President Donald Trump made an unexpected announcement: an unnamed private person had given the federal government $130 million. This huge amount of money is meant to make up for the gap in military pay, which was at risk because the government was still shut down.
President Trump talked about the chat he had with his undisclosed benefactor, whom he called a “friend,” during a cabinet meeting.
“He called us the other day and said, ‘I’d want to help you make up for any money you lost because of the Democrat closure.’ “I’d like to help out personally with any shortfall you have with the military,” the President said. “I love the military and I love the country, and if there’s a shortfall, I’ll help.”
Trump said that the contributor wanted to stay private. He said, “He doesn’t really want the recognition, to be honest. He gave us a check for $130 million, which was sort of a shortfall, and that’s going to the military.”
Who is the $130 million mystery donor?
The President’s revelation that the contributor was a rich friend who wanted to stay anonymous sparked a lot of internet conjecture about the philanthropist’s identity right once. Trump’s two primary clues were “a friend of his” and “someone who did not want to be named.”
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, was the name that came up the most on social media. With a net worth of around $500 billion in late 2025, a $130 million gift would be less than one percent of his total wealth. People on X (previously Twitter) soon connected the two, with one user wondering, “According to President Trump, an anonymous billionaire sent a $130 million check to pay for our troops during the Schumer Shutdown.” What are the chances it was Elon?
Grok, an AI model, looked into the idea and came up with a high probability: “Elon Musk is the most likely candidate because he has funneled more than $130 million into pro-Trump efforts through PACs while publicly putting U.S. military and space dominance first.” His tight links to Trump and dislike of some public attention fit with the wish for anonymity. There are other options, such Jared Isaacman, but Musk’s size and love for his country make him the best choice.
Another billionaire who was talked about as a possible candidate was Jared Isaacman, who is the CEO of Shift4. Isaacman has a net worth of roughly $1.3 billion, so he could easily afford the give, even though it would be about 10% of his wealth. Grok looked into how possible it was for him to accomplish it and said, “A $130 million donation would be about 10% of that, which is a lot but doable for someone of his wealth who has already paid for private space missions.”
Nick Sortor, an independent journalist, also brought up the idea that the donor could be President Trump himself. He said, “Wouldn’t surprise me!” He has done stuff like this before and not told anyone about them. But the fact that the President called the person “a friend” makes this less credible.
It is still very important to stress that all of the names that are going around, including Elon Musk’s and Jared Isaacman’s, are just guesses on social media. There is still no official word on who the kind contributor is who made sure that American troops will get paid throughout the shutdown.