SoftBank Donated $50 Million to Trump Library Before Federal Data Center Deal

SoftBank Group, through its SB Energy affiliate, is planning a 10-gigawatt AI data center on U.S. Department of Energy land at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio. The project, paired with as much as 10 GW of new generation, is part of Washington’s effort to expand domestic AI infrastructure and channel Japanese investment into the United States, making the terms of federal land access and corporate influence politically sensitive.

SoftBank disclosed in a response to a June 30 congressional inquiry that it donated $50 million to the Trump Presidential Library in January 2026. The Energy Department announced the Ohio land-lease partnership with SB Energy on March 20, only two months later. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representative Melanie Stansbury said the sequence raised potential bribery and quid-pro-quo concerns. No wrongdoing has been established, and the disclosure by itself does not prove the donation was tied to the lease.