Donald Trump Jr.’s wife says Russian oligarch hosted post-wedding festivities as a “gift”

Updated on: September 14, 2026 / 12:37 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Bettina Anderson, the wife of the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Instagram Monday to confirm that Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev hosted some of their May post-wedding festivities on a private island in the Bahamas as "an extraordinarily generous wedding gift."

Her post comes after ProPublica published a story Monday morning with the headline, "Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas wedding was secretly bankrolled by Russian oligarch close to Putin."

Anderson said the Russian businessman, whom she called "our dear friend," hosted two nights of celebrations after their wedding. Kremlev is the secretary general of the International Boxing Federation and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

She said the wedding itself was for family only. President Trump did not attend, citing his responsibilities in Washington.

"The weekend that followed had actually been planned well in advance as a fun weekend with friends," she said. "It was never intended to be our wedding weekend. When our original wedding plans changed, we simply decided to get married before it and arrived at an already planned weekend as newlyweds. Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/