The New York Times has investigated the four-country network of Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon, who married Alina Habba, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, in September. The newspaper based its reporting on interviews with more than 24 people familiar with the events.
Mildon, 29, grew up in a town near the Dardanelles where his family ran auto repair shops and gas stations, and is now CEO of Miller Holding. Speaking to Forbes Türkiye in October, he said: “In my grandfather’s time know-how mattered; now it is know-who.”
A first marriage and Congo
According to the Times, Mildon’s international rise coincided with his 2021 marriage to Betül Gürsoy, daughter of Gürsoy Group executive Abdurrahman Gürsoy, whose brother Hasan Gürsoy is a high school friend of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Mildon later became an adviser to Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi, whom he met at an event in Istanbul, and obtained a Congolese diplomatic passport in 2023.
Cement and shrimp in Venezuela
In Venezuela, where he arrived in late 2023, Mildon grew close to Alex Saab, Maduro’s confidant and then industry minister, who in March 2025 gave him a contract to run state cement plants. He later took over a shrimp company seized by the government and in June 2025 became engaged to the daughter of Adm. Remigio Ceballos, a senior military figure under Maduro. His spokesperson said his relationship with Saab was professional and that the cement contract was competitively bid against four rivals.
The Times reported that Mildon tried to build a bridge between Saab and Republicans close to Trump and met Habba through Richard Grenell, Trump’s special envoy for Venezuela. Two sources said the administration had considered sanctioning Mildon; his spokesperson dismissed that as a “completely false and malicious rumor.”
Termination put on hold
After Maduro’s capture in January, interim leader Delcy Rodríguez had the cement plants audited and in June decided to terminate the contract. But according to two people close to her, Rodríguez suspended the decision after learning of Mildon’s relationship with Habba. His spokesperson said the company only learned of the termination on Oct. 8 and considers it a mistake.
The couple’s New York wedding was attended by Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel and White House Counsel Will Scharf. Habba said she had never approached the administration on her husband’s behalf.
