What’s going on: Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump may have been born with silver spoons in their mouths, but now they can buy entire sterling flatware sets for everyone they know. President Donald Trump's sons have been investing in companies receiving major government dollars. A recent CNN analysis found that 10 defense, space, and software companies that Don Jr.'s firm has invested in have received $1.6 billion in federal contracts, and The Washington Post put the total at about $3.2 billion for both Don Jr. and Eric’s investments. Meanwhile, the brothers are also making it big in betting, crypto, and mining markets, thanks to their father's policies. Late last year, Trump himself brokered a mining deal with Kazakhstan, and then urged its president to award the lucrative contract to a company backed by his sons.
What does it mean for you?: Mainly, it’s your tax dollars at work. The pipeline goes like this: You pay the IRS. The Pentagon uses a slice to pay companies it contracts with, including those backed by the Trump sons’ firms. Those federal contracts can make the companies — and the brothers’ stakes in them — more valuable. It’s trickle-down economics, if the trickle led directly toward the president’s family. The White House has denied wrongdoing, while the Pentagon said no company gets preferential treatment. Don Jr. told The New York Timeshe has no inside information, but that it doesn’t take “a genius” to figure out a smart investment strategy. Meanwhile, legal experts say there are few rules for the president's family, though in the past, they did their best to avoid the appearance of a conflict so as not to erode public trust. The law may allow it, but taxpayers are still allowed to ask questions.
