Embedded Files
Trump has enriched himself during his second term even faster than the billionaires who funded his run for President.
Since Trump won the GOP nomination in early 2025, his net worth has almost tripled from $2.3 to $6.7 billion. [1]
Most of this gain comes from Trump and sons' various crypto businesses. In both their crypto and real estate ventures the Trumps have profited by selling access and influence to the rich and powerful. In his first term, Trump also profited from the presidency, but the scale of exploitation this term is orders of magnitude greater.
The Untrustworthy Trust
Donald Trump's Trust is managed by his children, including his son, Eric Trump.
According to Trump, as President, his business activities are subject neither to federal conflict of interest laws nor the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution. [2] Nevertheless, to avoid “even the appearance” of any conflict of interest, he issued an ethics policy before the start of his second term declaring that he would place the Trump Organization and all his business assets and investments into a trust and have “no involvement in [its] management.” [3] Because the arrangement does not create a blind trust, which presidents have traditionally used to insulate their financial interests from their political actions, but one actively managed by his children, Trump's claim to avoid any conflict of interest is simply not credible. [4]
In another sham commitment, the policy prohibits Trump businesses from dealing with foreign governments. Unlike his first term ethics policy, however, it does not prohibit dealings with foreign businesses and individuals, even if — as is frequently the case — they are acting as proxies for foreign governments. [5]
Not surprisingly, it is hard to identify Trump family business activities in his second term that do not raise potential conflict of interest concerns.
Crypto Adventures
Since Trump secured the GOP nomination in 2024, crypto ventures have become the main focus of the family’s business activities, and the main contributor to its net worth. The Trumps have launched multiple crypto-based lines of business, including the $TRUMP meme coin, the World Liberty Financial stablecoin, and American Bitcoin - a publicly traded bitcoin mining company.
Trump launched the $TRUMP memecoin three days before his 2025 inauguration, announcing on Truth Social:
Within two days, $TRUMP became the 19th most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, with a total trading value of nearly $13 billion. But the price soon collapsed. According to CNBC, 764,000 wallets lost money while 58 wallets made more than $10 million apiece totaling roughly $1.1 billion in gains. [6] Meanwhile Trump netted over $320 million in transaction fees. [7]
In May, Trump hosted a dinner and tour of the White House for the 220 largest $TRUMP holders. The dinner raised concerns about opportunities for foreign influence. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's Donald Sherman described it as "one of the most blatant and appalling instances of selling access to the presidency." Elizabeth Warren described the dinner as an "orgy of corruption.” [8]
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World Liberty Financial
World Liberty Financial is a crypto company, 60 percent owned by the Trump family, which began operations in September 2024, selling a crypto stablecoin called $WLFI. Before the election it sold only $2.7 million worth of WLFI tokens. [9] After the election investors bought $550 million [10], netting the Trump family over $400 million in fees. [11]
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American Bitcoin
ABTC is a publicly-traded bitcoin mining and treasury company, part owned by Eric and Donald Trump, which launched in April as a partnership with Canadian energy infrastructure company Hut 8. On Sep 3, it was listed on NASDAQ after merging with Gryphon Digital Mining. Eric Trump owns 7.5% of the stock, which as of October 1, was worth $488 million. [12]
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Trump Media and Technology Group
Trump Media and Technology Group, which owns Trump’s social media platform Truth Social, has, despite consistently losing money, been able to use the Trump name to raise $2.5 billion, which it has invested in a Bitcoin company treasury. TMTG also plans to launch Trump-branded crypto investment funds. [13]
Branded Properties
The Trump Organization’s real estate business is no longer primarily based on owned and operated property developments. In recent years Trump has sold off many of his properties, including the Washington D.C. Old Post Office, while retail business in remaining properties like Trump Tower has flagged. [14] Still, Trump values his real estate holdings, along with other business ventures outside of crypto, at $1.3 billion. [15]
Since his first term, Trump has focused on licensing his name to projects owned by foreign property developers. Many of these developers are connected to the foreign governments. Putting the Trump name on a building may or may not improve the attractiveness of the development to future residents and customers, but the deal provides a perfect opportunity for the developer, and any government with influence over the developer, to curry favor with the President.
As of July 2025, there were at least 21 ongoing foreign Trump-branded real estate projects,[16] with 12 launched since Trump’s election win. Many of these are in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. [17]
For instance, in May Eric Trump announced a deal to build the $5.5 billion Trump International Golf Club, Simaisma — “a beachside ultra luxury community” in Qatar with an 18-hole golf course and luxury villas. [18] In September, the Saudi-based property developer, Dar Global, announced plans to launch its second Trump-branded development, the Trump Plaza in Jeddah. [19] A Trump Tower in the same city is already in the works. Trump-branded properties make up 18% of Dar’s $8 billion portfolio. [20]
Conflicts of Interest
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World Liberty Financial’s “dealings have created conflicts of interest with no precedent in modern U.S. history. Some of the investors who bought $WLFI coins are foreign nationals who have been barred from supporting a president via campaign contributions or donations to the inaugural fund.”
The New York Times [21]
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President Trump's involvement in [crypto], as he strips financial regulators of their independence…presents an extraordinary conflict of interest that could create unprecedented risks to our financial system."
Letter to financial regulators signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, and Chris Van Hollen [22]
Trump’s crypto ventures have opened multiple avenues for influence buying by both domestic and foreign actors, belying the claims of Trump's spokesperson that his family’s business activities pose no conflict of interest because they are managed by his sons.
Justin Sun, the crypto billionaire famous for buying and eating a $6.2 million banana duct-taped to the wall, who runs the TRON crypto platform, bought $75 million of WLFI tokens. Sun was being sued by the SEC for securities fraud. The SEC dropped the case against him. [23]
Perhaps the most egregious case of Trump’s crypto influence peddling is a $2 billion buy of $WLFI coins by an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund in May 2025. Just two weeks later, Trump declared that the U.S. would provide the United Arab Emirates with the advanced chips needed for a vast new artificial-intelligence data center, despite long-standing concerns regarding the U.A.E.’s close ties to China. The Trump family profited $243 million from the deal, which Trump's crypto czar David Sacks and Steve Witkoff, Trump's Middle East envoy, played key roles in negotiating. Witkoff’s son is a partner in World Liberty Financial. [24]
Trump has found multiple other means of profiting from his political position in addition to crypto and branding since his re-election. In many cases the payment was likely made to secure a specific action, in others just generalized goodwill.
After Justin Sun bought $75 million of $WLFI tokens, the SEC dropped their case against him.
Image source: Calvin Sit, Bloomberg, Getty Images
Trump meeting with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the White House in March 2025.
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Disney led the way in December 2024 by settling for $16 million Trump’s suit against its subsidiary ABC News claiming he was defamed when George Stephanopoulos said a jury had found him liable for rape rather than sexual assault. [25]
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In July, CBS News, which was then owned by Paramount, agreed to pay $16 million to the Trump Library foundation to settle a lawsuit claiming that it had engaged in election interference by editing an interview with Kamala Harris. Legal experts regarded the suit as frivolous. At the time, Paramount was seeking Federal Communications Commission approval for its sale to Skydance Media. The FCC approved the sale two weeks after the settlement. [26]
Social media platforms have also handed over millions to settle Trump’s lawsuits claiming that they violated his First Amendment rights when they suspended his accounts following his support for the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
💰 Meta led the way in January with a $25 million donation to the Trump Library, [27] followed a month later by X, which paid $10 million. [28]
💰 On September 29, Google agreed to pay $22 million toward the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” to settle Trump’s suit protesting his ban from YouTube. [29] Democratic senators have asked whether Google made this payment in hope of persuading DOJ not to appeal an unfavorable lower court decision in its high stakes antitrust case against the company. [30]
💰 Meanwhile, although Amazon has no Trump lawsuits to settle, MGM studios – which Amazon acquired in 2022 – has paid Melania Trump $40 million to film a documentary about her experience as first lady, which is scheduled for release in January 2026. [31]
The White House Ballroom project has proved an ideal channel for corporations and oligarchs to provide financial proof of their loyalty to the president. On October 15, while hundreds of thousands of federal workers went unpaid due to the government shutdown, Trump hosted a candlelit thank-you dinner for project donors. Invitees included Amazon, Coinbase, Apple, Microsoft, Blackstone CEO, Stephen A. Schwarzman, the Winklevoss Twins, as well defense contractors including Lockheed Martin and Palantir. Since donations have exceeded the $250 million target, Trump has floated the possibility of using the surplus funds to build a triumphal arch. [21]
Another controversial gift to Trump is the $400 million luxury Boeing 747 donated by the government of Qatar in May 2025 to function as the new Air Force One. In his first term, Trump accused Qatar of funding Islamist terrorism. [33] But since the gift was made, the Trump family has announced multiple private business deals with companies based in the U.A.E., agreed to host a Qatari airbase in Idaho [34], and taken the unprecedented step of extending NATO defense guarantees to the Emirate following the Israeli attack on Sep. 9.[35] Republican Senator Susan Collins described the deal “rife with political espionage, ethical and constitutional problems.” [36]
Personal Gains from Campaign Contributions & Political Spending
Despite his claimed riches, Trump has not invested his personal funds in his political campaigns. In fact money has flowed in the opposite direction. Trump exploited loopholes in campaign finance law – which generally prohibits campaign funds being used for personal expenses – to use donations to his political action committees to pay his huge legal bills. [37] His Save America leadership PAC spent over $90 million on Trump’s legal expenses, twice as much as it did on supporting all other GOP candidates combined. [38]
Trump also profits when political allies use his properties to host events. By August of his second term, pro-Trump PACs, allied political organizations including the Republic National Committee, and multiple individual GOP Congressional representatives had spent over $900,000 at his facilities. This is over four times as much as the same groups spent over the same period in 2017. [39]
Trump & Sons, Inc.
The junior members of the Trump clan have shared in and helped drive the sudden increase in the family’s fortune. Son-in-law Jared Kushner’s net worth is estimated at $1 billion, bolstered in part by contributions to his private equity firm from Gulf State investors whom he cultivated as envoy to the Middle East during the first Trump administration. [40] Eric Trump’s fortune is estimated at $750 million thanks largely to his 7.5% share in American Bitcoin and his 10% share of $WLFI token sales. That’s up from $40 million last year. [41] Elder brother Donald Jr. also has stakes in American Bitcoin and $WLFI sales and has a net worth of $500 million, up from $50 million in 2024. [42] Even their 19-year-old brother, Barron is now worth $150 million, thanks largely to his stake in World Liberty Financial. [43] Crypto has been the main wealth driver for all three Trump sons, and they appear to have played a key role in convincing their Dad that crypto was the perfect method of monetizing the family’s name and power.
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Sources:
1. Forbes, Billionaires List.
2. https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/ea6760794c5e7239/0b5172f7-full.pdf
3. https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/ea6760794c5e7239/0b5172f7-full.pdf
4. https://apnews.com/article/trump-conflicts-of-interest-business-ventures-b7b853a34bde366c30d3b22e8ae08f09
5. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-business-booms-overseas-ethics-questions-2080453, https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/trump-foreign-development-tracker/
6. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/06/trump-meme-coin-crypto.html?msockid=31f0d44a0c276d58056fc2460d8a6c83
7. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/05/09/trump-family-profited-usd320m-on-memecoin-despite-87-decline-since-day-one.
8. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/elizabeth-warren-calls-donald-trump-s-148m-memecoin-dinner-an-orgy-of-corruption/ar-AA1FkWWp.
9. https://coinpushttps://accountable.us/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/2025-04-30-A.US-World-Liberty-Financial-Foreign-Buyers.pdfh.app/crypto-exchanges-list-trump-wlfi-token/.
10. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/offbeat/trump-crypto-project-raises-550m-in-wlfi-token-sale-defying-early-stumbles/ar-AA1AVEjC.
11. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-trump-family-took-over-crypto-firm-it-raised-hundreds-millions-2025-03-31/.
13. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/27/3088703/0/en/Trump-Media-Announces-Approximately-2-5-Billion-Bitcoin-Treasury-Deal.html
14. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/trump-finances-crypto.html
15. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/02/business/donald-trump-wealth-net-worth.html
16. https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/trump-foreign-development-tracker/ Updated July 18, 2025
17. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/us/politics/eric-donald-jr-trump-family-deals.html
18. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/13/trump-mideast-business-conflicts/
19. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/in-a-deal-with-trump-organization-dar-global-will-launch-a-1-billion-project-in-saudi-arabia
20. https://www.ft.com/content/9907c8f7-6b37-4ff1-bc8c-d49eabf62dce
23. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-spent-62-million-banana-duct-taped-wall-says-going-eat-rcna181172. https://blocknews.com/justin-sun-gets-blacklisted-by-world-liberty-finance-for-dumping-wlfi-here-is-what-happened/.
24. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/trump-uae-chips-witkoff-world-liberty.html.
25. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/disney-s-settlement-with-donald-trump-bob-iger-s-16-million-decision-fear-at-abc-news-and-questions-about-george-stephanopoulos-future/ar-AA1w6qBw
26. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/02/nx-s1-5290171/trump-lawsuit-paramount-cbs-60-minutes-kamala-harris
27. https://apnews.com/article/trump-meta-settlement-zuckerberg-capitol-riot-9939e52679364080c983e0cab739b805
28. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/x-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-trump-over-prior-twitter-suspension/ar-AA1yWD28
29. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5528037-youtube-pays-trump-settlement/
30. https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/final_warren_follow-up_letter_to_google_and_youtube_re_youtube_settlement.pdf
31. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/11/melania-trump-documentary-amazon-release-date/86644288007/
32. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/15/trump-ballroom-donations-companies/
33. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-calling-qataris-funders-terrorism-resurfaces-amid-jet-fury-2071700
34. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/selling-america-piece-by-piece-trump-allows-qatari-base-in-idaho-after-taking-400m-jet-and-golf-deal/ar-AA1Oegxa
35. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/trump-promises-to-defend-qatar-in-wake-of-israeli-missile-strikes-00589638
36. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/15/susan-collins-trump-qatar-jet-gift-criticism.html
37. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/trumps-use-campaign-funds-pay-legal-bills
38. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-new-fundraising-pac_n_672e8a76e4b0933e82c9f5a7
39. https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/political-spending-tops-900k-at-trump-properties-since-inauguration/
40. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/09/22/heres-how-much-the-trump-kids-have-made-because-of-the-presidency/; https://thehill.com/policy/international/5549996-kushner-trump-peace-deal/
41. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2025/09/22/heres-how-much-the-trump-kids-have-made-because-of-the-presidency
42. Id.
43. Id.
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