A Putin-Allied Russian Oligarch Paid for Donald Trump Jr.'s Island Wedding Celebration — the Couple Call It "an Extraordinarily Generous Wedding Gift From a Friend," the President Says "Not a Big Deal!," and Chris Murphy Tells the Senate "Never Before Has a Foreign Enemy of the United States Paid for the Family Wedding of the President"
On September 14, 2026, ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev — a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, secretary general of the International Boxing Association, whose boxing operations are financed by the state energy giant Gazprom — paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for Donald Trump Jr.'s May 2026 wedding festivities in the Bahamas. According to the report, Kremlev's organization rented a private island for the roughly 50-guest post-wedding celebration at about $100,000 a night, paid an estimated $70,000 for a fireworks show and helped plan the event. Kremlev and a Russian delegation attended; so did Jared Kushner, who is helping lead U.S. negotiations with Russia over the war in Ukraine. President Trump did not attend. Hours after the report, Bettina Trump confirmed on Instagram that Kremlev "very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations" as "an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend," writing that "friendship doesn't require a political motive." A spokesperson for Trump Jr. said "Umar is a personal friend of Don." President Trump said he had "no idea who Umar is" and called the party "Not a big deal!" Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) called it "naked corruption in plain view" on the Senate floor that evening. On September 15, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, sent Trump Jr. a letter demanding he preserve all records of his relationship with Kremlev and any White House communications about the celebration, writing that the reporting "may be the most serious allegation against you to date."
“[T]he last Russia hoax cost this country years of progress. We are not doing it again over a private citizen's wedding. … Don Jr. is a businessman, not an administration official. There is no evidence he sold access to the presidency.”