A Russian businessman with ties to the country’s President Vladimir Putin footed the bill for celebrations following the wedding of President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., Trump Jr. and his wife, Bettina, have confirmed. Oligarch Umar Kremlev’s contributions to the wedding festivities were first reported by ProPublica, which wrote that the Russian businessman spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent out a private island in the Bahamas and a fireworks show. The outlet reported that the guest list included roughly 50 guests, including family members, close friends, and Kremlev, who according to ProPublica was part of a larger group of Russian guests whose presence was a source of confusion for other attendees.
Trump Jr. and Bettina Trump shared a statement on social media in response to criticism over his financial involvement in the event, defending what she described as an “extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend” and denying any political motive behind Kremlev’s attendance. Friendship doesn’t require a political motive.” The Trumps’ connection to a figure closely tied to the leadership in Russia—and his apparently lavish financial contribution to the wedding celebrations—has however drawn concerns from Democratic politicians and experts in ethics and intelligence, who have raised questions about what might be expected in return for the "gift" and warned that Russian intelligence services may seek to weaponize such a relationship. Here’s what to know about Kremlev and his ties to Putin and the Trump family.
Kremlev, 43, is a native of Tajikistan. He was previously known by his surname at birth, Lutfulloyev, which he changed to Kremlev in 2010 when he was in his late twenties, according to the independent Russian news organization Proekt. Prior to that name change, Kremlev was convicted of extortion in 2004 and battery in 2007.
He went on to join a notorious biker gang, the Night Wolves, not long after changing his name, according to Russian news reports. Outlets reported that during his time in the group, which was the first official biker community in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Kremlev met Alexei Rubezhnoi, who currently leads Putin’s presidential security service. The Washington Post reported that Putin himself is considered an honorary member of the Night Wolves.
In 2015, Kremlev, who had boxed since he was a child, founded a company, Patriot, that promoted boxing matches. Two years later, he became the secretary general of the International Boxing Association (IBA) after a shake up led to Rubezhnoi becoming the chairman of its supervisory board. Rubezhnoi then nominated Kremlev to the secretary general position; from there, Kremlev went on to be elected as president of the IBA in 2020.
In 2024, Kremlev acquired Rolf, Russia’s largest car dealership group, which had previously been state-owned. During Kremlev’s time as IBA president, Gazprom, a state-owned energy company and one of the largest companies in Russia, became a financial backer of the boxing federation. That same year, Kremlev stood alongside Putin during the opening of the International Boxing Center in Moscow.
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