Putin-linked Umar Kremlev reportedly helped fund Trump Jr.’s wedding celebrations

Umar Kremlev hosted two nights of celebrations after the wedding, Bettina Trump wrote in a social media post, adding that “generosity doesn't automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift”

Trump Jr wedding celebrations partly funded by Putinlinked Umar Kremlev

Donald Trump Jr.’s new wife defended her husband’s “dear friend” Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, following a bombshell report that he dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars on their wedding.In a post on Instagram Monday, Bettina Trump claimed that it was merely a coincidence that the lavish weekend getaway had turned into a last-minute wedding celebration.“The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends. It was never intended to be our wedding weekend. When our original wedding plans changed, we simply decided to get married before it and arrived at an already planned weekend as newlyweds,” she wrote. (Her post included a picture of a personalized matchbook inscribed for “Don & Bettina”— a thoughtful detail for a supposedly impromptu wedding party.)“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful.”Of course, it really couldn’t matter less whether it was intended to be their actual wedding weekend or not. It was still a wildly expensive vacation on a Russian oligarch’s dime—one who’s deep in Putin’s pocket. The original ProPublica report specified that Kremlev was not present at the private 18-person wedding ceremony, but he and a sizable delegation of Russians were attendees to the roughly 50-person afterparty. Kremlev rented out a private island where the reception was held, and guests were housed for $100,000 per night. He paid an estimated $70,000 for a massive fireworks display, and his team even helped plan the festivities.Bettina insisted it was all innocent fun. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift,” she wrote on Instagram. When it comes to Russian oligarchs rubbing elbows with the president’s son, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Donald Trump Jr.’s lavish destination wedding was bankrolled by a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, ProPublica reported Monday. Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch, dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars on Don Jr.’s big day, according to records reviewed by ProPublica, as well as three people familiar with the event who spoke with the outlet. Kremlev rented out a private island where the reception was held, and guests were housed for $100,000 per night. He paid an estimated $70,000 for a massive fireworks display, and his team even helped to plan the festivities.Kremlev is president of the International Boxing Association, which is financed by Gazprom, a Russian state–owned energy company. The wedding payments were sourced from an entity in Dubai that IBA uses for financial transactions. The event was small—just 18 people attended the ceremony, and around 50 attended the reception—which made it all the more conspicuous that there was a large delegation of Russians wandering around. None of the family’s pictures showed Kremlev, but the top of his bald head could be spotted in a group picture posted by a friend of the bride. Kremlev has extensive ties to Putin: The Russian president has positioned Kremlev as a central figure in the sports betting industry and chosen one of his companies to run the national lottery. In 2023, Putin nationalized Russia’s largest car dealership company—and Kremlev promptly became its owner. “Umar is guided by Putin. It was using the sport for soft political power,” a former IBA board member told ProPublica. “It’s geopolitics. That it’s boxing is just happenstance.”The previously unreported relationship between Don Jr. and a Russian oligarch should raise serious concerns about the level of access Putin’s inner circle has to President Donald Trump and his family. Also in attendance at the wedding was Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, who has held a central role in negotiating a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. It’s not clear why Kremlev would bankroll Don Jr.’s wedding, considering that the president’s son already has a net worth of $300 million. Frank Montoya Jr., a retired career FBI official who held senior counterintelligence roles, told ProPublica that the arrangement reeked of quid pro quo. “If I’m paying for your wedding, at some point, you’re going to owe me something,” he said. “This should be unthinkable for the son of the president. End of story.”A spokesperson for Trump Jr. did not dispute that his wedding was paid for by a Russian oligarch, insisting that Kremlev was a “personal friend” and “not someone he has a business relationship with.” Kremlev’s press office said, “Mr. Kremlev and Mr. Trump Jr. have a friendly relationship” and they first met “a couple of years ago.”