Kazakhstan tungsten: the sons' stake in a venture with $1.6 billion in US backing

Trump's sons invested in Skyline Builders in August 2025 through a vehicle connected to the Trump Tower-based Dominari Securities, and increased that investment on October 28, 2025; three days later Skyline paid $20 million for a 20 percent stake in Kaz Resources, part of a Kazakh critical-minerals (tungsten) venture that US agencies moved to back with up to about $1.6 billion, and Skyline later agreed to merge with it. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's sons' firm Cantor Fitzgerald also stood to profit; the Times called the pattern nearly unprecedented.

The tungsten deal is one node in a larger web: analyses tied to the reporting find the Trump sons hold financial interests in roughly 14 companies working with the US government on mineral deals involving nearly $9 billion in federal funding - including the $620 million Pentagon loan to Vulcan Elements after Don Jr.'s 1789 Capital invested (PAY-33). The Asia Times framed it bluntly: 'US trade policy is for sale.'

Reported (NYT investigation)

Alleged quid pro quo (unproven); under congressional scrutiny

$1.6B in US-government backing for the Kazakh venture; sons' stake via Dominari (value TBD); part of ~$9B in federal mineral funding tied to 14 sons-linked firms

Sons' investment 2025-08 and 2025-10-28; Skyline stake in Kaz Resources 2025-10-31; merger 2026-04