The idea of the United States acquiring Greenland did not arise randomly or suddenly during Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. According to former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, the proposal was first brought up after an intervention by a close friend of the president and a powerful businessman.

Bolton said in an interview with The Guardian that Trump called him to the Oval Office in 2018, during his first term, to inform him that “a prominent businessman” had just proposed that the U.S. buy Greenland. Bolton himself described the proposal as highly unusual.

The businessman, as Bolton later learned, was Ronald Lauder, heir to the global Estée Lauder cosmetics empire, according to The Guardian. Lauder has known Trump for over 60 years, dating back to when both were active in New York and part of the same circle of wealthy businessmen.

According to Bolton, he discussed the Greenland proposal directly with Lauder. After the businessman’s intervention, a White House team began exploring ways to enhance U.S. influence over the extensive Arctic territory, which is under Danish control.

Bolton believes that Trump’s revival of the idea during his second presidential term fits his style of decision-making. As he noted, Trump tends to take as given the information he hears from friends and associates, even when it is not based on institutional recommendations.

Over the years, the initial proposal appears to have evolved into broader ambitions. Eight years after the first discussion, Trump no longer limits himself to the possibility of buying Greenland but is also reportedly considering the scenario of imposing control through force.

Meanwhile, Lauder’s political recommendations appear to intersect with his business interests. During the time Trump escalated his rhetoric about Greenland, the American businessman had acquired commercial interests in the region. Lauder is also involved in a consortium seeking access to Ukraine’s mineral wealth—a development linked, according to the report, with Trump’s pressures for a share in the war-torn country’s natural resources.

Lauder has stated that he met Trump in the 1960s when they attended the same elite business school. After serving in his family cosmetics business, he worked in Ronald Reagan’s administration at the Pentagon and later as U.S. ambassador to Austria. In 1989, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor of New York City.

After Trump’s 2016 election, Lauder donated $100,000 to the Trump Victory fundraising committee. In 2018, when public questions arose about Trump’s mental state, Lauder described him as “a man of incredible insight and intelligence.”

That same year, Lauder said he was assisting Trump with “some of the most complex diplomatic challenges imaginable,” a reference that, according to the report, included promoting the idea of expanding American influence in the Arctic.

In 2019, the Wall Street Journal publicly revealed Trump’s interest in Greenland, sparking strong reactions from Danish leaders. The U.S. president responded on Twitter by posting an image of a golden Trump Tower towering over a settlement, accompanied by the phrase: “I promise not to do this in Greenland!”

“A treasure of rare earths”

Trump’s obsession with Greenland did not end with his first term, nor did it lack support from Ronald Lauder. Last February, shortly after Trump’s return to the White House, the billionaire publicly defended the president when he left open the possibility of a military takeover of the world’s largest island.

In a New York Post article, Lauder argued that “Trump’s idea about Greenland was never irrational—it was strategic.” He wrote, “Beneath the ice and rocks lies a treasure of rare earth elements, essential for artificial intelligence, advanced weapon systems, and modern technology,” adding that melting ice is opening new maritime routes, reshaping global trade and security.

Lauder called Greenland “the epicenter of great power competition” and argued that the U.S. should seek a “strategic partnership.” He also said he has worked closely for years with Greenlandic business and government figures to develop strategic investments in the region.

According to the report, since Lauder turned Trump’s attention to Greenland in 2018—as revealed in the book The Divider by American journalists Peter Baker and Susan Glasser—the cosmetics magnate appears to have invested significant capital in the Arctic territory.

Danish corporate registries show that a New York-based company with undisclosed ownership has recently acquired stakes in Greenlandic activities. One involves exporting “luxury” natural water from an island in Baffin Bay. When a Danish newspaper mentioned in December that Lauder was among the investors, it included statements from a Greenlandic businessman involved in the venture, who noted that “Lauder and his partners have excellent knowledge and access to the luxury goods market.”

The same investment group reportedly seeks to produce hydroelectric power from Greenland’s largest lake to supply an aluminum production plant.

It remains unclear what impact potential U.S. control of Greenland—whether by purchase, pressure, or even military intervention—would have on Lauder’s business interests in the area.

Following Trump’s statements that the U.S. “desperately needs” Greenland, amid troop deployments to capture the Venezuelan leader, Denmark’s prime minister warned that military action by one NATO member state against another would dissolve the alliance.

Trump, however, remained adamant. “We will do something with Greenland,” he said last week, “either the nice way or the hard way.” After a White House meeting on Wednesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said, “We failed to change the American position” and “it is clear the president has this desire to take Greenland.”

Deal on Ukraine’s minerals

Lauder’s alleged role in shaping U.S. policy raises questions about possible conflicts of interest during Trump’s second term and financial support to people in his close circle. Trump’s two eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric, have conducted international business activities from Vietnam to Gibraltar, according to the report.

They claim there is “a huge firewall” between their businesses and their father’s role as president. A Trump spokesperson stated that “neither the president nor his family has been or will ever be involved in a conflict of interest.” However, foreign leaders appear to have facilitated the presidential family’s enrichment while securing the U.S. president’s favor.

Lauder appeared to distance himself temporarily from Trump in 2022 when the former president hosted far-right activist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Lauder, head of the World Jewish Congress, condemned the meeting, calling Fuentes a “fanatic anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.”

However, after Trump’s return to the White House, Lauder resumed his financial support. In March 2025, he donated $5 million to Maga Inc., the fundraising organization for the Trump movement. The following month, he was reportedly among guests at an exclusive dinner with the president, with tickets costing $1 million each.

At the same time, Lauder’s business interests appeared again to coincide with U.S. government policy. A leaked letter sent in November 2023 from TechMet mining company’s head to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky named Lauder as part of a consortium seeking to exploit a lithium deposit in Ukraine.

Lauder said then that he had not personally discussed Ukrainian minerals with Trump but had raised the issue “for many years” in talks with U.S. and Ukrainian officials. Republican officials supported the idea of U.S. access to Ukraine’s natural resources, with Trump emerging as the most enthusiastic supporter.

A few weeks after Lauder’s donations to Maga Inc., Washington and Kyiv signed an agreement for joint exploitation of Ukrainian minerals. This deal helped maintain Trump’s support for Ukraine following a sharp public dispute with Zelensky in the Oval Office.