Donald Trump Jr.'s Wedding Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Tied to Putin
Donald Trump Jr. Russian Oligarch Linked To Putin Paid Wedding Tab?!?
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7:56 AM PT -- Donald Trump Jr.'s wife, Bettina Anderson, says the Russian oligarch is a "dear friend" who "very generously hosted two nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding."
Bettina says only family members were invited to the actual wedding ceremony and the rest of the weekend's lavish festivities were "an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend."
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She added photos from the weekend and said, "Friendship doesn't require a political motive. Generosity doesn't automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift."
Donald Trump Jr. apparently had one helluva wedding hookup ... because a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin reportedly bankrolled the lavish affair.
According to ProPublica, Russian businessman Umar Kremlev spent hundreds of thousands of dollars helping pay for Don Jr.'s extravagant May wedding to Bettina Anderson in the Bahamas.
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The outlet reports Kremlev paid to rent out one of the private islands used for the celebration, where guests stayed and where a reception was held ... and he also allegedly covered other pricey extras, including the fireworks show.
The three-day bash was no backyard affair, either. ProPublica says the wedding stretched across two ultra-exclusive private islands, with helicopters and seaplanes ferrying in guests, a five-tier cake flown in from Florida and plenty of beachside partying.
Kremlev is said to be among the roughly 50 guests who attended the intimate celebration ... and he reportedly arrived with a noticeable group of other Russian attendees.
The Putin connection is where things get especially interesting.
Kremlev heads the International Boxing Association and has long-standing ties to the Russian government. ProPublica reports Putin awarded him Russia's Order of Friendship just one month before the wedding, and Kremlev had been around Putin in China in the days leading up to Don Jr.'s big weekend.
Don Jr.'s rep did not dispute Kremlev helped pay for the festivities ... telling ProPublica the two are personal friends who met through a mutual connection in the hunting world and bonded over boxing and the outdoors.
The spokesperson insisted Kremlev is not a business associate of Don Jr.'s.
As for why a Russian oligarch reportedly shelled out big bucks for the president's son's wedding ... ProPublica says that remains unclear.
Bottom line ... when it came time to say "I do," Don Jr. apparently had a very generous friend in his corner.
