The Pentagon Embraces Private Capital: Trump’s Boldest Gamble with the Armed Forces
Just a few days ago, Donald Trump gathered some of the most powerful magnates in American technology for a dinner at the White House. It wasn’t a casual meeting: the president was seeking more than just political support. His ambitious and controversial goal has now been revealed – he wants the United States military to be funded by Wall Street and Silicon Valley.
The Pentagon, led by Secretary of Defense, is facing a budget crisis that threatens its modernization. According to their own calculations, they would need $150 billion over a decade to renew arsenals, bases, and military depots. However, the current budget only reaches $15 billion. Faced with the slow pace of Congress, Driscoll has opted for a faster route: private capital.
In early October, he organized a summit in Washington with some of the most influential financial giants in the country – Apollo, Carlyle, KKR, and Cerberus – to present projects that combine national security and corporate profitability.
### From Venture Capital to Military Risk
The idea is as bold as it is pragmatic: to turn underutilized army lands and facilities into spaces for technological and industrial investment. Among the proposals are data centers for artificial intelligence, rare earth processing factories, and even land exchange agreements for military computing power.
The initiative symbolizes the fusion of national defense with market power. The previously considered impassable boundary between the state and big investors is beginning to blur.
For the funds, this move represents a strategic opportunity. American private capital, valued at around $13 trillion, is seeking new horizons after saturating traditional sectors such as real estate and energy. And the military-industrial complex offers something that few sectors can promise: stable contracts, guaranteed returns, and political support.
### When Money Becomes a Weapon
Trump had already signaled his plan. A recent decree allows U.S. pension funds to invest in private capital, a decision that unleashed huge flows of money into these types of operations. In this context, defense emerges as the new golden territory for investment, a sector where profitability and political influence go hand in hand.
One of the most involved actors is. Its founder, Steve Feinberg – currently Assistant Secretary of Defense under Trump – manages over $65 billion in assets and has a long history of financing security and armament companies. His dual role, both entrepreneurial and governmental, perfectly embodies the philosophy of this new era: when business serves power, and power protects business.
Driscoll, a former investment banker, does not hide his pragmatic vision: “We are in a hole from which we will not emerge without external creative solutions,” he reportedly said during the meeting. According to sources close to the Pentagon, the first agreements with private funds could be signed before the end of the year, setting a precedent in American military history.
### A Marriage of Money and Power
This new model of public-private collaboration redefines the very notion of economic sovereignty. By opening the doors of the Pentagon to Wall Street capital and Silicon Valley algorithms, the United States is not only looking to fund its military but also to turn its defense into an ecosystem of innovation and profit.
However, the move raises deep questions: can a nation maintain its strategic independence when its military infrastructure depends on private capital? Where does defense end and business begin?
Trump, true to his style, seems to have a clear answer. For him, power is built with influence and money. And if that means putting billionaires at the heart of the military apparatus, it will – according to his vision – be a price worth paying.
