After President Donald Trump publicly showed interest in Greenland, a handful of high-profile billionaires started investing in the island’s untapped resources.
Peter Thiel, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg, and Sam Altman were among those who got involved.
Their moves suggest they see Greenland not just as a mineral-rich region, but as a place with long-term strategic value as the U.S. pays closer attention to the Arctic.
Some of them are even backing plans to build a futuristic ‘freedom city’ there.
Rare Earths, AI, and Billionaire Backing
Since 2019, Kobold Metals, a company focused on using AI to locate rare earth elements needed for electronics and green energy tech, has secured investments from Gates, Bezos, and Bloomberg through Breakthrough Energy, a clean-tech fund led by Gates.
The fund aims “to accelerate green energy innovation and build the industries of the future,” according to its mission.
Kobold closed its Series A round shortly after Trump floated the idea of acquiring Greenland.
By 2024, the company raised $537 million in a Series C round, valuing it just shy of $3 billion.
Sam Altman joined the group of backers in 2022 through his venture fund Apollo Projects, contributing to the company’s $192.5 million Series B round.
Kobold’s AI-powered prospecting has brought a wave of renewed interest to Greenland, which holds vast deposits of cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements vital to batteries and clean technology. l
The firm is reportedly in the process of raising additional capital.
Peter Thiel’s ‘Freedom City’
While the others focused on minerals, Thiel put money into Praxis, a startup that envisions building a high-tech city on Greenlandic soil.
The city, described as a “freedom city,” aims to attract innovators and entrepreneurs by promoting advanced technology and minimal government oversight.
Thiel funded Praxis in early 2021, aligning with his long-standing interest in alternative governance and futuristic living models.
The Billionaire Who First Planted the Greenland Idea
According to former national security adviser John Bolton, the original idea to buy Greenland came from Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune and longtime Trump associate.
Bolton told Forbes that Trump said in 2018, “a prominent businessman he knew had suggested that the U.S. buy Greenland,” later identifying the man as Lauder.
Lauder didn’t just offer the idea; he also invested. Danish newspaper Politiken reported he put money into a local freshwater bottling company co-owned by a prominent Greenlandic politician.
He’s also involved in a consortium pushing to build a hydroelectric plant at the island’s largest lake.
In a February 2025 op-ed in the New York Post, Lauder wrote the U.S. could “form a new trilateral agreement with Greenland and Denmark to formalize Arctic cooperation,” as an alternative to outright ownership.
Trump Revives Interest, Musk Voices Support
In early January 2026, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, “We need Greenland,” framing the island as a national security priority.
The comments came just days after a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela.
White House adviser Stephen Miller declined to rule out military action when questioned by CNN, prompting European leaders to release a joint statement supporting Greenland’s sovereignty.
While some U.S. officials, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have since dismissed any talk of invasion, Trump’s stance reignited public interest.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk took to X last January and posted, “If the people of Greenland want to be part of America, which I hope they do, they would be most welcome.”
Growing U.S. Presence and Strategic Concerns
Marc Jacobsen, an Arctic security expert at the Royal Danish Defence College, said Lauder’s investments are unlikely to have “any economic substance.”
“What is important here is the close link to Greenlandic decision makers. This is about strategy and gaining control,” Jacobsen told Forbes.
He noted a growing American presence on the island, partially due to new direct flights from New York to the capital, Nuuk.
“There are more Americans in Greenland than ever before… it can be difficult to know if they’re only tourists or if they also have an interest in ‘strategic investments’,” he said.
As geopolitical interest in the Arctic ramps up, Greenland has become more than a curiosity.
It’s now a hub of rare earths, energy, and intrigue, and some of the biggest names in tech and finance want a piece of it.