Former President Donald Trump has significantly increased his wealth by a staggering $1.8 billion.
Trump’s wealth has received a significant boost with the emergence of his publicly traded company, Trump Media & Technology Group. This company’s primary asset is the popular social media platform Truth Social. In a recent regulatory filing, it was revealed that Trump was awarded an impressive bonus of 36 million shares as an “earnout” for the stock’s consistent performance, requiring it to stay above $17.50 per share for a period of 20 trading days within a 30-day timeframe.
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Trump’s stock bonus has given him control over 114.75 million shares of Trump Media, which is traded under the ticker DJT, representing his initials. As of today’s closing price, the total value of his stake is estimated at $5.7 billion.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Trump’s net worth stands at approximately $8 billion. The majority of his fortune is currently invested in DJT shares.
Trump’s stake in DJT received a significant boost due to the recent surge in the stock’s value. When Trump Media went public in late March, the stock initially experienced a peak at $79.38 per share. However, it was followed by a period of decline that prompted CEO Devin Nunes to accuse certain investors of engaging in illegal short selling, thereby manipulating the stock.
Since last Monday, the stock has experienced a significant surge, recovering a substantial portion of the lost ground. On Tuesday, shares witnessed a remarkable increase of $3.24 or 7%, reaching a price of $49.93.
Despite his newfound fortune, Trump will not be able to immediately access the funds. This is due to a lockup period that prevents him and other Trump Media executives from selling their shares for the next five months. Lockup periods are a standard practice for newly listed companies as they prevent insiders from quickly selling their stakes, which could potentially cause a decline in the company’s stock value.
Trump Media & Technology Group, a company that is currently operating at a loss and generated only $4.1 million in revenue last year, has granted Trump an additional stock, increasing his ownership to approximately 65%.
Many of the shareholders of Trump Media consist of small investors who are supporters of the former president. Nunes stated in an interview with Fox Business that the company has approximately 600,000 retail investors. On Truth Social, some of these investors expressed their excitement about Trump’s new ownership stake and even speculated that it could potentially impact short-sellers, who are traders that bet on a stock’s decline in value.
“One supporter on Truth expressed their astonishment, stating that Prezz and co effortlessly manipulated the situation to their advantage. They even shared a screenshot of an alert regarding the earnout to emphasize their point.”
