Key Takeaways
- Donald Trump and his family reportedly earned nearly $4 billion from the presidency.
- The family abandoned self-imposed restrictions on overseas business deals during Trump's second term.
- Earnings included various ventures like crypto, merchandise, and real estate, often linked to presidential status.
- The scale of these presidential financial gains is described as unprecedented in U.S. history.
Deep Dive
- Voluntary restrictions on overseas business deals from the first term were abandoned in Donald Trump's second term.
- Donald Trump Jr. noted media criticism occurred regardless of restrictions, prompting a more aggressive pursuit of opportunities.
- The family pursued numerous revenue streams, including crypto, merchandise, and official White House announcements on Trump's social media platform.
- Before his first term, Donald Trump was in a difficult financial situation, which worsened at the start of his second term due to hundreds of millions in lawsuit debts.
- Within six months of his second term, Trump's financial standing improved significantly.
- New Yorker reporter David Kirkpatrick estimates nearly $4 billion was earned by Trump and his family, including his sons, wife Melania, and son-in-law.
- The emoluments clauses restrict presidents from receiving benefits beyond their salary.
- Lawsuits regarding the Trump International Hotel in D.C. arose in his first term but were not fully litigated; the hotel reportedly yielded no profit for Trump at that time.
- The guest argues Trump is unique as the first president to make substantial money explicitly off the White House for himself and his family during his term.
- Trump's merchandise sales, including items like sneakers and Bibles, generated an estimated $27.7 million, with profits going directly to the Trump family.
- Truth Social contributed an estimated $25 million to media deals.
- Media-related projects, such as a movie about Melania Trump, and lawsuits against media companies collectively earned an estimated $91 million, attributed to Trump's presidential status.
- The Qatari Royal family gifted a private jet, valued at approximately $150 million, intended for the Trump Presidential Library.
- Mar-a-Lago is estimated to have gained $125 million, partly from hiking initiation fees from $100,000 to $1 million.
- Deals in Vietnam, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, including a 30-year contract in Oman, suggest preferential treatment, with an estimated $105.8 million gain for these Persian Gulf hotel deals.
- Total gains across hotel deals in the Persian Gulf, Vietnam, and Mar-a-Lago amounted to $271 million for the Trump family.
- Jared Kushner's private equity firm received a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia, despite an advisory board's unanimous negative assessment due to his lack of experience.
- Kushner reportedly gained $320 million from this investment, which is presented as unlikely without Trump's presidency.
- Donald Trump Jr. gained an estimated $19.6 million as a partner at $1789 Capital, a deal also deemed unlikely without his father's presidency.
- Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) featuring President Trump and his wife generated an estimated $14.4 million in sales.
- Token investments included a $900 million gain from World Liberty Financial and $374.5 million from USD1, a stablecoin whose main customer, the UAE government, agreed to purchase $2 billion in stablecoin.
- American Bitcoin, a Bitcoin mining company co-founded by the Trump brothers, is estimated to be worth $115 million for their 20% share, with their contribution primarily being their name.
- Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, rebranded as a Bitcoin holding company, with Trump owning a 41% stake valued at approximately $1.3 billion at the time of publication.
- The Trump meme coin is valued at $385 million, contributing to an estimated $3.8 billion in total gains for the family.
- Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21 states that no U.S. president has made money on the scale of Donald Trump.
- While examples of presidents' relatives benefiting exist, and historical conflicts of interest occurred, Trump's financial gains are considered unprecedented in both scale and directness.
- During his second term, Trump reportedly began implementing policies to directly benefit his family's businesses, a practice described as unparalleled in the U.S. presidency.
- New Yorker writer David Kirkpatrick continues to track the financial gains of Trump and his family.
- Within four months of Kirkpatrick's article's publication, their estimated profits had increased by half a billion dollars.
- The White House claims Trump does not profit from the presidency and has sacrificed potential business earnings, but has not directly disputed the reported financial gains.