The man who anticipates government subsidies like no other: Don Jr. Trump, son of the president.Image: keystone
December 9, 2025, 5:07 p.mDecember 9, 2025, 5:07 p.m
Whether it’s a wind turbine, a submarine, a tank, a drone or a rocket: there are rare earth magnets everywhere. They were first developed by the US Air Force. Today’s strongest permanent magnets made of a neodymium-iron-boron alloy – they can carry well over a thousand times their own weight – are the work of a Japanese researcher.
Today China is a leader in development. But the tiny components are safety-relevant. And that is why the USA has an increased interest in reducing its dependence on its major opponent. The US War Department distributed loans worth $1.4 billion for this purpose.
As the Financial Times reported, 620 million of these will go to Vulcan Elements. The startup, founded in 2023, has been building rare earth magnets since 2024 30 employees – and 12 investors. This also includes the investment company 1789 Capital. The investment vehicle was founded by, among others, Trump supporter and billionaire Rebekah Mercer. Don Trump Jr. is listed as a “partner” of the nine-person company.
According to his own statements, he carries out his role as a partner successfully: “I am very heavily involved in the strategic decisions about where we invest our resources,” he said in February to the “Financial Times”.
Three months after 1798 invested in Vulcan, it received the huge government loan – and will grow to 50 employees by the end of the year. The CEO denies that Don Jr. had any influence in granting the loan.
The dynamics within the Trump administration are already so well established that there is no longer any need for active influence. Kristi Noem recently showed how to do it. In a nationally broadcast “commercial” against criminal foreigners, she praised Trump as a “titan who built this country.” This is how you buy the support of your boss in difficult times. Minister of War Pete Hegseth is also in one of these.
Under pressure: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.Image: keystone
Back to the investors of 1798. Their accuracy in anticipating which companies will soon be supported with tax money is sensational. Three others in the 1798 portfolio also received millions of dollars in government money this year.
And then there is the case of Unusual Machines. After his father’s election victory, Don Jr. invested millions in the Florida drone manufacturer – and received a position on the board of directors. When his mandate was announced, shares shot up from four to $18: “The need for drones is obvious!” emphasized the president’s son in a podcast. “It is also obvious that we have to stop buying drones and drone parts from China. I love what Unusual Machines is doing, bringing drone production and the jobs for it back to the country.”
Unusual Machines described itself somewhat differently in a report for the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Guardian. Operationally and in production, they are very dependent on Chinese imports. Nevertheless, a few months later, the US Army ordered 3,500 drone engines from the previously unknown company – with the prospect of ordering another 20,000. The highly volatile stock has been shaken up ever since. From mid-October to mid-November it fell from $15 to under $8. If you want to get in today, you pay $11.09.