Corporate filings for a new yerba mate drinks company have placed Barron Trump, 19, under scrutiny over the address used to register the business. The listing ties his first known commercial venture to a Palm Beach mansion owned by a longtime friend and donor to President Donald Trump.
The company, Sollos Yerba Mate Inc., names the president's youngest son as a director and is registered near Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Ethics advocates say the overlap of family connections, political donors and federal contracting can invite questions about influence, even in the absence of any allegation of illegality.
Filing Puts Palm Beach Address Under Scrutiny
Sollos Yerba Mate Inc plans to sell yerba mate, a caffeinated herbal tea popular across South America, and has registered in both Florida and Delaware. The company's filings tie it to a Palm Beach property valued at approximately $16 million (approximately £11.9 million), owned by real estate developer Jay Weitzman, described as a longtime friend of the president and a donor to his political campaigns. Weitzman's parking firm, Park America, has received federal contracts for decades.
Jay Weitzman's Donor History Adds a Political Dimension
Weitzman has denied any involvement in Barron Trump's venture, saying he has never used his relationship with the president for financial gain. 'Neither I nor any of my family has ever made money from whatever relationship we have had with the president,' he said. His past political giving is nonetheless documented: he donated approximately $25,000 (approximately £18,500) towards Trump's first inauguration and $2,700 (approximately £2,000) to Trump's presidential campaign in August 2016.
A spokesperson for Sollos Yerba Mate said Weitzman 'has zero association with the business.'
Watchdogs See 'Fishy' Conflicts and 'Pay-to-Play Corruption' Risk
The reporting does not allege wrongdoing by Weitzman, but critics say the facts are enough to raise red flags about conflicts of interest. Norm Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund and a former Barack Obama ethics official, said Barron Trump's business 'opens yet another potential avenue of seeking to influence the president through his family's assorted business schemes.'
Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, director of government affairs at the non-partisan watchdog Project on Government Oversight, said the connections looked 'fishy from the standpoint of government ethics and conflicts of interest.' He added: 'A company that receives federal contract awards whose principals are also major donors and personal connections of the president is, at minimum, the appearance of impropriety and possible pay-to-play corruption.'
Hedtler-Gaudette also argued the pattern has become harder to ignore. 'While this kind of thing is not new, it is the kind of thing that has become extremely brazen and more common during the second Trump administration.'
Barron Trump’s yerba mate business raises ethical concerns due to ties with his father’s political allies. 🏛️
— unumihai Media (@unumihaimedia) February 27, 2026
Jay Weitzman denies involvement, despite his political donations and business ties to Donald Trump. 🚫 pic.twitter.com/nAK4xJdB17
Directors And School Ties Add to Sollos Yerba Mate Questions
Alongside Barron Trump, the directors listed for Sollos Yerba Mate include Spencer Bernstein, Rodolfo Castillo, Stephen Hall and Valentino Gomez. Bernstein, who is Weitzman's grandson, also lives at the Palm Beach address listed in the filings. Both Bernstein and Hall are believed to have attended Oxbridge Academy alongside Barron Trump, adding a further personal dimension to the company's directorship.
