For Trump, power is more important than money.
Written by: Tom Maloney, Bloomberg.
Translated by: Luffy, Foresight News.
A few hours before the end of voting on U.S. Election Day, Donald Trump’s social media company released a dismal financial status update: in the first nine months of 2024, the company’s sales were only $2.6 million, with an operating loss of up to $363 million.
But less than 12 hours later, as news emerged that the former president would return to the White House with an overwhelming advantage, the company’s stock price surged by 60%, and Trump's personal wealth instantly increased by $2.4 billion.
The market is always predicting who will wield power in Washington. But when it comes to assessing the net worth of a U.S. president, there’s no clearer way than looking at Trump’s personal wealth. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates Trump’s personal wealth to be around $6.7 billion.
Trump's victory will solidify his business empire across media, real estate, and cryptocurrency, which largely relies on his image, brand, and most importantly, his political power. Additionally, with Trump now capable of defusing multiple legal disputes that threaten his business and freedom, the prospects for many of his investments have never looked so bright.
One of the many benefits of being president is that this authoritative position is likely to bring significant advantages in the difficult negotiations regarding some of Trump’s real estate assets. Real estate experts say that because Trump occupies a central role in Republican politics, the value of his Palm Beach club Mar-a-Lago has increased. Not to mention that investors, whether Americans or from other countries, will seek to partner with him to establish some connection with the White House.
“Maybe his net worth will reach $100 billion. I don’t know, he will figure it out, he really will,” said Louise Sunshine, former executive vice president of the Trump Organization who participated in the development of Trump Tower. “He will be richer and more powerful than ever.”
Donald Trump arrives at the Palm Beach Conference Center for the election night vote counting party.
The stock price of Trump Media Technology Group (ticker: DJT) experienced a brief rise on Wednesday, ultimately increasing by 5.8%.
But experts say regaining the presidency means that the 78-year-old Trump is just beginning to reap the economic rewards of his extraordinary political comeback. Eric Trump, executive vice president of Trump Organization and Donald Trump's second son, did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump Media Technology Group.
The most apparent growth in Trump's wealth comes from Trump Media Technology Group. This company is his largest asset during the election date, valued at $3.9 billion. For a long time, the company’s stock trading price has remained independent of its fundamentals, more often resembling a betting market related to Trump’s return to the White House.
Whether the company can maintain a market value of nearly $8 billion remains an open question. On Tuesday, Trump Media Technology Group reported that it lost $19 million in the third quarter, with revenue of only $1 million, indicating that even in the midst of the election season, demand for advertising on the Truth Social platform (Note: Truth Social is a social media platform under Trump Media Technology Group) is minimal.
During the Nashville 2024 Bitcoin Conference, a sign featuring Donald Trump's logo hangs at the Moonshot booth. Photo source: Bloomberg.
Occasionally, there are unverified speculations that Trump’s most famous billionaire supporter, Elon Musk, might merge Truth Social with X website. Both parties have not acknowledged such rumors, but Truth Social stated this week that it “will continue to explore other growth possibilities, such as potential mergers.”
Trump has experienced several failures throughout his business career. He attempted to capitalize on the popularity of The Apprentice (Note: The Apprentice is a reality show co-produced by Mark Burnett Productions and Trump Productions that premiered in January 2004, with Trump as the host) by branding products such as Trump Water, Trump Vodka, Trump Perfume, and Trump Steaks, most of which failed. To this day, he has some failed examples, such as a Bible he endorsed, from which he earned $300,000.
But cryptocurrency has opened a new, lucrative avenue for promoting the Trump brand.
Cryptocurrency venture capital.
According to a disclosure document from Trump in August, his NFT collection (digital trading cards showcasing him in various poses and outfits, each selling for $99) generated a total income of $7.2 million.
Arca portfolio manager Sasha Fleyshman stated, “While Trump’s victory would have an indirect impact on collections related to him, these impacts are largely based on nostalgia and have no strong correlation with the election in the long run.”
At the 2024 Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, cards featuring portraits of Donald Trump and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht are being sold. Photo source: Bloomberg.
World Liberty Financial, spearheaded by the Trump family, has sold millions of dollars worth of tokens to fund a cryptocurrency lending platform that has yet to be created. Trump has embraced cryptocurrency and promised some support for the industry, such as firing Gary Gensler, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Mar-a-Lago.
As for Mar-a-Lago, the venue for Trump’s election night party, it has always been a prime location; but as the winter White House for the president of the United States, its value has risen to another level.
During Trump's first term, he spent a considerable amount of time there, orchestrating several major actions, such as the assassination of a senior Iranian general. This is a must-visit place for business executives, lobbyists, and foreign emissaries hoping to reach Trump. Even after Trump's defeat in the 2020 election, it remains central to his image.
Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo source: Getty Images.
According to his latest ethical disclosure, Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates the value of Mar-a-Lago at $250 million, with an income of $56 million over the 16 months since January 2023, compared to $21 million in 2021.
The club manager of Trump’s estate stated in an interview with Bloomberg in June that starting in October, the new membership fee for Mar-a-Lago has increased from $700,000 to $1 million. Before Trump’s victory in 2016, the membership fee for Mar-a-Lago was $100,000.
Real estate.
Trump's New York properties will also benefit from his new presidential status, one of which is a commercial office building located at 40 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan.
The occupancy rate of the office building in June was 74%, down from 98% in 2015, when the company provided a $160 million loan. The office building has been impacted by the rise of remote work after the COVID pandemic and high interest rates, with downtown Manhattan being one of the most severely affected areas in New York. According to the latest loan reviews, the Art Deco building from the 1920s generated enough profit in June to cover only 62% of its debt costs.
Trump Tower located at 40 Wall Street in New York's Financial District. Photo source: Bloomberg.
Ruth Colp-Haber, CEO of Wharton Realty Advisors, stated that in the event of Trump serving as president, “for obvious reasons, any extreme actions by lenders or landlords would be difficult to implement.”
Even the operation of Trump Tower itself is concerning. Trump Organization extended its lease with Gucci in 2020 in exchange for rent relief. But in January of this year, Gucci’s parent company Kering Group acquired 715-717 Fifth Avenue across the street for $963 million. If this luxury brand moves out, Trump’s most iconic Manhattan tower will lose its main retail tenant. The risks associated with such a scenario are now greater than they were when he was an ordinary citizen.
Colp-Haber said, “Becoming president means having enormous influence.”
Foreign investment.
This influence transcends U.S. borders.
During Trump's first term, he placed his business into a trust and transferred control to his two sons to prevent potential conflicts of interest. In October, Eric Trump hinted to The New York Times that the restrictions on the business might weaken.
On October 27, 2022, Donald Trump played golf at the Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami. Photo source: AFP.
He said, “During the first term, we did everything possible to avoid any misconduct, but frankly, we were still defeated.”
Since 2020, Trump Organization has expanded its overseas investments, and if Trump stays in the White House for another four years, these investments will benefit significantly. Just this year, the organization announced partnerships in Vietnam to develop golf courses and hotels and residential buildings in Saudi Arabia, with financial disclosures listing millions of dollars in revenue from India, Oman, and Dubai. Closer to home, the Trump Doral resort in Florida is one of his three golf properties and one of his most valuable assets, having hosted the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League.
Legal challenges.
One area that is difficult to quantify in monetary terms is the ability of U.S. presidents to avoid legal challenges.
Trump will have final authority over the U.S. Department of Justice, and the current president will not be prosecuted during his term. He will have the power to dismiss or at least indefinitely delay his criminal cases, avoiding the threat of years in prison, and can order his Attorney General to dismiss two federal indictments that charge him with attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified information.
A New York jury found Trump guilty of multiple felonies after he was tried for hush money, followed by the convoy Trump was in. Photo source: Bloomberg.
Trump will no longer have the same power in state court over his criminal cases, including the so-called hush-money case in which he was convicted of 34 felonies in May. But he still has a strong constitutional basis to seek to overturn these convictions, which means it’s unlikely he will be sentenced in New York on November 26 as planned.
“I think power is more enticing to him now than money,” said former Trump Organization executive Sunshine. “Sometimes, power is more important than money.”