August M
Greenland’s vast size, cold climate and sparse population have made it attractive long before Donald Trump revived his interest in the Arctic island. While the US president frames Greenland largely through national security, American tech and finance figures have been positioning themselves around the island for years.
Those interests range from data infrastructure to minerals, with politics acting more as an accelerant than a starting point.
Data and energy
One of Greenland’s biggest attractions for US tech figures is not mining, but space and power. Rapid advances in artificial intelligence are driving a surge in demand for data centers, which consume vast amounts of energy and require constant cooling.
Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could increase global energy demand by 165% by 2030. In the US, projects worth $64bn have already been delayed or cancelled due to local opposition, according to Data Center Watch, TV 2 News reported.
Greenland’s cold climate, large landmass and small population make it an appealing alternative. Drew Horn, a former Trump official focused on Greenland, told Fox News last year: “It’s literally the best place in the world for data centers.”
Strategic geography
Beyond technology, Greenland’s location and resources have drawn sustained US attention. Washington has openly stated that Greenland’s subsoil plays a role in its strategic thinking.
Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Waltz said last year: “It’s about critical minerals. It’s about natural resources. It’s oil and gas. It’s our national security.”
That framing overlaps with commercial interests but does not fully explain them.
Mining investments
Several US tech billionaires invested in Greenland-linked mining years before Trump renewed his rhetoric. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg have backed the American firm Kobold Metals since 2019, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined in 2022.
The company focuses on rare earth minerals essential for electric vehicles, AI systems and defence technology. Marc Jacobsen of the Danish Defence Academy told TV 2 that closer US access to Greenland would clearly benefit such investors.
“These are strategic investments,” he said, noting that financial gain is not the only motivation.
Political ties
Some investments intersect directly with Trump’s inner circle. Another US firm, Critical Metals Corp, has seen renewed investor interest following Trump’s statements, with its share price rising more than 110% since the start of the year.
Politiken previously reported that Ronald Lauder, a long-time Trump ally, invested in two Greenlandic companies. Former national security adviser John Bolton has said Lauder originally suggested the idea of buying Greenland, a claim Lauder later defended publicly.
“Trump’s Greenland idea was never absurd – it was strategic,” Lauder wrote in the New York Post.
Money and influence
An analysis by The Guardian found that tech executives, oil figures and crypto investors with interests linked to Greenland donated at least $243m to Trump’s 2024 campaign. Several were also guests at his inauguration.
Emily DiVito of Groundwork Collaborative described this as a “closed loop” between political power and private capital, where access and outcomes reinforce each other.
As Trump once again raises Greenland’s status, those overlapping interests — data, minerals and influence — are moving further into view.
Sources: TV 2 News, Politiken, The Guardian, Reuters, Fox News, CNBC
