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A Putin-linked oligarch paid for Donald Trump Jr.‘s wedding celebrations
Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, secretly covered hundreds of thousands of dollars of expenses for Donald Trump Jr.‘s three-day wedding in the Bahamas in May 2026, according to ProPublica.
What happened
In May 2026, Donald Trump Jr. married Bettina Anderson in a ceremony attended only by family. He then flew with about 50 guests to a private island in the Bahamas for a weekend of celebrations. President Trump stayed in Washington, citing the war with Iran.
On September 14, 2026, ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev covered hundreds of thousands of dollars of the costs. It cited documents and three people familiar with the event. The costs included about $100,000 a night to rent the island and about $70,000 for fireworks. The payments ran through a Dubai-based entity affiliated with the International Boxing Association, which Kremlev heads and which Gazprom funds. A large group of Russian-speaking guests surprised other attendees.
Anderson confirmed on Instagram that “our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding” as a gift. Trump Jr.‘s spokesman called Kremlev a personal friend with no business relationship. President Trump said he had never heard of Kremlev and that paying for an afterparty was “not a big deal.” Kremlev has two prior convictions in Russia, controls assets the Russian state handed him, and received Putin’s Order of Friendship in 2026.
Who benefited
Donald Trump Jr. had hundreds of thousands of dollars of celebration costs paid by someone else. Forbes estimates his fortune at $300 million. Kremlev gained a documented personal tie to the president’s eldest son and co-leader of his business.
Who wanted something
Umar Kremlev runs a sports body the Olympics expelled over its finances, and he holds assets the Russian state handed him. A closer relationship with the Trump family is of obvious use to him and to the Kremlin. The record does not identify a specific U.S. government matter he sought.
Who lost out
The record names no public cost. The harm is to the integrity of the president’s circle. A Putin-linked oligarch quietly paid for the president’s son’s celebrations, the payment ran through an offshore entity, and it was not disclosed until a news investigation.
Why it matters
A Russian oligarch close to Putin paid hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the celebrations of the president’s eldest son, through a Dubai entity. The family acknowledged it only after ProPublica reported it. The president’s son runs the family business and remains a political power broker.