”We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not.” Trump’s remarks to reporters at the White House, January 9, 2026 .
When Donald Trump began talking again about American control over Greenland, capital followed. Since 2019, several of the world’s wealthiest people have invested in mining, energy and infrastructure on the island – a development that now raises questions about geopolitics, influence and the future of the Arctic.
Investors include Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and Sam Altman , as well as financier Ronald Lauder , who, according to Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton, was the one who first brought the idea of a US takeover of Greenland to the then-president.
Investments
A large part of the investments has been directed at the company Kobold Metals , which is using AI technology to search for rare earth metals in Greenland. The metals are central to everything from batteries and electronics to military technology. Exploration is taking place on Disko Island .
Bezos, Gates and Bloomberg entered the company back in 2019 through the Breakthrough Energy fund , led by Gates. Sam Altman invested in 2022. Today, Kobold is valued at nearly three billion dollars and, according to US regulatory documents, plans to raise additional capital.
Ronald Lauder’s political connections
Particular attention has been paid to Ronald Lauder , heir to the Estelle Lauder Group and long-time financier of Republican candidates in the United States. In January 2026, Ukraine granted the American companies Dobra Lithium Holdings and TechMe the right to invest, prospect for and extract lithium. TechMe is supported by the US government. Trump’s close friend Ronald Lauder is a financier in the consortium. The element is found in several countries, but China has a near monopoly on refining it.
Cosmetics – mineral water – rare earth metals
According to the Danish newspaper Politiken, Lauder has invested in the loss-making Greenland Water Bank, which gets its mineral water from the Lyngmarkskällan spring in Qeqertarsuaq . with close connections to political representatives in Nuuk. They have also invested money in the Greenland Investment Groupc to build a power plant from the island’s largest lake , intended to supply an aluminum smelter.
This has raised concerns about the mixing of political and economic interests. Lauder is working with businessman Jørgen Wæver Johansen , a former cabinet member and the husband of the island’s foreign minister Vivian Motzfeldt . Who, together with his Danish colleague Lars Lökke Rasmusse, negotiated with Vice President Vance and Marco Rubio in the White House in January 2026.
“It is unlikely that these investments have any significant economic value in themselves. What is important is access to decision-makers and long-term strategic presence,” says Marc Jacobsen , senior lecturer in Arctic security policy at the Danish National Defence University.
According to Jacobsen, the American presence in Greenland has increased significantly in recent years, partly as a result of new direct flights between the United States and Nuuk.
“It is difficult to determine who are tourists and who represent strategic interests,” he says.
Trump’s speech
Donald Trump first raised the issue of “buying” Greenland in the summer of 2019. When Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea “absurd,” Trump canceled a planned state visit to Copenhagen.
During his most recent presidential campaign and ahead of his second inauguration, Trump has revisited the issue, this time in terms of national security. He described American “ownership and control” of Greenland as “an absolute necessity.”
Statements about possible military intervention have later been downplayed by the White House, but have led to joint European statements in support of Greenland’s autonomy.
Friends circle gets a spin on the wheel
Måna doubts that Greenlandic mines with strategically important raw materials will be profitable. If so, so far into the future that Trump can hardly score political points. Because with a grandiose self-image he sees himself as one of America’s great presidents. Exploitation of possible oil discoveries seems even more distant.
Even though the aim is to break China’s near-monopoly on rare earth metals, there are alternatives to Greenland that have better conditions. For example, in Norway and Sweden. The island lacks infrastructure for roads, ports and power supply. Labor needs to be flown in in the same way as oil platforms because local expertise is lacking. The Arctic environment is vulnerable, although Trump could scrap today’s strict environmental laws with an annexation.
Tesla’s Elon Musk has publicly expressed support for a closer bond between Greenland and the US. Profitability is not the primary concern for the tech moguls. More important is attracting capital with visions and then cashing in. Large contributions are being made to Trump’s election campaigns with the hope of dismantling environmental laws. This could eventually also apply to Greenland, perhaps as a US state.
Overall, developments point to Greenland, long considered a peripheral region, increasingly becoming the center of a global power game where natural resources, security policy, and private investment converge.
/ By Ingemar Lindmark