Donald Trump skipped his eldest son’s wedding in May, but one of the men who footed a large portion of the three-day, private-island party’s bill did not. According to a Monday report from ProPublica, Umar Kremlev — a Russian oligarch and ally to President Vladimir Putin — covered more than $100,000 worth of expenses for the wedding celebration of Donald Trump Jr. and socialite Bettina Anderson. The revelation comes as President Trump takes a friendly stance toward Russia’s president, including by pressuring Ukrainian leaders to provide favorable concessions in their war against Russia.
According to records reviewed by ProPublica, Kremlev covered the $100,000 bill for the rental of the second private island used by the couple in their Bahamian festivities, where guests spent the night. He also dropped $70,000 on a massive fireworks display. While he skipped the ceremony, photos obtained by ProPublica show that Kremlev was at the event described by the couple as intimate and limited to family and friends.
Following the publication of the report, Bettina Trump posted a statement on her Instagram — signed by herself and her husband — claiming that Kremlev didn’t pay for their actual wedding, just the party that was coincidentally planned for right after.
“Don and I got married privately on Friday, surrounded ONLY by our family. It was intimate, deeply personal and one of the most beautiful days of our lives,” she wrote. “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.”
“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible 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,” she added.
Kremlev is the president of the International Boxing Association (IBA) and a member of the Boxing Federation of Russia’s executive committee. Under his tenure, the International Olympic Committee seized oversight over international boxing competitions from the IBA, citing systemic issues with corruption, doping, and political influence.
Sources familiar with the wedding told ProPublica the presence of Kremlev and several other men who hung off to the side and spoke to each other in Russian was puzzling. While the Trumps claim Kremlev is a close friend, he was not pictured in the carousel of 20 photos from the wedding that Bettina Trump posted alongside her denial of impropriety.
Given the absurd amount of money the Trumps have made for themselves grifting off the presidency, there is little doubt that they could have afforded the lavish wedding themselves.
Kremlev has been trying to expand IBA events into American markets, including more underground sports like bare-knuckle boxing. The Trump family of course has a close relationship with combat-sport enterprises, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Kremlev doling out a massive check doled out to the president’s son and daughter-in-law also comes as the Russian government tries to secure favorable policy from the Trump administration amid its ongoing war against Ukraine. Putin and the Kremlin have largely been successful. Just this weekend, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop attacking Russian oil refineries in Ukraine’s ongoing war against the invading power. “Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump said on Sunday. “Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel because he’s causing a shortage of diesel. This isn’t done by the Middle East; this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine.”
The president has meanwhile severely weakened NATO in his second term — a long-held desire of the Kremlin — and welcomed the Russian government back into the diplomatic fold despite international sanctions and opposition.
“Friendship doesn’t require a political motive,” Bettina Trump wrote in her statement. “Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”
