One of President Donald Trump's top billionaire donors, who has spent the past several months backing a push for regime change in Venezuela, is about to cash in after the president's weekend kidnapping of the nation's president, Nicolas Maduro.

While he declined to tell members of Congress, Trump has said he tipped off oil executives before the illegal attack. At a press conference following the attack, he said the US would have "our very large United States oil companies" go into Venezuela, which he said the US will "run" indefinitely, and "start making money" for the United States.

As Judd Legum reported on Monday for Popular Information, among the biggest beneficiaries will be the billionaire investor Paul Singer:

In 2024, Singer, an 81-year-old with a net worth of $6.7 billion, donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump's Super PAC. Singer donated tens of millions more in the 2024 cycle to support Trump's allies, including $37 million to support the election of Republicans to Congress. He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump's second transition.

In November 2025, less than two months before Trump's operation to take over Venezuela, Singer's investment firm, Elliott Investment Management, inked a highly fortuitous deal.

It purchased Citgo, the US-based subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, for $5.9 billion—a sale that was forced by a Delaware court after Venezuela defaulted on its bond payments.

Elliott Management hailed the court order requiring the sale in a press release, saying it was "backed by a group of strategic US energy investors."

Singer acquired Citgo's three massive coastal refineries, 43 oil terminals, and more than 4,000 gas stations at a major discount because of its distressed status. Advisers to the court overseeing the sale estimated its value at $11-13 billion, while the Venezuelan government estimated it at $18 billion.

As Legum explained, the Trump administration's embargo on Venezuelan oil imports to the United States bore the primary responsibility for the company's plummeting value:

Citgo's [refineries] are purpose-built to process heavy-grade Venezuelan "sour" crude. As a result, Citgo was forced to source oil from more expensive sources in Canada and Colombia. (Oil produced in the United States is generally light-grade.) This made Citgo's operations far less profitable.