20/04/2026
**Conflict of Interest: The Trump Family and the Defense Industry**
* **Anduril Industries:** 1789 Capital, a fund where Donald Trump Jr. is a partner, is an investor in Anduril Industries, a defense technology company that builds AI-powered combat and surveillance systems and drones. Just two weeks after the start of the American-Israeli war on Iran, the U.S. military awarded Anduril a massive $20 billion contract, the largest in defense technology history. Anduril's valuation has nearly doubled since the war began, coinciding with the Pentagon's increased demand for its products.
* **Powers:** A company called Powers, which produces drone interception technology, is marketing its products to Gulf states targeted by Iranian attacks. A former White House ethics counsel has expressed concern that these countries are under pressure to buy from Powers because of the Trump family's connection to the company. Powers plans to go public through a reverse merger with a company backed by the Trump family.
* **Polymarket:** The Trump family is also involved in Polymarket, a prediction platform that allows users to bet on wars using cryptocurrency. 1789 Capital, Trump Jr.'s investment fund, is an investor in Polymarket, and Trump Jr. serves on the advisory council. Six newly created accounts on Polymarket won about $1.2 million by betting that the U.S. would strike Iran before February 28, 2026. The timing of these bets, made hours before the strike, has raised concerns about insider trading linked to Trump Jr. and 1789 Capital.
* **Pete Hegseth:** The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, attempted to invest millions in a defense-focused ETF that contained shares in top defense contractors with the Pentagon, despite being ethically prohibited from doing so. The timing of this attempted investment, just weeks before the U.S. strike on Iran, suggests Hegseth was attempting to profit from his knowledge of the impending war.
These factors together point to significant conflicts of interest within the Trump administration, with members of the administration and the Trump family seemingly profiting from a war that they have an active role in directing.
