"Government settlement money is going to a Trump neighbor’s private equity fund."
"The Trump administration’s latest deal to cancel offshore wind projects and boost fossil fuel energy development instead is generating a huge payday for one of the president’s million-dollar donors.
Behind the windfall is a settlement stipulating that German energy giant RWE will receive $1.2 billion from a federal fund on the condition that it gives up its offshore wind leases in New York, California and Louisiana and invests in unspecified oil, gas or nuclear “conventional energy” projects.
Most of the payout — $900 million — will be spent by RWE to buy a stake in a massive Louisiana liquefied natural gas project, according to statements from RWE and Woodside Energy, the majority owner of the gas project.
What hasn’t been previously reported is that the stake is being purchased from a private equity fund run by Australian billionaire Michael Dorrell, who owns a mansion on a private island near Mar-a-Lago and has boasted of socializing with President Donald Trump’s inner circle at the club. Dorrell personally gave $926,300 to the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee two weeks after Trump was elected for a second term in late 2024 and another $73,700 a few weeks later, according to federal filings. (The Australia native also has U.S. citizenship.)"
Evan Halper reports for the Washington Post August 27, 2026.
