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The venture capital firm that Donald Trump Jr. is reportedly joining eschews investments that push social and environmental issues and instead focuses on what it calls "EIG," or entrepreneurship, innovation, and growth.
The Palm Beach, Florida-based firm, called 1789 Capital — the US constitution went into effect that year — has invested in Tucker Carlson's new conservative media venture, Substack, and BlinkRx, a prescription startup.
The president-elect's eldest son — who had an active role in Donald Trump's presidential campaign and is now on his transition team — told a group of supporters at a conference earlier this week that he would be joining 1789 as a partner, The New York Times first reported. Several people with knowledge of the matter also told Bloomberg of Trump Jr.'s plans.
The firm was co-founded in 2022 by Omeed Malik — a former Bank of America executive who also founded boutique investment bank Farvahar Partners — alongside author and investor Christopher Buskirk.
Malik, who once co-hosted a Trump fundraiser that raised more than $10 million, serves as the firm's president and Buskirk as its chief investment officer, according to its website. Both Buskirk and Malik donated to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, the Republican National Committee, as well as to other conservative causes and candidates, according to political donation records.
The firm bills itself as "anti-ESG" — an acronym for companies that say they commit to certain environmental, social justice, and corporate governance-focused principles. One of 1789's areas of interest is in companies or industries that have faced negative effects of ESG, its website says. It also focuses on what it calls deglobalization, building out an economy that is parallel to the traditional one, and disrupting industries it deems weighed down by excessive bureaucracy.
Like 1789 Capital, Trump Jr. has long been a proponent of the parallel economy, also called the "patriot economy," a term used by MAGA conservatives to refer to businesses that align with their traditional values.
And Trump Jr.'s connection to Malik, the president of 1789 Capital, includes the pair's mutual support of a parallel economy platform called PublicSquare.
Both Malik and Trump Jr. have been investors in and vocal supporters of PublicSquare, an online shopping marketplace similar to Amazon that bills itself as a place to connect Americans to "businesses that value life, family, and freedom." In order to use the platform, businesses have to commit to PublicSquare's core values, which include the "sanctity of every life," "the family unit," "freedom and truth," and adherence to the US Constitution.
Malik and Trump Jr. together rang the New York Stock Exchange's ceremonial opening bell on the day the company went public in 2023, Time Magazine reported at the time. Malik didn't return a request for comment from BI.
As for 1789 Capital's own investments, the firm has contributed $15 million to the Tucker Carlson Network, the conservative commentator and former Fox News host's new media venture, according to VC database PitchBook.
On its website, the firm doesn't tout its specific investments but does offer a broad list of industries it's interested in, including consumer, fintech, healthcare, B2B SaaS, tech-enabled services, software, infrastructure, energy, and special situations.
Representatives for Trump Jr. through the Trump Organization and the Trump transition team didn't respond to a request for comment from BI. Buskirk also didn't respond to requests for comment from BI, nor did the company's chief operating officer, Jordan Cohen.
