Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
FYI Billionaire Investors in Greenland: all the usual suspects....
Forbes article dated January 21, 2026
The tech giants are all investing. Trump probably isn't going to let this go. He'll say it's for National security of course (not for profit)... everything's for national security these days... even the stupid ballroom.
Just months after President Donald Trump first expressed interest in the United States possibly gaining control over Greenland, some of the richest people in the world—including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg—began making strategic investments in the mineral-rich island.
Ronald Lauder: The heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is credited with giving Trump the idea of taking over Greenland during his first term, former White House national security adviser John Bolton confirmed to Forbes.
Lauder has since invested, according to the Danish newspaper Politiken, in an unprofitable Greenlandic freshwater bottling company co-owned by Jørgen Wæver Johansen, local chair of the governing Siumut party in Nuuk and husband to Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, raising concerns about political interference.
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg: All have invested since 2019 in Kobold Metals, which has looked for valuable rare earth minerals used in electronic devices through AI-powered exploration of the island.
Marc Andreessen: Also invested in Kobold through Andreessen Horowitz Growth, a fund within his venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Update: Kobold told Forbes in a statement: "KoBold has no exploration claims, personnel or activities in Greenland.”
Sam Altman: The OpenAI CEO invested in Kobold in 2022.
Peter Thiel: The Paypal and Palantir tech titan funded in early 2021 the startup Praxis, which aims to build a technologically advanced “freedom city” on the island.
Howard Lutnick: Trump’s Secretary of Commerce served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which has invested in Greenland mining company Critical Metals Corp. for over three decades (he has since divested from Cantor and transferred his shares to his adult children).
Elon Musk, meanwhile, has publicly voiced his support for an American annexation of Greenland multiple times, writing, “If the people of Greenland want to be part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome,” on X last January.
....
.... Jacobsen told Forbes he has seen increased American presence in Greenland over the past few years, partly because of new direct flights between New York and the capital, Nuuk. “There are more Americans in Greenland than ever before…it can be difficult to know if they're only tourists or if they also have an interest in ‘strategic investments’.”
Ronald Lauder: The heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is credited with giving Trump the idea of taking over Greenland during his first term, former White House national security adviser John Bolton confirmed to Forbes.
Lauder has since invested, according to the Danish newspaper Politiken, in an unprofitable Greenlandic freshwater bottling company co-owned by Jørgen Wæver Johansen, local chair of the governing Siumut party in Nuuk and husband to Greenland’s minister of foreign affairs, Vivian Motzfeldt, raising concerns about political interference.
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg: All have invested since 2019 in Kobold Metals, which has looked for valuable rare earth minerals used in electronic devices through AI-powered exploration of the island.
Marc Andreessen: Also invested in Kobold through Andreessen Horowitz Growth, a fund within his venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Update: Kobold told Forbes in a statement: "KoBold has no exploration claims, personnel or activities in Greenland.”
Sam Altman: The OpenAI CEO invested in Kobold in 2022.
Peter Thiel: The Paypal and Palantir tech titan funded in early 2021 the startup Praxis, which aims to build a technologically advanced “freedom city” on the island.
Howard Lutnick: Trump’s Secretary of Commerce served as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which has invested in Greenland mining company Critical Metals Corp. for over three decades (he has since divested from Cantor and transferred his shares to his adult children).
Elon Musk, meanwhile, has publicly voiced his support for an American annexation of Greenland multiple times, writing, “If the people of Greenland want to be part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome,” on X last January.
....
.... Jacobsen told Forbes he has seen increased American presence in Greenland over the past few years, partly because of new direct flights between New York and the capital, Nuuk. “There are more Americans in Greenland than ever before…it can be difficult to know if they're only tourists or if they also have an interest in ‘strategic investments’.”
More detail:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2026/01/09/these-billionaires-bet-big-on-greenland-after-trump-took-interest/
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
