As Washington and Copenhagen spar over Greenland’s place in global strategy, the parallel surge of private investment illustrates how the island’s economic and geopolitical future is being shaped not only by governments but by the world’s most influential business figures
Just months after President Donald Trump revived the idea that the United States might seek control over Greenland, a quiet but consequential shift began unfolding far from Washington.
Some of the world’s wealthiest and most influential investors, including Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, started placing strategic bets on the Arctic island, drawn by its vast reserves of critical minerals and its growing geopolitical significance, Forbes first reported.
Among the most politically connected investors is Ronald Lauder, the heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, who is credited with first raising the idea of a U.S. takeover of Greenland during Trump’s first term, according to John Bolton, the former White House national security adviser.
Lauder has since invested, the Danish newspaper Politiken reported, in an unprofitable Greenlandic freshwater bottling company co owned by Jørgen Wæver Johansen, the local chair of the governing Siumut party in Nuuk and the husband of Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, prompting concerns about political interference.
Other billionaires have focused more squarely on Greenland’s mineral potential. Bezos, Gates and Bloomberg have all invested since 2019 in KoBold Metals, a company that uses artificial intelligence to search for rare earth minerals critical to electronics and clean energy technologies.
Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, joined the effort with an investment in 2022. Peter Thiel, the PayPal and Palantir co founder, backed Praxis in early 2021, a startup seeking to build a technologically advanced “freedom city” on the island.
Lauder Convinced Trump, Then Invested In Greenland
John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser during his first term (and now prominent political enemy), told Forbes that Trump first discussed buying Greenland in late 2018, saying that “a prominent businessman he knew had suggested that the U.S. buy Greenland,” and later identifying the businessman as Lauder.
Lauder and Trump have a long personal history. They attended the Wharton School of Business at the same time, and Lauder has been a longtime funder of conservative candidates and causes. In March 2025, Lauder gave $5 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC that supports Trump, according to data from the Federal Election Commission.
Lauder has since made no secret of his interest in Greenland and its resources. In an op-ed published in the New York Post last February, he laid out potential scenarios where the United States could assert greater influence over Greenland short of buying the country (as recently floated by the White House), including forming “a new trilateral agreement with Greenland and Denmark to formalize Arctic cooperation.”
According to Politiken, the 81-year-old also invested in a local freshwater bottling company and is involved in a push to build a hydroelectric power station at Greenland’s largest lake through Greenland Development Partners, a consortium based in Delaware that owns a stake in Greenland Investment Group, which is chaired by former U.S. deputy secretary of state Josette Sheeran.
What Do We Know About Other Billionaire Investments?
Bezos, Gates and Bloomberg were first reported to have invested in KoBold in early 2019 when the company closed its Series A round, just months after Trump started looking into “buying” Greenland. The investments were made through Breakthrough Energy, a fund led by Gates whose stated aim is “to accelerate green energy innovation and build the industries of the future.”
The fund also participated in KoBold’s Series C investment round in December 2024. KoBold raised $537 million, valuing the company at $2.96 billion, according to a press release shared by the company. The round was co-led by new investor Durable Capital Partners LP and by a pair of T. Rowe Price funds.
Then, in 2022, Altman pitched in through his VC fund Apollo Projects, contributing to the firm’s Series B round, which had a total size of $192.5 million. An SEC filing from last week shows that KoBold is in the process of raising additional funds, meaning they could approach the billionaires again now that Greenland is in the spotlight.
KoBold uses AI-powered exploration to search for critical minerals including copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt. The company maintains approximately 60 active exploration projects across four continents, with strategic partnerships with mining giants BHP and Rio Tinto.
None of the billionaires named in this piece responded to Forbes’ requests for comment.
The Praxis Vision
Peter Thiel’s involvement comes through Pronomos Capital, which provided early funding to Praxis. The startup, founded by Dryden Brown and Charlie Callinan, describes itself as an “internet-native nation” and part of the broader “Network State” movement.
Praxis raised $525 million in October 2025 (compared to its 2021 funding round of $4.2 million, according to The New York Times). The new financing was announced to be released in tranches upon the development of “the next great city.” Investors include Arch Lending (crypto-backed loans), GEM Digital (digital assets) and Manifold Trading (crypto trading).
Brown traveled to Greenland in summer 2024 and met with Greenlandic politicians about building a city on uninhabitable land. “I went to Greenland to try to buy it,” Brown tweeted in November 2024. He later told TechCrunch he wanted to build “a prototype of Terminus,” referencing Elon Musk’s preferred name for a city on Mars.
Praxis aims to build a technologically advanced city with minimal regulation, focusing on accelerating emerging technologies like AI and mini nuclear reactors. Brown envisions a community that could “create rain on demand using Rainmaker technology” and be powered by nuclear technology startups.
The company’s 2022 Series A pitch to investors called its proposed city a “cryptostate.” As of April 2024, Praxis states it has 2,034 citizens, 124 companies, and that companies founded by Praxis members have an aggregate valuation of $452 billion.
The Mineral Wealth at Stake
What makes Greenland so attractive to these investors? The island’s mineral wealth is staggering.
Greenland holds an estimated 1.5 million metric tons of rare earth element reserves, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), ranking it eighth globally. While smaller than China’s 44 million metric tons, Greenland’s reserves rival those of the United States (1.9 million metric tons) and outpace those of Canada (830,000 metric tons) and South Africa (860,000 metric tons).
The reserves are concentrated in southern Greenland, notably at the Kvanefjeld site, which contains over 11 million metric tons of rare earth reserves and resources, including 370,000 metric tons of heavy rare earths. The nearby Tanbreez deposit is estimated to contain 28.2 million metric tons of rare earth elements, potentially making it the world’s largest deposit by volume.
These minerals are critical for manufacturing high-performance magnets, electric car batteries, wind turbines, and military equipment. A 2023 geological survey indicated that 25 of 34 minerals deemed “critical raw materials” by the European Commission can be found in Greenland, including graphite, copper, gold, lithium, and platinum group metals.
However, ore grades at Greenland’s deposits are relatively modest. At Kvanefjeld, rare earth content is 1.4 percent, while typical successful mines have grades between 4 and 8 percent. This means Greenland mines would require larger open pits and more energy for processing, driving up costs.
China currently dominates global rare earth production, with over 90 percent of supply. In 2025, China imposed export controls on heavy rare earths, disrupting Western automotive supply chains and exposing vulnerabilities in clean energy and defense industries.
Trump’s Renewed Push and Musk Support
Early this week, Trump began escalating talk of taking control of the island as a matter of “national security,” telling reporters aboard Air Force One, “We need Greenland” on Monday, just days after a successful military intervention in Venezuela.
White House adviser Stephen Miller’s refusal to rule out military intervention during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper further stoked the fire, leading European leaders to issue a joint statement in support of Greenlanders’ sovereignty. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Speaker Mike Johnson have since stated that military action is not a serious possibility, with Johnson reassuring reporters that “this is not a thing.”
Elon Musk, meanwhile, has publicly voiced his support for an American annexation of Greenland multiple times, writing on X last January: “If the people of Greenland want to be part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome.”
The Viability
Lauder’s investments are unlikely to have “any economic substance,” says Marc Jacobsen, an Arctic security expert and associate professor at the Royal Danish Defence College. “What is important here is the close link to Greenlandic decision makers. This is about strategy and gaining control.”
Jacobsen told Forbes he has seen increased American presence in Greenland over the past few years, partly because of new direct flights between New York and the capital, Nuuk. “There are more Americans in Greenland than ever before. It can be difficult to know if they’re only tourists or if they also have an interest in ‘strategic investments.'”
Mining operations face significant challenges in Greenland. Despite the extraordinary mineral wealth, zero commercial rare earth mining has occurred as of January 2026. Development has stalled due to multiple barriers including the 2021 uranium mining ban that blocked the Kvanefjeld project, harsh Arctic climate conditions with temperatures reaching negative 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, minimal mining infrastructure with no roads connecting most settlements, and environmental concerns from local communities.
The 2021 ban on uranium mining came after Australian firm Greenland Minerals spent 15 years and significant capital working toward approval for the Kvanefjeld project. The company is now seeking $11.5 billion in compensation, according to the Pulitzer Center. One geoscientific consultant told the Pulitzer Center: “Today, the political risk in Greenland is considered to be higher than in many African countries.”
“Not Number One”
Trump acted cool the first time he was asked to confirm his interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark in the summer of 2019. “It’s just something we talked about,” he told reporters standing in an airfield as he prepared to board Air Force One, adding: “Essentially, it’s a large real estate deal. It’s not number one on the burner, I can tell you that.”
But when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea “absurd” later that month, Trump changed his tune and announced he was postponing a planned state visit to the northern European country through a tweet.
His interest picked up again during his third presidential campaign, when he frequently started referring to Greenland as a missed opportunity. Shortly before his second inauguration, in December 2024, Trump called American “ownership and control” of Greenland “an absolute necessity” in a post announcing his nominee for ambassador to Denmark.
Trump has since named Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. Howery was a co-founder of PayPal along with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, and is a longtime friend of both billionaires. Howery formerly founded a venture capital firm with Thiel and is among the investors backing Praxis, according to Reuters.
The Stakes
In June 2025, the U.S. Export-Import Bank sent a letter of interest to Critical Metals Corp for a $120 million loan to fund the company’s Tanbreez rare earth mine in Greenland. If approved, the loan would be the Trump administration’s first overseas investment in a mining project.
The European Union designated the Amitsoq graphite project in Greenland as a Strategic Project under its Critical Raw Materials Act in June 2025, highlighting its importance to Europe’s supply chain resilience.
With rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and defense systems, control over Greenland’s mineral deposits represents a strategic prize in the global competition with China. Global demand for copper is projected to reach 30 million metric tons by 2030, driven largely by the clean energy transition.
The question now is whether Trump’s renewed interest in Greenland, backed by billions in billionaire investments, will translate into actual American control over the territory or simply accelerate development deals that benefit U.S. companies while respecting Greenlandic sovereignty.
What is clear is that the world’s wealthiest investors saw an opportunity in Greenland shortly after Trump first floated the idea, and they have been quietly positioning themselves ever since.
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