Former President Donald Trump's net worth rose by $600 million, from $2.4 billion when he left the White House last year to $3 billion following the launch of his new social media platform earlier this year, according to a new estimate from Forbes.
Forbes estimated that Trump’s net worth rose by $430 million due to his social media platform, Truth Social, which is run by the Trump Media and Technology Group. The report did not state the source of the remaining $170 million that Trump is estimated to have added to his net worth over the past year.
Forbes noted that Trump Media was looking to merge with the special purpose acquisition company Digital World Acquisition and that this has caused shares to jump from $10 to over $50.
The magazine reported that Trump likely owns at least 50% of the SPAC based on regulatory filings and that the estimated increase in net worth was based on "the value of the shares Trump should eventually receive at $10 apiece," if he sold them at the lower rate that some "smart-money investors" have agreed to pay.
Because that deal had not been finalized, Trump was unable to sell any shares in the company that he may have on the open market. The magazine also reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority were looking at the deal.
The Washington Examiner noted that despite Trump’s financial success, Truth Social struggled at launch, which caused Digital World Acquisition shares to drop by about 30% in March, based on S&P Global Market Intelligence. The app also saw sign-ups declined by 93% in its first month and a sizable loss of web traffic, according to the company Sensor Tower, a digital and mobile intelligence provider.
via newsmax