1789 Capital

1789 Capital is an investment firm based in Palm Beach, Florida, whose first fund notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission was filed in February 2023 and whose stated mission is "patriotic capitalism." Donald Trump Jr. became a partner in November 2024. The firm invested in Polymarket in August 2025.

Fund Filings and Related Persons

1789 Capital Fund I, LP filed a Form D on February 9, 2023, reporting a first sale of securities on January 31, 2023, an offering of 100,000,000 dollars and 10,000,000 dollars sold to one investor. The form lists three related persons, Omeed Malik, Rebekah Mercer and Christopher Buskirk (Christopher Buskirk), each as executive officer, director and promoter, and each with the clarification "Managing Member of the General Partner."¹

Two Forms D filed on June 10, 2024, for 1789 Capital BH, LP (9,700,000 dollars sold) and 1789 Capital Co-Invest I, LP (2,162,000 dollars sold), list Malik, Buskirk and Mercer as executive officers, each with the clarification "Manager of 1789 Capital Fund I GP, LLC, its General Partner," together with two further executive officers.²

A Form D/A for Fund I filed on October 21, 2025 lists Malik and Buskirk as executive officers, each with the clarification that he is "a principal of the general partner of the issuer." Mercer is not listed. The offering amount is entered as "Indefinite," 270,514,000 dollars is reported sold to 71 investors, and the fund type has changed from "Private Equity Fund" to "Other Investment Fund." A second Form D/A filed on December 15, 2025 repeats the same two related persons and the same sales figures.³

Forty-one Form D filings by entities that include 1789 Capital BH, Co-Invest I, Odyssey, Matrix (I, II and III), Nirvana (I and II), Treehouse (I and II), Lakehouse (I, II and III), Inception (I to IV), Halo (I and II), Artemis, Dawn, Blaze, Oracle, Patriot, Valence, Starr, MYNT, CHPS (I and II), RO, SI, Fund II-A and Fund II-B, 1789 Parallel Fund I and 1789-Pacific Alliance US Growth Equity Fund are on file, dated from February 9, 2023 to October 13, 2026.⁴

Origins and Principals

Malik, a former investment banker in New York, and Buskirk, an Arizona businessman, formed the firm; Reuters described Buskirk as a confidant of Peter Thiel and of JD Vance. Thiel gave millions of dollars to a political committee that paid consulting fees to a Buskirk company, and Thiel introduced Vance to Buskirk, according to Reuters. Buskirk and Vance co-founded the Rockbridge Network donor organization in 2019.⁵ Fortune described Malik as the founder of the bank Farvahar Partners, and described the firm in November 2024 as an "anti woke" equity firm funded modestly, with 150 million dollars to invest.⁶

On December 3, 2024 Malik resigned from the board of PSQ Holdings, the parent of PublicSquare, on the day that company's board appointed Trump Jr. as a director.⁷

Donald Trump Jr. as Partner

Trump Jr. announced on Sunday, November 10, 2024, before a crowd of donors, that he would join 1789 Capital as a partner, as the New York Times reported; Fortune added that the partnership meant he would not take a formal role in his father's administration.⁶ Reuters described Donald Trump's election and the addition of Trump Jr. that month as the "two strokes of fortune" behind the firm's growth, and wrote that with him the fund "has gained extraordinary access to political power."⁵

Reuters reported that assets had passed 1 billion dollars, against about 150 million dollars under management the year before, and that investments typically ranged from 5 million to 50 million dollars. Two people with knowledge of the firm's deals told Reuters that the portfolio included SpaceX, xAI and Neuralink, that the deals came together after Malik met Elon Musk during the campaign, and that further stakes included Perplexity AI, Juul Labs and the defense manufacturing startup Hadrian. The partners described a goal of a "parallel economy" of businesses, media outlets and political organizations serving the America First movement. A person close to Trump Jr. told Reuters that he does not discuss his business interests with his father or ask for government favors. A 1789 spokesperson said the fund "maximizes transparency and compliance."⁵

Fox Business reported that the 1789 Capital Growth Equity Fund grew from 200 million dollars at the start of 2025 to 2 billion dollars through December 31, 2025 and closed to new investors, and that a 1789 real estate fund drew 1 billion dollars within months.⁸

Polymarket

On August 26, 2025 Polymarket announced that 1789 Capital had made a strategic investment in the company and that Trump Jr. had joined its advisory board; the terms were not disclosed. Trump Jr. said: "I am pleased that 1789 Capital is investing in Polymarket and am honored to join the company's advisory board." Shayne Coplan said the investment "marks a milestone for Polymarket."⁹ Axios reported that the investment was in the double-digit millions of dollars.¹⁰ Trump Jr. had advised the rival exchange Kalshi since January 2025, and his spokesman said the Polymarket role "doesn't change anything regarding Don's role with Kalshi."¹⁰

In October 2025, after the Intercontinental Exchange investment announcement, Coplan disclosed a 150 million dollar round in 2025 led by Founders Fund at a 1.2 billion dollar valuation; the investors listed included Ribbit, Valor, Point72 Ventures, SV Angel, "1789" and 1confirmation.¹¹ In September 2026 Covers reported, citing the Wall Street Journal, that 1789 Capital had invested about 200 million dollars in Polymarket in total and was investing 300 million dollars in a 1 billion dollar round.¹²

Congressional Inquiry

On August 26, 2026 Representative Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Trump Jr., Malik (as president) and Buskirk (as chief investment officer) asking how the firm's assets grew "from $150 million in assets under management to an astonishing $3 billion." The letter names four portfolio companies as examples of investments followed by federal contracts or decisions: Vulcan Elements, Anduril Industries, Juul and Polymarket. On Polymarket the letter states that the Department of Justice closed its probe and the CFTC signed off on an acquisition, and that "a few short weeks later, it was revealed that 1789 Capital had already acquired a sizable stake." Raskin requested a list of investments, communications with federal officials and contractors, and documents on the hiring of Trump Jr., with answers due September 9. Counsel for the firm, AJ Merton, called the accusations "unsubstantiated talking points."¹³