Bussiness
Donald Trump Jr.’s new businesses revealed
Donald Trump Jr. set up two new businesses in recent weeks and a lawyer who manages one of them said they were holding companies for a recreational boat and a hunting camp.
According to publicly available business records, Trump Jr., President-elect Donald Trump‘s eldest son, incorporated the two businesses in Florida.
As Donald Trump prepares for his second term in office after winning the presidential election on November 5, the business and political activities of his closest family members will be under additional scrutiny.
Trump Jr. is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization, the holding company for Donald Trump’s business ventures, which include his real estate and hotel portfolios and golf clubs.
He is also closely involved in Donald Trump’s political activities and became one of his father’s political advisers in 2021 when Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden.
On Thursday, Trump Jr. told Fox & Friends he will be “heavily involved on the transition” and will influence Donald Trump’s cabinet appointments.
Newsweek contacted the Trump Organization for comment.
One of the two new firms is called Ultra Maga Vessel LLC. Trump Jr. incorporated it on September 13, 2024, with Trump Jr.’s fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, a former district attorney and Fox News host who worked on Donald Trump’s campaign in 2020.
On November 4, 2024, the day before the presidential election, Trump Jr. launched another business, Trump Timberland & Wildlife Management LLC, registered to an address in Leesburg, Florida.
Anthony Fratianne, a lawyer listed as a manager of the second business, told Newsweek that Ultra Maga Vessel LLC was formed to hold a small recreational boat, for liability and bookkeeping purposes.
He said the other was formed to hold a simple hunting camp in Northern Maine.
“These are super common administrative things people do in the ordinary course, on advice of attorneys. Sorry that nothing interesting is happening here,” Fratianne said.
The other manager listed is George Liberty, the general counsel and senior vice president of Liberty Companies, a company and charitable foundation run by Michael Liberty. Michael Liberty is an entrepreneur who was pardoned by Trump in 2021 having pleaded guilty to making illegal political donations to Mitt Romney‘s 2012 presidential campaign. He was also facing pending wire fraud and security fraud charges in federal court in Portland that were covered by the pardon. Newsweek contacted the Liberty Foundation for comment.
Aside from these two new companies, Trump Jr. is one of the directors of Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Donald Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social.
In recent months he has also been promoting a cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, with his brother, Eric Trump. Public information indicates that most of his other business activities are involving subsidiaries of Donald Trump businesses.
Trump Jr.’s business activities have been scrutinized in the past.
In 2018, during Donald Trump’s first administration, Trump Jr. became involved in a company with Texas hedge fund manager and Donald Trump donor Gentry Beach.
The company, Future Venture LLC, which the Trump Organization said was formed to pursue technology investments, was incorporated by Beach and named Trump Jr. as president, secretary and treasurer.
Beach went on to have meetings with top US officials and at the time transparency experts raised conflict of interest concerns, but the Trump Organization denied that Trump Jr. had a role in arranging meetings between Beach and government officials.