Trump donor buys stake in Greenland oil venture

A new investigation by the Guardian has revealed that Republican mega-donor Kenneth Griffin has taken a stake in Greenland Energy, the Texas oil company pushing to drill in East Greenland’s Jameson Land, deepening the venture’s ties to Donald Trump’s political orbit.

Griffin, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Citadel, bought 9 percent of the company’s shares in April, according to the Guardian. He is a major Republican donor who contributed $1 million toward Trump’s second inauguration, despite having publicly criticized the Trump family’s self-enrichment.

His investment adds to a roster of Trump-linked figures now attached to the company, which is seeking to exploit pre-2021 exploration licenses to drill two wells in the ecologically protected basin. Greenland’s government has said the company does not yet hold the permits its executives have described publicly.

The Guardian also reported that some Greenland Energy shareholders have gathered in a dedicated Telegram group to discuss what might drive the company’s stock higher, including the prospect of a presidential endorsement. Referring to a plug from Trump that could enrich them before a single barrel is produced, they have taken to calling it a “Trump pump.”

Questions have also surfaced over the company’s leadership. Social media posts by the wife of executive chair Larry Swets appear to show that she visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club this year. Swets, one of the company’s largest shareholders, did not respond to the Guardian’s questions about whether he accompanied her to the president’s Florida residence.

Greenland Energy declined to answer the Guardian’s questions. Swets has previously said the oil project is “not related to American annexation.”