The Swamp

President who personally entered the negotiations with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, joining by phone during the September 2025 St. Regis meeting; the firm's executive chairman said Trump "did the final negotiation" that secured Kazakhstan's agreement to grant the tungsten rights. His two eldest sons hold indirect stakes in the deal.

Indirect equity exposure to the federally backed tungsten project via his anchor position in American Ventures, which invested in Skyline Builders before its May 2026 merger with Cove Kaz Capital. The FT notes there is no suggestion he knew of the pending federal commitment or influenced it.

The Trump administration's special peace envoy, a World Liberty Financial co-founder and the father of Zach Witkoff. The purchase benefited his family while he served as a senior US diplomatic official.

World Liberty Financial co-founder; benefits as a member of the Witkoff family, whose finances the purchase also improved. He hosted Zhou in a luxury suite at the World Cup final in New Jersey on July 19, 2026.

Indirect equity exposure to the federally backed tungsten project via his anchor position in American Ventures, which invested in Skyline Builders before its May 2026 merger with Cove Kaz Capital. The FT notes there is no suggestion he knew of the pending federal commitment or influenced it.

U.S. ambassador to Greece. She acknowledged on a recording flying to Davos on Aktor's chief executive's private jet, and people familiar with the matter said Tsakos paid her Paris hotel bill. The embassy says she followed State Department ethics and gift-reporting rules. The State Department's inspector general is investigating whether she received gifts or favors, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Directed UAE sovereign wealth investment firms under his control to deposit $2 billion into World Liberty Financial, a crypto company co-founded by the families of Trump's Middle East envoy and the president himself.

Binance founder whose stake in the exchange MGX acquired with $2 billion of WLF's USD1 stablecoin; later pardoned by Trump in October 2025.

World Liberty Financial co-founder; an entity tied to him and Zachary Folkman received $31 million of the first installment.

Led DOGE, which drove the 2025 IRS workforce cuts, while simultaneously owning SpaceX — which carries roughly $1.9 billion in disputed tax positions a weakened IRS is less able to challenge.

The man behind Aqua 1, identified by Reuters. Two years before the $100 million purchase he was a hardwood-flooring retailer in Britain whose companies had gone into administration, and his crypto start-up Caduceus collapsed after burning through $7.6 million. A court record filed in November 2025 names him as one of six people alleged to have taken part in a money-laundering effort in England beginning in 2019; he has not been charged and is the only one of the six who has not been, and British officials said in late July 2026 that the investigation remained active. He described his firm as "very proud to be a major player in the World Liberty, which is Trump's family's crypto venture."

Commerce Secretary who pushed the deal: he wrote to President Tokayev urging Kazakhstan to award the contract to the firm, met Tokayev at the St. Regis in September 2025, and sits on the boards of both federal agencies that pledged up to $1.6 billion in financing. His family's firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, raised $210 million for a partner in the deal.

G42 general counsel and Royal Group adviser; co-signed the Aryam purchase agreement on the buyer's side and took a seat on World Liberty Financial's five-person board.

Greek shipowner and chief executive of Tsakos Energy Navigation. Guilfoyle said she flew with him to Paris and spent the holidays with him in Gstaad; people familiar with the matter said he paid her bill at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. He did not respond to requests for comment.

G42 CEO; co-signed the Aryam purchase agreement on the buyer's side and took a seat on World Liberty Financial's five-person board.

Australian-born mining executive and founder of USA Rare Earth; as executive chairman of Cove Kaz Capital (renamed Kaz Resources) his firm secured the Kazakh tungsten rights and the $1.6 billion in federal financing letters of interest, holding 70 percent of the venture. He says the deal began under the Biden administration and received no political favors, and that he never met the Trump sons.

World Liberty Financial co-founder; an entity tied to him and Chase Herro received $31 million of the first installment.

Received the $100 million in exchange for governance tokens, making Aqua 1 one of its largest buyers. Its spokesman said the company followed all applicable laws and that its compliance program "meets or exceeds industry standards," but declined to say whether it knew the source of the funds. Co-founder Zak Folkman said publicly that the company was "excited to work hand-in-hand with the team at Aqua 1."

Its chief executive, Alexandros Exarchou, flew Guilfoyle to Davos on a private jet in January 2026. She encouraged Balkan governments to buy American gas from the company, and its U.S. subsidiary signed a roughly $6 billion, 20-year supply deal with Albania that she attended. A registered Aktor lobbyist accompanied her to official meetings. Its lawyers say she did not improperly promote its interests.

Invested in Skyline Builders in August 2025; gains indirect exposure to the federally backed tungsten project via the May 2026 Skyline / Cove Kaz merger.

British Virgin Islands entity with no public history that announced a $100 million purchase of World Liberty Financial governance tokens in June 2025. It was created by renaming a Web3Port entity two weeks earlier; Arkham Intelligence traced $20 million of the purchase to a Web3Port wallet in January 2025 and $80 million to a wallet it linked to Aqua 1 in June. The firm later cited its World Liberty stake as evidence of "demonstrable credibility" when raising money for other ventures.

Twin Delaware and Abu Dhabi entities registered two days apart in December 2024 with no public record of ownership; the named buyer in the $500 million purchase agreement.

Nasdaq-listed nuclear-energy and isotopes company led by Paul E. Mann; through a subsidiary it controlled Skyline Builders, the listed shell that took a 20 percent stake in the tungsten venture, and Cantor Fitzgerald raised $210 million for the company in October 2025.

Crypto exchange whose 49% stake purchase by MGX was settled with $2 billion of World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin.

Investment firm controlled by Howard Lutnick's family and overseen by his sons Brandon and Kyle Lutnick; in October 2025 it helped raise $210 million for ASP Isotopes, whose subsidiary controlled the Skyline shell that took a 20 percent stake in the tungsten venture, earning Cantor fees. The Commerce Department noted Lutnick had sold his ownership stake in the firm.

U.S.-registered firm that secured access to a Kazakhstan tungsten mine in November 2025 and was the direct recipient of the combined $1.6 billion in federal letters of interest. Agreed to merge with Skyline Builders in May 2026.

The cost-cutting initiative Musk led; drove the reductions that cost the IRS roughly 31% of its revenue agents in 2025.

Trump family pass-through vehicle that received a share of the $187 million Trump-family payout from the first $250 million installment. Trump personally owned 70% as of end-2024 per his disclosures.

Trump family pass-through vehicle that received the remainder of the $187 million Trump-family payout. Trump's ownership breakdown not publicly disclosed.

Abu Dhabi AI investment firm chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon that used $2 billion of World Liberty Financial's USD1 stablecoin to settle its acquisition of a 49% stake in Binance.

Hong Kong-based construction group that Dominari took public in early 2025 and that American Ventures invested in in August 2025. In May 2026 it agreed to merge with Cove Kaz Capital, becoming the publicly listed vehicle through which the federally backed tungsten project would flow.

Discloses about $1.9 billion in "uncertain tax benefits" in its SEC filings — positions it concedes would likely be disallowed on audit; reduced IRS enforcement lowers that risk.

Federally funded agency that issued a letter of interest committing in principle to a portion of the combined $1.6 billion in project financing for the Cove Kaz Capital tungsten mine.

Federally funded agency that issued a letter of interest committing in principle to a portion of the combined $1.6 billion in project financing for the Cove Kaz Capital tungsten mine.