Billionaires investing big on Greenland
Greenland's striking Arctic landscapes, featuring vast icebergs and rugged terrain, have drawn increasing attention due to its rich mineral resources and strategic location. Just months after President Donald Trump first raised the possibility of U.S. control over Greenland during his initial term, several prominent billionaires began investing in the island's assets.
Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is credited with sparking Trump's interest, according to former national security adviser John Bolton. Lauder is a longtime associate of Trump from their Wharton days and a major conservative donor, allegedly he suggested the U.S. acquire Greenland in late 2018.
Lauder later invested in a struggling Greenlandic freshwater bottling company, Greenland Water Bank, that has a license to tap mineral water from Lyngmarkskilden.
Greenland Water Bank is 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. Josette Sheeran, former Under Secretary of State for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former vice chair of W.E.F. is the chair of both Greenland Water Bank and of Greenland Investment Group.
Lauder is also involved in efforts to develop hydroelectric power at the island's largest lake through Greenland Development Partners, a consortium based in Delaware that owns a stake in Greenland Investment Group.
Other major investors have targeted rare earth minerals essential for electronics, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Michael Bloomberg backed Kobold Metals starting in 2019 through Breakthrough Energy Ventures, shortly after Trump's initial interest surfaced.
Breakthrough Energy's aim is “to accelerate green energy innovation and build the industries of the future.”
Sam Altman pitched in through his VC fund Apollo Projects in 2022, while Peter Thiel funded Praxis in 2021, a startup planning a high-tech theoretical city-state aiming to “restore Western Civilization."
Praxis is part of Pronomos Capital, a venture which has become a hub for funding experimental cities, founded by Patri Friedman — grandson of Milton Friedman.