Topline
Donald Trump’s second term has seen three new ways—Trump Media & Technology Group, World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP meme coin—for allies, favor seekers, foreign firms and governments and pretty much anyone else to direct money to the president’s business empire.
People walk past an advertisement featuring Donald Trump with Bitcoin in Hong Kong. (Photo by May … More
Key Facts
Trump maintains control over and can profit from his businesses while in office through a revocable trust, of which he is both the sole donor and sole beneficiary.
In his first term, those looking to support Trump financially could lend him money against his real estate, license his name, buy his assets, join one of his clubs or book a hotel.
Since leaving office in 2021, Trump’s business empire expanded into the digital realm, where the products are often intangible, but the revenue streams are real and more accessible: Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of the Truth Social platform; World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance protocol; and the $TRUMP meme coin.
It’s just a few months into his second term, but people and groups are taking full advantage of the new opportunities: Chinese blockchain entrepreneur Justin Sun’s $30 million investment in World Liberty Financial, for example, helped the venture take off and the president and his family go on to net $400 million (by comparison, Forbes estimates it took a Chinese state-owned bank about four years to route $5.4 million to Trump via its Trump Tower lease).
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Forbes in a statement, “President Trump is compliant with all conflict-of-interest rules, and only acts in the best interests of the American public—which is why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.”
Spokespeople for the Trump Organization, Trump Media, the $TRUMP meme coin and World Liberty Financial did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump Media: Three Different Ways To Back His Media Business
Trump Media incorporated the month after Trump left the White House and went public in March 2024 through a merger with a blank check company. In addition to Truth Social, it runs the streaming service Truth+ and is expanding into financial services. Trump owns 115 million shares–about 52% of the company—worth $2.9 billion as of Friday’s close, held in his revocable trust. Buying shares directly from the company in a private sale would allow for the injection of large sums of cash, while open-market purchases help prop up the value of Trump’s stake. A Canadian credit union, a locality-run bank in Switzerland and a Japanese financial-services firm disclosed owning shares in Trump Media to the Securities and Exchange Commission, although the acquisitions were made prior to Trump’s inauguration. Advertising on Truth Social or Truth+ also offers ways to enrich the president. It doesn’t look like many big companies are taking advantage of this channel though: Trump Media reported just $821,000 in net sales for the first quarter in a filing on Friday. Its ad inventory currently appears to be dominated by the likes of MAGA retailers, conspiratorial pitches and promotions for Truth+ itself.
$trump Meme Coin Generates Millions In Transaction Fees
Trump launched his meme coin–a cryptocurrency with no intrinsic value that’s typically based on internet jokes and hype–three days before taking office, encouraging his 100 million followers on social media to “join my very special Trump Community” and “celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING!” (The coin quickly reached a $15 billion market cap, though it has since dropped to around $2.8 billion.) CIC Digital, a Trump Organization partner behind the meme coin and another company named Fight Fight Fight retained ownership of 80% of the coins, meaning rising demand boosts the value of their holdings. The plan is to release those holdings over the next three years. The companies also collect a transaction fee of 0.1% to 10% of each trade—an arrangement that generated almost $100 million in the first two weeks, Reuters reported, citing three crypto data firms. And last month, the companies launched a contest promising a black-tie-optional dinner with Trump at his D.C.-area golf club for the top 220 holders. The announcement spiked the coin’s price by 70%, though it has since settled to around $14. More than 70% of the largest holders appear to be based outside the United States, according to crypto researcher Molly White.
World Liberty Financial ($wlfi): Hundreds Of Millions From Sales
Trump serves as the chief crypto advocate and “inspiration” for this decentralized finance platform that debuted in September 2024. The protocol functions as a banking system on the blockchain, enabling peer-to-peer lending, fundraising and trading digital assets. Holders of its $WLFI token can propose and vote on rule changes. The company earns revenue through sales of its token and other products, including USD1–a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar. Trump and his family own about 60% of the company through an LLC and hold 22.5 billion $WLFI tokens, according to the website’s small print. The LLC also is entitled to 75% of the proceeds from token sales, less some deductions. In March, World Liberty Financial claimed it had sold $550 million worth of $WLFI, which should have translated to about $400 million in profit for Trump and his family. Stablecoins typically make money for their issuers by working similarly to a bank: the buyer makes a deposit, the issuer gives them coins and then it invests the deposit, keeping whatever profits it generates. Last week an investment fund backed by the Abu Dhabi government announced it would use USD1 to make a $2 billion investment in the crypto exchange Binance (which is not affiliated with Trump).
Key Background
Trump’s ventures into social media and cryptocurrency have transformed his post-presidency finances. He more than doubled his fortune in one year, according to Forbes’ estimates, largely due to Trump Media and digital assets. These new vehicles operate in sectors with minimal regulation, enabling flows of money that are faster and harder to trace than traditional real estate deals.
Contra
An ethics white paper the Trump Organization released in January noted that the Constitution does not prohibit any president from owning, operating or managing their businesses. But to “avoid even the appearance of any conflict,” the company hired an outside ethics advisor and Trump pledged to continue to keep his assets in a trust and not manage the company directly.
Surprising Fact
Since that white paper was published, the Trump Organization fired the outside attorney it had hired to serve as its ethics advisor after he drew the president’s wrath for also representing Harvard University.
Big Number
764,000. That’s how many people lost money on Trump’s meme coin, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis. Meanwhile, 58 people have each made more than $10 million, totaling $1.1 billion in gains.
Who’s Paying–and How Much?
The identities of those funneling money to the president through his businesses—or their reasons for doing so—are unlikely to ever be fully known.
Chief Critic
“The Founders would be alarmed by the advent of cryptocurrency,” said Jeff Hauser, the executive director of The Revolving Door Project, a government watchdog, during a hearing Wednesday held by the Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee. “Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has said that cryptocurrencies issued by politicians are ‘a perfect bribery vehicle.’ Why? Because they afford a degree of deniability that undermines any hope for criminal accountability.”
Crucial Quote
“I am not a fan of Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies, which are not money, and whose value is highly volatile and based on thin air,” Trump tweeted in 2019. “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity.
What We Don’t Know
The courts never ruled during Trump’s term whether a foreign government paying the president through one of his businesses violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause, which prohibits government officials from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” without the consent of Congress. The courts, in fact, never even settled who had standing to sue.
What To Watch For
Trump’s next financial disclosure is due May 15, although he could file for an extension until mid-August. The report is expected to detail revenue across his businesses—including Trump Media, World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP coin.
News Peg
Nine Senate Democrats withdrew support for a crypto-friendly bill last week, putting its passage in doubt, citing conflict-of-interest concerns about Trump and World Liberty Financial, the New York Times reported. On Tuesday, they introduced the End Crypto Corruption Act, which would ban the president and other officials from “issuing, endorsing or sponsoring crypto assets.” The Democrats’ moves come in the wake of news about the state-backed Emirati investment firm planning to use a World Liberty Financial stablecoin to invest $2 billion in another company.
Tangent
After his first term ended, Trump launched a slew of direct-to-consumer products, including NFT trading cards, a coffee table book of photos from his first administration that are largely in the public domain, Fight Fight Fight cologne, an inauguration-edition high-top sneaker, “Gulf of America: Yet Another Trump Development” trucker hats, autographed Bibles and a $47 gold note that contains about $11 worth of gold.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimates Donald Trump is worth about $5.4 billion, with much of his wealth coming from his shares in Trump Media.
Editor’s Note
In November 2023, Trump Media sued 20 media outlets, including Forbes, for reporting that included calculations of its financial results while still a private company. The defendants have moved to dismiss the claims.
Dan Alexander contributed reporting.
