1789 Capital, the investment firm run by Donald Trump Jr. and Omeed Malik, has backed prediction-market platform Polymarket at a $15 billion valuation — a dramatic increase from the $300 million valuation when they initially invested. The stake highlights how Trump Jr. and Malik have profited from businesses whose fortunes can be shaped by President Trump's policies, despite long-running criticism of mixing family business and politics.\n\nThe gain followed a July 2024 meeting between Trump Jr. and founder Shayne Coplan, and came after a federal regulator last year granted Polymarket a U.S. operating license. Trump Jr. told the New York Times he and Coplan shared a defiant approach toward critics, underscoring how openly 1789 is pursuing politically adjacent investments during Trump's second term.\n\nThe valuation surge raises questions about whether Polymarket's worth reflects genuine innovation or a bubble inflated by powerful political connections.

With federal approval, concerns persist about how prediction markets can be shielded from insider trading on sensitive government events, and whether a betting platform profiting from policy can be trusted as a key data source.