing last November.
Firms associated with the sons of Trump and Lutnick saw financial gains from the contract, the report indicates. Dominari Securities, partly owned by Trump's eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, took a 20% stake in a company connected to the project through its investors. This firm is located at Trump Tower in New York.
Concurrently, Cantor Fitzgerald, an investment company controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by his sons Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, facilitated the raising of $210 million in new capital for one of the investors working with Dominari. These financial arrangements have prompted scrutiny regarding the families' financial benefits from deals initiated during Trump's presidency.
White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that "the only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people." He added that "Securing and reshoring America’s critical supply chains has been a top priority for President Trump, and Secretary Lutnick along with the rest of the Administration continue to take historic action to safeguard America’s national and economic security."
The Kazakhstan deal emerged as the U.S. sought to bolster its tungsten supply, a critical metal for producing missiles, fighter jets, and computer chips, essential for competing with China. During the negotiations, Lutnick reportedly urged Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to award the mining contract to Kaz Resources executive chairman Pini Althaus and his partners, asserting that the Trump administration "fully supports" the company in a letter.
Althaus told The Times that Trump personally made a call to finalize negotiations and seal the deal when Tokayev visited New York in September. The agreement was officially signed on November 6, shortly after the investment involving Trump's sons and their associates was finalized.
While the $1.6 billion in government support for the Kazakh deal has not yet been disbursed, federal filings suggest that both Dominari and Cantor earned fees for their roles in raising capital for the project, the Times reported.
Dominari, which hired the Trump brothers as paid advisers after Trump returned to the White House, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump brothers have stated they were not involved in the specific details of the deal, with Eric Trump describing his role as a "passive investor." Cantor Fitzgerald stated its involvement is limited to supporting capital raises in public markets and does not extend to negotiations with government administrations.
The Commerce Department informed The Times that neither Secretary Lutnick nor anyone at the department had any discussions with Cantor Fitzgerald regarding the rare earth minerals industry, and that the secretary had sold his ownership stake in the company. Althaus maintained that he had not met the Trump brothers during his search for investors and was unaware of their involvement. He commented, "I can see how the optics might be disturbing to some people, but that’s unfortunate because this company and this project goes way beyond any one president, let alone any family."