Trump sons profited from $1.6bn US-Kazakhstan tungsten deal, NYT investigation reveals
A New York Times investigation published on 28 June reveals that President Donald Trump's sons and the family of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick personally profited from a US-Kazakhstan tungsten mining deal backed by up to $1.6 billion in federal support.
The strategic tungsten deal
The United States has been scrambling to secure alternative sources of critical minerals as China, the dominant producer, threatens export restrictions. Tungsten is essential for missile warheads, fighter jets, and computer chips. In September 2025, Commerce Secretary Lutnick met Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the St. Regis Hotel in New York, with President Trump joining by phone to press for an agreement. The deal, signed on 6 November 2025, granted the American company Kaz Resources rights to one of the world's largest untapped tungsten deposits near the village of Unrek. The US government pledged up to $1.6 billion in federal loans and guarantees for the project.
An agreement between the United States and Kazakhstan guaranteed a group of American investors, linked to the president and the commerce secretary, access to one of the world's largest untapped tungsten reserves.
The family investments
Weeks after the St. Regis meeting, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, through their firm Dominari Securities based in Trump Tower, joined other investors to acquire a 20 percent stake in the entity behind the Kazakh project. The investment closed on 31 October 2025, just six days before the intergovernmental agreement was signed. Around the same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment firm controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by Howard Lutnick's sons Brandon and Kyle, helped a key investor raise $210 million for a related entity, earning millions in fees. Kaz Resources later went public in April 2026, allowing early investors to book profits before any tungsten was mined.
- Lutnick meets Tokayev at St. Regis; Trump joins by phone to push for tungsten access.
- Trump sons' Dominari Securities acquires 20% stake in project entity.
- US-Kazakhstan tungsten deal signed; US pledges up to $1.6bn in support.
- Kaz Resources goes public, allowing early investors to profit before mining begins.
- New York Times publishes investigation revealing family financial ties.
A broader pattern
The NYT investigation found that the Trump and Lutnick families have financial interests in at least 14 mining companies that are actively seeking or receiving federal support, with a combined value of nearly $9 billion. The newspaper described the practice as "personal enrichment in the Trump administration with few precedents in American history."
Reactions
The White House and the Commerce Department denied any conflict of interest. Democratic Representative Maxine Dexter of Oregon called the findings a troubling signal and urged Congress to investigate the Trump family's business dealings.
