Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Thursday, October 9th. Today on Forbes, billionaire Trump

donor John Paulson scores windfall thanks to government's investment in trilogy medals. The

federal government's $35.6 million investment for a 10% stake in a small Vancouver-based mining business produced a

windfall for its investors, one of whom Donald Trump is already very familiar with.

Billionaire John Paulson owned an 8.7% stake in Trilogy Metals as of the end of June.

The stock tripled in After Hours trading Monday night, after the deal was

announced, and opened 245% higher Tuesday, pushing the value of Paulson's shares from $30 million

to $100 million. Coinciding with the investment, the White House provided authorization

for a 211-mile access road to Alaska's

remote Ambler mining district.

Trilogy and an Australian mining firm, called South 32, jointly own Ambler Metals LLC,

which manages the Upper Kobach mineral projects, a 472,000-acre expanse in northwestern Alaska, home to a

healthy supply of copper, cobalt, and other metals. The project is still in the development

and exploration stage, and trilogy has yet to generate any revenue. Former President Joe Biden's

administration had blocked construction of the proposed Ambler Road last year

because of its impact on Native American communities in the area.

Trump's White House statement crowed that the agreement will, quote,

prioritize economic growth in national security, delivering where Democrats have failed to harness

America's resources.

It didn't mention the personal benefit for one of his most loyal allies. Paulson, who founded the hedge fund Paulson

and Co in 1994, and now runs it as a family office, was one of Trump's earliest supporters

on Wall Street, joining his economic policy team during his first presidential

...