Trump filing shows he took in about $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year
When he took the oath of office, start-ups alone now dwarfed the income from his vast real estate portfolio that had taken him decades to accumulate. Fueling their rise were billionaire investors and Trump’s push to eliminate federal crackdown on the industry.
Trump raised more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business by selling new crypto products, including “governance tokens,” according to the Office of Government Ethics’ required annual disclosure report. It also showed that another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, generated more than $600 million from the sale of souvenir-style “meme” coins stamped with his face.
The value of both tokens and coins has fallen since the sell-off.
Trump also made millions from sales of Trump-branded Bibles, sneakers and other small items last year, in an unprecedented bid for the presidency. $4.7 million in revenue was generated from the sale of Trump branded watches alone.
The 927-page disclosure form paints a sharp, if incomplete, picture of the massive rise in the president’s wealth since his inauguration last January through a network of business interests, many of whom have benefited from Trump’s own government’s policy moves. Trump has insisted that his sons direct his finances, but the arrangement denies conflict of interest protections established by his most recent predecessors in office.
Forbes estimates Trump’s net worth rising from $2.3 billion to $6 billion in 2024. Trump’s business is growing abroad The rise of cryptocurrency relative to Trump’s properties is particularly notable because he first came into office boasting about his property. This is also notable because this core business also boomed last year. Trump received tens of millions in fees from a series of new hotel, resort and condo deals abroad; This represents the largest property expansion in the last century since the family business was founded.
Many of these countries were negotiating with the United States over tariffs, military aid, and other important issues.
A property in the United Arab Emirates brought $10.4 million to Trump’s business. A building built by a real estate developer close to the ruling family in Saudi Arabia sent $9 million to the president’s company. Bucharest, Romania and Qatar each sent him $5 million.
One of its prominent domestic properties, Mar-a-Lago in Florida, also saw major growth last year.
Trump made $77 million from the estate; This is up 50% from the previous year, when he was an ordinary citizen, as heads of state and businessmen flocked here during his new term.
The prospectus doesn’t give profit figures, only revenue, so it’s impossible to know how much he made.
Trump is now the billion-dollar crypto man. After taking office last year, Trump reversed the Biden administration’s tough stance on the crypto industry and implemented industry-friendly policies.
But regulators still had some concerns. Before Trump’s World Liberty began selling “governance tokens,” they issued warnings about this new breed of crypto asset, saying that unlike stocks, the tokens offer no ownership stake in the issuing company, only the power to vote on certain corporate policies, and are difficult to value.
Buyers pounced anyway, including a Chinese billionaire who spent $75 million on tokens and $200 million on commemorative coins. In February of last year, a federal lawsuit accusing him of defrauding investors was halted before a $10 million fine was imposed.
Billionaire Justin Sun has repeatedly denied that Trump’s spending on his businesses has anything to do with his federal case, while World Liberty has rejected the concept of a conflict of interest.
Meanwhile, investors have seen the value of their meme coin holdings drop significantly. The price rose above $74 in the days after its launch in January 2025, but now sells for just $1.68. Additionally, the value of World Liberty tokens has fallen 80% since September when they first began trading.
White House says Trump acted only in the public interest The White House has repeatedly said Trump transferred his business to a trust managed by his sons, that there was no conflict and that he acted solely in the best interest of the country. Trump’s umbrella company, the Trump Organization, said its deals abroad were with private companies, not governments.
Yet it is difficult to know what is truly special in countries ruled by authoritarians, royal families and single-party governments.
The report shows that Trump received $5 million last year for a new resort in Vietnam after the ruling communist party sent its deputy prime minister to sign the deal, pushing farmers off the land to make way for construction, according to The New York Times.
It’s nearly impossible to know whether the agreements played any role in changing U.S. policies the way these countries wanted, but the countries got what they wanted.
Vietnam received tariff reduction. Qatar gained access to advanced US technology that had previously been off-limits, and Saudi Arabia gained US warplanes it had coveted for years.
