Latest news with #DominariHoldings
AU Financial Review
19-05-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
A tiny bank in Trump Tower is making the president's sons rich
From its New York headquarters on Trump Tower's 22nd floor, Dominari Holdings operates a tiny investment bank that, less than three years ago, pivoted from developing cancer therapies into finance. Since then it has lost about $US70 million. One of its senior executives was named in a now-settled complaint alleging 'Boiler Room' style business practices at an earlier employer. And it has been stockpiling Bitcoin.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
A Tiny Bank in Trump Tower Is Enriching the President's Sons
From its New York headquarters on Trump Tower's 22nd floor, Dominari Holdings Inc. operates a tiny investment bank that, less than three years ago, pivoted from developing cancer therapies into finance. Since then it has lost about $70 million. One of its senior executives was named in a now- settled complaint alleging 'Boiler Room' style business practices at an earlier employer. And it has been stockpiling Bitcoin.
CBS News
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Donald Trump Jr.'s transformation into Washington power broker
When the crypto mining firm American Bitcoin announced plans to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange this week, the company called it a "major milestone" for a key stakeholder, Dominari Holdings — a little-known investment house that recently added a very recognizable name to its advisory board: Donald Trump Jr. It was the latest maneuver in a series of high-stakes, and potentially lucrative business deals Trump Jr. and his younger brother Eric, also a Dominari adviser, stand to benefit from. Since his father won the 2024 election, Trump Jr. has joined at least eight corporate boards or advisory committees, adding political clout and his famous family brand to companies that sell handguns, make drones, and offer healthcare services online. During President Trump's second term, his son Donald Jr. has morphed from a lower profile presence in Washington to arguably the most visible heir to his father's political empire. The most overt symbol of that ascendence – and of the Trump family's unique blend of governing and deal-making, went public last month, with the announcement of a highly-exclusive private club, which is named "Executive Branch." At the coming-out event, the cocktails flowed and servers passed caviar to A-list guests that included Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Attorney General Pam Bondi; Paul Atkins, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and FCC chair Brendan Carr. The Capital's buzzy newsletters revealed the club's eye-popping club membership fee: $500,000. Private clubs have long been a fixture of official Washington, where lobbyists and well-heeled donors can mingle with members of Congress and high-ranking officials. But this venture launched by the president's oldest son is something new — and, according to critics, serves as the latest example of how the Trump family has turbo-charged Washington's pay-to-play culture. "I don't think there has ever been anything comparable to this use of the presidency to advance private business interests," said Joseph Briffaut, a law professor who specializes in government ethics at Columbia Law School. Critics fear a pay-to-play culture To government watchdogs, the members-only social club embodies what they say is an increasingly brazen mingling of private business interests and government policy. "It's unseemly and it undermines the public's faith that the government is operating in the public interest," said Brett Kappel, a veteran Washington, D.C., election lawyer. Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor who has for years advocated for stronger ethics rules in the nation's capital, told CBS News she views the club as a blatant play to cash in with interest groups seeking access to the Trump administration. "This is literally members bringing money into the pockets of Donald Trump Jr, and his business partners," Sloan said. Trump Jr's allies disagree. They argue the extravagant membership fee actually cuts against the claim that it is a vehicle for influence peddling — because members are already so well connected. "If your goal was to let as many people in as possible, you'd have every lobbyist in DC join," said one source familiar with the concept behind the club, pointing out that members who could afford the sky-high admission fee would likely already be well known in Washington's power corridors. For his part, Trump Jr. disputes suggestions that he is cashing in on his father's name or testing any ethical boundaries. "I'm a private citizen who has been a businessman my entire life," he said in a statement provided to CBS News. "It's laughable that the left-wing media thinks that I should lock myself in a padded room and cease what I've been doing for over 25 years to earn a living and provide for my five children," Trump Jr. added. The White House calls Trump Jr's private sector dealings ethically sound, pointing out that President Trump's assets are held in a trust controlled by his family The "Executive Branch" club is only one of the ways Trump Jr. has raised his profile during his father's second term. The president's son has rapidly expanded the family's crypto profile and continued to pursue real estate investments. He has also been a front-facing leader of the MAGA empire, supplanting his sister Ivanka and brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, as the most high-profile — and politically astute — Trump scion in Washington. The "Trump bump" The family business is a global enterprise. Recently, Trump Jr. made a whirlwind tour of several foreign nations, including Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria, where he looked in on real estate interests, delivered lucrative speeches and met with government leaders, according to The New York Times. At home, Trump Jr.'s move to join a spree of corporate boards in the role of adviser or board member traces in part to his relationship with Omeed Malik, the financier and mega Trump donor who is also Trump Jr.'s co-founder in the DC social club. Just days after the election, Malik brought on Trump Jr. as a partner in his venture capital firm, 1789 Capital, which says on its website that it invests in conservative companies and eschews "woke capitalism" and other left-wing causes, a deal a knowledgeable source said was in the works before the election. Trump Jr. soon joined the boards of arms retailer GrabAGun as well as the online health care company BlinkRX, both 1789 Capital properties. It is not hard to see the impact when a company adds Trump Jr. to its board. When Dominari Holdings inc., a wealth management and banking services company, announced that it was bringing on both of the president's sons, its stock price shot up 83% to a record high, eventually settling down to 30%above where it was before Trump Jr. joined. Shortly thereafter, Dominari's CEO announced that the company was planning investments in AI and data centers, growth industries where the Trump administration has been massively rolling back regulations. In a company press release, CEO Kyle Wood he cited Trump Jr's and Eric Trump's "strategic insight" in both of those sectors. And this week, the Bitcoin mining company owned partly by Trump sons Donald Jr. and Eric engineered a listing on the NASDAQ after merging with a smaller, publicly traded mining firm called Gryphon Digital Mining Inc. Dominari Holdings is effectively acting as the banker for the deal and has been reaching out to potential investors. In another example of the so-called "Trump bump," the stock price of Unusual Machines, a Florida-based drone manufacturer, nearly doubled when the news hit that Trump Jr. was joining the board. Unusual Machines, which manufactures its unmanned aerial vehicles and components in the US, is aiming to reduce American dependence on Chinese drones. But for the time being the company is reliant on Chinese parts, which means that the Trump administration's yo-yoing tariffs on China could hurt the company's bottom line. CEO Allan Evans has said he would not ask Trump Jr. to intervene with the federal government on the company's behalf for relief. "I would never ask him to do anything or facilitate anything like that," Evans told the Wall Street Journal. Trump Jr. and his defenders clap back at critics who suggest his moves to join board seats and champion business interests carry the echoes of past ventures by presidential relatives like Billy Carter, Neil Bush or Hunter Biden. They call him a skilled entrepreneur with a long record of business success who has capitalized on his position by making shrewd business decisions, cultivating lucrative connections among tech and finance leaders, all while building up a powerful political operation in Washington. The Hunter Biden comparisons, in particular, have drawn a sharp response: "He became a 'businessman' after his dad got elected," Trump Jr. said in a social media post. "I joined a Venture Capital Firm that invests in private American companies - Nothing to do with the government." MAGA power broker "Don Jr. was an accomplished businessman long before his father got into politics and just continues to grow," said Sean Spicer, who served the president as press secretary in his first term and now hosts the Sean Spicer podcast. Today, Spicer says Trump Jr. is the man to see. Spicer, who worked closely with the president's son during the first term, says has seen the evolution up close. "If the phone rings and it's Don Jr., you better pick it up on the first ring," Spicer said. During the 2020 campaign Trump Jr. emerged as a potent asset for his father, stumping on the trail and fully embodying the MAGA brand. He flung "red meat" to the rapturous crowds at Trump rallies and showed an instinct for the jugular that reminded observers of Trump senior. A big part of his success, his friends say, is an ability to blend with the grassroots MAGA world. "Don Jr. isn't just a billionaire's son, he's one of us," said Andrew Kolvet, spokesman for Turning Point USA, the pre-eminent MAGA aligned youth organization and an associate of Trump Jr. Trump Jr.'s inside and outside game makes him a unique player in Trump's Washington, his allies say -- someone with unparalleled clout within the administration who is also able to operate freely in the private sector. He has forged close ties with powerful tech titans like Elon Musk and David O. Sacks, the angel investor who was a key figure in bringing a powerful and wealthy contingent of Silicon Valley over to Trump. Sacks is currently serving as the White House Czar for both Crypto and AI. Last month he became Member #1 of the Executive Branch club.
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Don Jr. And Eric Trump Joined By Three Trump Org Executives On Revived Advisory Board At Little-Known Firm
All five new appointees to the revived advisory board of a little-known firm based in New York's Trump Tower are Trump Organization executives—including Don Jr. and Eric Trump—who've received millions in stock as the company pivots to AI and crypto, sectors President Donald Trump's government is now actively promoting. In February, Dominari Holdings–a Nasdaq-listed company that previously focused on pharmaceuticals but now has subsidiaries in the wealth management, investment banking, sales and trading, asset management and capital investment sectors—announced Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump had joined its advisory board, but shared no further details about the board or its members. The next day, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the Trump brothers were among 'five newly appointed members of its advisory board for initial appointments of two years,' although no other members were named. Later in February, the company revealed Ronald Lieberman, a Trump Organization executive vice president, had joined the advisory board in 2024. The final two new members—Trump Organization chief legal officer Alan Garten and EVP Lawrence Glick—were disclosed in an SEC filing last week. Last week's SEC filing also disclosed the advisory board members' compensation: Donald Trump Jr, and Eric Trump each were awarded 1 million shares for their 11 weeks on the board, worth $4.67 million as of Tuesday's close; Garten and Glick each received 600,000 shares ($2.8 million); and Lieberman was granted 200,000 ($934,000). There's little public evidence Dominari Holdings maintained an active advisory board before naming the Trump executives to it, as Forbes previously reported. All five of the newly appointed advisory board members are Trump Organization executive vice presidents. Between June 2021, when it operated as AIkido Pharma, and the day after the Trumps' involvement was announced in February 2025, Dominari Holdings did not mention its advisory board in any SEC filings, aside from references to its chief operating officer having been a member for three months in 2022. Underscoring the advisory board's pre-Trump insignificance, Dominari Holdings did not file an advisory board agreement with the SEC until Feb. 12, a day after announcing the Trumps' appointments (although it may not have been legally required to do so). An online search also found no public evidence of the advisory board's existence before the Trumps joined it. Dominari Holdings CEO Anthony Hayes defended the board's makeup in a statement to Forbes, saying the company 'has maintained an advisory board composed of highly qualified individuals' for more than a decade. He added that its composition 'has evolved to include professionals from a broad range of industries and areas of expertise, reflecting the dynamic nature of our business and the value we place on diverse perspectives.' A spokesperson for the Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment, nor did any of the advisory board members. It remains unclear exactly what work the five Trump Organization executives performed to earn their combined 3.4 million shares, worth a total of $15.9 million as of Tuesday's close. Unlike boards of directors, advisory boards have no formal legal responsibilities. Dominari Holdings's advisory board agreement lists only three duties: offering general business advice, suggesting new members to the advisory board and evaluating business opportunities. Company president Kyle Wool credited the advisory board, particularly Eric Trump, for helping a subsidiary secure a bitcoin mining partnership–but that deal was announced after the Trumps (and Lieberman) received most of their shares. 21.64%. That's how much of Dominari Holdings the five Trump executives collectively own assuming all warrants are exercised, according to an SEC filing, as first reported by Wendy Sielgeman at NewsTRACS. A resale registration statement filed last week became effective Monday after markets closed, allowing 52 investors who acquired shares directly from the company in private transactions—including the five Trump executives—to sell their shares without the usual six-month holding period. Just 152,102 shares traded hands Tuesday, so it doesn't appear any Trump Organization executives dumped their stock the first day they were able to. Just weeks before the Trumps joined Dominari Holdings, their father, President Donald Trump, unveiled a sweeping plan to boost U.S.-based artificial intelligence infrastructure, including a $40 billion pledge from longtime business partner Hussain Sajwani. Around the same time, Dominari Holdings positioned itself as a player in AI and data-center development, touting the Trumps' 'strategic insight.' Dominari Holding's trading volume soared in the weeks leading up to the announcement of the Trumps' roles—activity some securities law experts told Forbes was 'suspicious.' Company insiders also loaded up on the firm's stock right before disclosing the Trumps' involvement, news that caused the share price to spike (it has since fallen to pre-announcement levels). In November 2024—before they received their shares in Dominari Holdings—Forbes estimated Donald Trump Jr.'s net worth at $50 million, while valuing Eric Trump at approximately $40 million. Trump Media Paid Donald Trump Jr. Nearly A Quarter Of Its Annual Revenue. He Attended Just Two Board Meetings (Forbes) Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump Deny Involvement With Fraudulent Statements In Testimony—Though Evidence Suggests Otherwise (Forbes) How Donald Trump Shifted Kids-Cancer Charity Money Into His Business (Forbes) After Promising Not To Talk Business With Father, Eric Trump Says He'll Give Him Financial Reports (Forbes) One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space. In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil. 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Time of India
26-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Will Donald Trump Jr. And Eric Trump sell $9.6 Million worth of stock? Here's what Trump brothers are planning
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump could soon liquidate a combined $9.6 million worth of stock they received for a short advisory stint at Dominari Holdings , according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing made public this week. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack India stares at a 'water bomb' threat as it freezes Indus Treaty India readies short, mid & long-term Indus River plans Shehbaz Sharif calls India's stand "worn-out narrative" The move, if completed, would mark a significant payout tied to a brief corporate engagement, as per a report by Forbes. Trump Brothers' Stakes in Dominari Holdings Each of the Trump brothers currently controls 1.2 million shares in Dominari Holdings, a Nasdaq-listed firm headquartered in Trump Tower, with operations in wealth management, investment banking, asset management, and related fields. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thousands Are Saving Money Using This Wall Plug elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Click Here Undo Their holdings include 1 million shares granted for advisory services and an additional 216,138 shares acquired through a $1 million private placement deal, along with warrants to purchase 432,000 more shares. With Dominari Holdings' stock closing at $4.79 last Friday, each brother's holdings, excluding the warrants, are valued at approximately $5.8 million—of which $4.79 million is directly linked to advisory board compensation, as per a report by Forbes. Live Events Regulatory Path Clears for Potential Sale Under standard SEC regulations, shares obtained via private placement typically face a six-month trading restriction. However, Dominari's recent resale registration filing could circumvent this waiting period. Once the SEC declares the filing effective, the Trump brothers, along with 50 other shareholders named in the filing, would be permitted to sell their shares on the open market. This process can be swift; in December 2024, Dominari's previous registration was cleared in just ten days. Once approved, the Trumps could move forward with selling their stakes. Disclosure Requirements and Market Impact Should Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump decide to sell significant portions of their shares, SEC rules would require them to disclose such transactions, given their ownership of more than 5% of the company's stock. Major sales must be reported within two business days, while smaller sales could be disclosed up to 45 days after the end of the quarter. Notably, the SEC filing itself does not obligate the shareholders to sell, merely granting them the option. Legal experts, including Wake Forest University's Alan Palmiter, view the filing as an indication that insiders are preparing for potential sales. Questions Over Advisory Roles Despite the lucrative stock awards, little evidence has emerged regarding the Trump brothers' contributions to Dominari Holdings. The company, previously known as AIkido Pharma, only formalized its advisory board structure after announcing the Trumps' appointments. Prior to February 2025, there was no public documentation of an active advisory board. Dominari Holdings' president, Kyle Wool, has credited the advisory board—and Eric Trump in particular with assisting a subsidiary in securing a bitcoin mining partnership. However, that deal materialized after most of the Trumps' shares were already awarded. A Surge in Stock Price and Trading Volume Following news of the filing, Dominari's stock price unexpectedly rose by 20%, from $3.90 to $4.79, a development Palmiter described as "remarkable," given the potential for significant insider selling. The filing comes amid broader Trump family business activities, including President Donald Trump's recently announced initiatives in artificial intelligence and U.S. infrastructure, bolstering speculation around the strategic positioning of Dominari Holdings. FAQs What is Dominari Holdings? Dominari Holdings is a Nasdaq-listed company headquartered in Trump Tower, with business operations in wealth management, investment banking, asset management, and related financial services. The company was previously known as AIkido Pharma. How much stock do Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump own in Dominari Holdings? Each brother controls approximately 1.2 million shares. This includes 1 million shares awarded for advisory services and 216,138 shares acquired through a $1 million private placement deal. They also hold warrants to purchase an additional 432,000 shares.
