How Trump’s Aviation Company Earned $18 Million From His Campaign Apparatus—After It Received $13 Million From The Secret Service

Topline

The Secret Service has paid about $13 million for air travel since 2016 to Donald Trump’s political campaigns and fundraising committees—which then paid his private aviation company, Tag Air, $18 million, underscoring how Trump’s political operation can generate revenue, including from the taxpayers, for his business empire.

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump exits his plane during his trip to the border in July 2015 … More in Laredo, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Busch/Getty Images)

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Key Facts

The Secret Service has paid Trump’s political committees about $13 million for air travel since 2016, a spokesperson confirmed to Forbes, to cover the costs of having the security detail travel with Trump.

Federal Election Commission data from Trump’s committees, which runs through Dec. 31, list $10.4 million in payments and about another $5 million in outstanding bills, and the Secret Service says the difference probably involves invoices paid after Dec. 31 as well as those it might not have processed yet.

Trump’s political entities have paid his aviation company, Tag Air, $18 million for flights since 2016.

Secret Service payments to past presidential campaigns include $830,000 to Kamala Harris, $3.1 million to Joe Biden, $8.8 million to Hillary Clinton, $4.1 million to Barack Obama, $1.8 million to Mitt Romney and $2.6 million to John McCain.

Those earlier campaigns, however, do not appear to have passed the funds on to companies the candidates own.

A spokesperson for the White House declined to comment on the record, while a representative from the Trump Organization did not respond to an inquiry.

Key Background

Trump maintains control over and can profit from his businesses through a revocable trust—a structure he also used during his first term—of which he is both the sole donor and sole beneficiary. The trustee is Donald Trump Jr. Through his trust, Trump owns 100% of Tag Air. In an April 2025 court filing in the United Kingdom, the Trump Organization confirmed Trump still oversees his business interests.

Why Does The Secret Service Need To Pay Campaigns?

The Secret Service reimburses campaigns for travel when agents accompany protected candidates (it is also legal for campaigns to patronize the candidate’s businesses). “In such cases, the agency reimburses associated costs in accordance with federal regulations,” a spokesperson for the Secret Service said in a statement. “Once reviewed and approved, invoices are processed and paid.” While the agency sets rates, the Government Accountability Office reported in 2018 that payments should not exceed the cost of first-class airfare—and found that Trump’s 2016 campaign submitted incomplete and duplicate invoices, which the agency paid without dispute.

What We Don’t Know

It’s unclear whether all of the Secret Service payments covered flights aboard Trump’s personal aircraft or if some involved planes chartered from other providers.

What To Watch For

Trump is no longer flying on Tag Air—as president, he uses the government-funded Air Force One—so this revenue stream for Tag Air is closed. But Trump still has some money coming his way: his political committees owe Tag Air $160,000, according to FEC filings. The next round of disclosures, which could reveal new payments, is due at the end of July..

News Peg

While Trump profiting from his campaigns and presidencies has been a decade-long story, the scale has exploded during his second term, fueled by three new ways—Trump Media & Technology Group, World Liberty Financial and the $TRUMP meme coin—that allow supporters to buy into Trump-branded ventures with few concrete benefits in return. Thursday night, for example, Trump hosted a dinner at his D.C.-area golf club for top investors in his meme coin, a group who have collectively thrown hundreds of millions of dollars at his cryptocurrency.

Big Number

$33,846,072.69. That’s the total amount the Secret Service has paid to political committees since 2003, according to FEC records.

Surprising Fact

Trump’s Boeing 757, the same jet often used on the campaign trail, was previously owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. Trump customized it with touches like 24-karat gold-plated seatbelt buckles.

Tangent

A 2024 report by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee found the Secret Service spent at least $1.4 million at Trump-owned properties during his first term—often paying above authorized per diem rates—and called that figure likely just a fraction of total agency spending at his businesses. For comparison, the agency paid Joe Biden about $172,000 between 2011 and 2023, largely for renting office space at his Wilmington, Delaware, home, with payments apparently ending in 2017, according to the Secret Service’s response to Forbes’ Freedom of Information Act request.

Forbes Valuation

Forbes estimates Donald Trump’s net worth at approximately $5.3 billion, with the bulk of his wealth tied to his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group.