How Trump makes his money revealed - including memecoins, golf and licensing fees
By
Tom Bergin
,
Lawrence Delevingne
and
Tom Lasseter
, Reuters
The $TRUMP meme crypto coin web page is displayed on a mobile screen in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium.
Photo:
AFP
US President Donald Trump reported hundreds of millions of dollars in income from crypto, golf clubs and licensing ventures in a public financial disclosure report released on Friday (US time) that provided a glimpse of the vast business holdings of America's billionaire president.
The annual financial disclosure form, which appeared to cover the 2024 calendar year, shows the president's push into crypto added substantially to his wealth but he also reported large fees from developments and revenues from his other businesses.
While Trump has said he has put his businesses into a trust managed by his children, the disclosures show how income from them still ultimately accrue to the president - something that has opened him to conflicts of interest. Some of his businesses in areas such as crypto, for example, benefit from US policy shifts under him and have become a source of criticism.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The financial disclosure was signed on 13 June and did not state the time period it covered. The details of the cryptocurrency listings, as well as other information in the disclosure, suggest it was through the end of December 2024, which would exclude most of the money raised by the family's cryptocurrency ventures.
Given the speed at which the Trump family has made deals during his ascent to the presidency, the filing is already a time capsule of sorts, capturing a period when they were just starting to get into crypto but were largely still in the world of real estate deals and golf clubs.
Photo:
AFP/JONATHAN RAA
A meme coin released earlier this year by the president - US$TRUMP - alone has earned an estimated US$320 million (NZ$521.6 million) in fees, though it's not publicly known how that amount has been divided between a Trump-controlled entity and its partners.
In addition to the meme coin fees, the Trump family has raked in more than US$400 million (NZ$652 million) from World Liberty Financial, a decentralised finance company. The Trump family is involved, also, with a bitcoin mining operation and digital asset exchange-traded funds.
In the disclosures, Trump reported US$57.35 million (NZ$93.49 million) from token sales at World Liberty. He also reported holding 15.75 billion governance tokens in the venture.
The wealth of the Republican businessman-turned-politician ranges from crypto to real estate, and a large part on paper is tied up in his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of social media platform Truth Social.
The disclosure showed income from various assets including Trump's properties in Florida. Trump's three golf-focused resorts in the state - Jupiter, Doral and West Palm Beach - plus his nearby private members' club at Mar-a-Lago generated at least US$217.7 million (NZ$354.85 million) in income, according to the filing.
The disclosure also listed income of US$5 million (NZ$8.15 million) in license fees from a development in Vietnam.
Trump collected royalty money, also, from a variety of deals - US$1.3 million (NZ$2.12 million) from the Greenwood Bible (its website describes it as "the only Bible officially endorsed by Lee Greenwood and President Trump"); US$2.8 million (NZ$4.56 million) from Trump Watches, and US$2.5 million (NZ$4.08 million) from Trump Sneakers and Fragrances.
Trump listed US$1.16 million (NZ$1.89 million) in income from his NFTs - digital trading cards in his likeness - while First Lady Melania Trump earned around US$216,700 (NZ$353,221) from license fees from her own NFT collection.
- Reuters
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