Donald Trump Jr. in December 2024, a few weeks after joining 1789 Capital
1789 Capital was founded on October 3, 2022.[5] The founders were members of Rockbridge Network, including investment banker Omeed Malik, heiress Rebekah Mercer, and entrepreneur Chris Buskirk. They created the firm as a result of the 2022 Rockbridge Summit.[6]Blake Masters was also involved in the initial conversation, according to Bloomberg.[7] The group chose the number 1789 to reflect the year the U.S. Bill of Rights was adopted.[8][9][10]
As of August2025[ref], the main page for the 1789 Capital website says "Funding the Next Chapter of American Exceptionalism".[13][a]
Investments
Le Monde described 1789 Capital as "dedicated to 'anti-woke' companies".[14][b] Malik has stated that the firm is only interested in companies that represent "entrepreneurship, innovation and growth", or "EIG", which he says means companies that have "no ESG or DEI components in them whatsoever."[10] Previous iterations of the site said that the company would also focus on "Deglobalization"[c] and "Replication/Parallel Economy",[15][16] and Malik has said that 1789 Capital invests in companies that they "believe in" in an effort to "depoliticize" investment and finance and to create a "parallel economy".[17] Malik has also said that the firm "represent[s] the silent majority."[7][d]
1789 Capital invested in GrabAGun, an online firearms retailer which Malik has called "the Amazon of guns",[23] partly because the company aligns with 1789 Capital's values.[24] In an interview with IPO Edge, Malik said,[23]
... we select companies that really are cornerstones of that vision of the economy that we want to take public. The Second Amendment is why we were so interested in the GrabAGun transaction as it overtly tries to enhance and insulate the Second Amendment from what we viewed to be a tax on it. Whether as a result of certain elements of the federal government, regulations and general reluctancy to invest in the space, capital markets have largely shut out companies like GrabAGun.
ION Analytics reported that according to partner Paul Abrahimzadeh, 1789 Capital is investing in "late-stage technology companies", including energy companies.[34]
The firm does not invest in companies such as OpenAI that they deem not supportive enough of the Trump administration. On the topic, Donald Trump Jr. said, “I’ve turned down major deals where the ethoses don’t align [...] There are people who have become MAGA more recently — and I don’t know they actually believe.”[7]
Members and backers
Chris Buskirk in 2020
The firm was founded by Chris Buskirk, Omeed Malik, and Rebekah Mercer. Malik serves as president. Buskirk is listed as CIO. Jordan Cohen is listed as partner and COO. Other partners include Paul Abrahimzadeh,[35] Andy Nasser, Donald Trump Jr., and Joe Voboril.[36]
Venture capitalist Blake Masters was previously listed as a member of the Board of Advisors,[37] but has since been removed from the website.
Multiple media outlets and financial figures have criticized 1789 Capital for its ties to the Trump administration.
Business Insider compared Donald Trump Jr.'s business dealings, including his involvement in 1789 Capital, to the accusations that Hunter Biden made money off of his father's presidency.[12][e] Trump Jr. rebuked the comparison in a post on X, calling Hunter Biden a "felon crackhead" and saying that that unlike Hunter, his investments began before his father became president and had "nothing to do with government."[38][39] Trump Jr.'s claim was disputed by a reporter for the Daily Beast, who said that the firm was "tiny [...] with no track record of investing" before Trump Jr. joined and that the firm has since multiplied its investment capabilities, and argued that under Trump Jr. the firm has expansed significantly and diverted from its goal of "anti-wokeness" to invest in defense companies which have then received government contracts under the Trump administration.[40]Bloomberg has also noted 1789 Capital's investments into defense companies receiving government contracts,[25] and Axios reported that the Trump administration closed investigations into Polymarket prior to 1789 Capital's investment.[26]
One veteran Wall Street investor, who has personally reviewed 1789's deals, says they enable the president's son to profit from the administration's actions, even if no contractors are given preferential treatment. "It's a way for Mar-A-Lago to get paid," says the investor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution from the Trump administration.
The Revolving Door Project[f] (RDP) has also raised concerns about 1789 Capital. They have highlighted some of the company's operations in their weekly "Corruption Calendar" newsletter alongside other controversies related to the Trump Administration, such as Donald Trump's cryptocurrency, Trump's acceptance of a jet gifted to him by the Qatari Royal Family during his May 2025 visit to the Middle East,[41] Omeed Malik's appointment to the board of Fannie Mae,[42] the Trump administration's choices of which federal employees to hire or terminate, and what the RDP calls "conflicts of interest" around DOGE and Elon Musk's involvement with the government.[41][g]
I want to make clear that this is a problem, and it’s a problem that impacts the whole of government, but there is no modern or historical comparison for what Don Jr. and the President are doing. [...] The rules themselves aren’t designed, unfortunately, to force the adult children of government officials to report their financial entanglements. But Don Jr. and President Trump continue to make the case for why maybe they should.
According to the drone and technology news site DroneXL, Colby Goodman of Transparency International has said the following about 1789 Capital:[44]
There’s always these risks that [Trump Jr.] is going to have inside information or be able to access inside information from the U.S. government for a whole range of things. Just from the procurement side, he could know about upcoming bids, and the content of what that is, and help them win contracts with the U.S. government.
The Daily Kos, a left-wing media blog, commented sarcastically:[45]
It’s almost poetic, really. We used to call this kind of setup “crony capitalism.” But with 1789 Capital, we’re rebranding it as good ol’ American ingenuity. After all, this isn’t corruption; this is just how family values work! And if public policy ends up favoring [Donald Trump Jr.]'s investments, well, that’s just the free market in action, right?
1 2 "Application by foreign limited liability company for authorization to transact business in Florida" (Document). Florida Division of Corporations. June 19, 2025.
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