"Many payments now flowing to Trump, his wife, and his children and their spouses would be unimaginable without his Presidencies: a two-billion-dollar investment from a fund controlled by the Saudi crown prince; a luxury jet from the Emir of Qatar; profits from at least five different ventures peddling crypto; fees from an exclusive club stocked with Cabinet officials and named Executive Branch," says a New Yorker article.
The investigative piece said that US President Donald Trump and his family have amassed an estimated $3.4 billion from his two presidencies.
The New Yorker investigation titled ‘The Number: How Much Is Trump Pocketing Off the Presidency?’ points out that the money trail stretches across continents and industries, revealing how political power was systematically converted into private wealth.
The Trumps’ crypto empire
After being cut off by traditional banks, the Trump family embraced cryptocurrency as both a financial lifeline and a vehicle for influence.
The family expanded into formal ventures with World Liberty Financial, a decentralised-finance startup launched in 2024. Donald, Jr., Eric, and even President Trump’s youngest son, Barron, received roughly 75% of the proceeds from token sales, benefiting from high-profile endorsements, including billionaire Justin Sun. Early deals with foreign investors, notably the UAE, have generated $243 million in Trump profits, with stablecoins promising additional interest income.
American Bitcoin, another venture with the Trumps owning about 13%, leverages mining equipment and strategic partnerships with Hut 8 and Dominari Securities, giving the brothers a conservative estimated gain of $13 million so far. Trump Media & Technology Group also entered crypto, raising $2.3 billion in private share sales and converting much of it into bitcoin. At current bitcoin prices, Trump’s stake in that stockpile of bitcoin and cash is equivalent to $1.3 billion.
Estimates place their combined gains. including N.F.T. licensing, World Liberty, American Bitcoin, and Trump Media’s bitcoin stockpile. well over $1.6 billion.
The meme coin $TRUMP
Three days before his second Inauguration, Donald Trump launched $TRUMP, the fifth in a series of his family’s crypto ventures. Unlike Bitcoin or stablecoins, $TRUMP had no intrinsic value, voting rights, or digital collectibles attached - it was purely a meme coin.
The project, reportedly conceived by Zanker, the architect behind Trump NFTs, saw around 200 million coins sold at launch while the partnership retained 800 million. Within three weeks, $TRUMP sales generated an estimated $314 million, with trading fees adding another $36 million, bringing total early profits to roughly $350 million.
Two days later, the Trump team launched $MELANIA, raking in an additional $65 million. Although the tokens’ value fluctuated, $TRUMP fell from $75 to $10 before briefly rebounding to $15 after a promotional dinner, Trump’s family capitalised on trading fees and exclusive perks. The Financial Times and crypto research firm Chainalysis estimate combined profits from these ventures at approximately $385 million.
The $TRUMP dinner itself exemplified the blending of celebrity, politics, and commerce. Held at Trump National Golf Club, it drew crypto enthusiasts, celebrities, and entrepreneurs, many documenting their attendance for publicity.
Deals with Gulf monarchies
Trump’s ties to the Persian Gulf monarchies proved among his most profitable ventures. In Oman, he partnered with a Saudi real estate company to develop a billion-dollar resort carrying the Trump brand.
In Dubai, existing business links were revived through new luxury projects, while in Riyadh and Jeddah, developers close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moved forward with Trump-branded towers and hotels.
In Qatar, royal family members financed another sprawling real estate initiative. According to The New Yorker’s estimates, these Gulf projects brought in about $320 million for Trump and his family. For Gulf leaders, the deals were as much about cultivating political influence as about real estate, offering a hedge on maintaining ties with a US president who had already supported them in office and who could return to power.
Saudi partnerships beyond politics
In the months after Trump’s reelection, Donald Jr. and Eric Trump signed a flurry of licensing agreements with a Saudi developer for projects in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai and Doha. For decades, the family had tried to establish a permanent foothold in the Gulf, but these mega-deals became possible only with Trump in the White House.
These projects were pitched not only as luxury properties but also as symbols of strengthening ties between Trump and the Saudi royal court. By leveraging the Trump name, local partners secured prestige, while the family reaped licensing fees and shares of revenue.
One example is the Dubai golf course run by Hussain Sajwani, whose business ties to Trump deepened after 2016. On Trump’s last three disclosure forms, the course showed payments of $1,283,889, $1,109,950 and $1,078,967.
By the New Yorker’s estimate, Trump stands to make at least a million dollars a year from the contract, and more than nine million dollars by the end of his second term, as long as Sajwani keeps it in place. Altogether, the family’s Gulf ventures added up to about $105.8 million in revenue.
The private jet
One of the most striking perks of Trump’s presidency came not through hotels or licensing, but in the form of a luxury aircraft.
In 2024, members of Qatar’s ruling family presented him with a Boeing 747-8, the longest passenger jet in the world, retrofitted for VIP use. Aviation experts valued the plane at about $150 million. The gift was less about utility since Trump already owned his own private jet but more of symbolism: a gesture of allegiance from a Gulf monarchy that had benefited from his policies in office.
Ethics experts noted that no modern president had ever accepted a foreign “gift” of such magnitude, raising concerns that the transaction blurred the line between diplomacy and personal enrichment.
Critics said the jet exemplified how foreign governments used lavish gifts to cultivate favour. Analysts linked Trump’s later support for Gulf reconciliation to Qatar’s interests.
Legal fees and MAGA merch
While Mar-a-Lago sold access to the wealthy, Trump also found ways to cash in directly on his supporters. Branded merchandise became a cornerstone of the MAGA movement, with everything from the iconic red hats to sneakers, cologne, trading cards and even a $60 Bible sold under his name.
These ventures, as the investigation estimates, brought in nearly $28 million. At the same time, Trump’s political committees became a financial shield.
Donors who believed they were funding campaigns and legal fights against Democrats were also paying his personal legal bills. More than $100 million in expenses tied to Trump’s numerous investigations and trials were covered this way, effectively shifting the cost from Trump to his supporters.
Together, the merch sales and PAC-financed legal costs accounted for $127.7 million, revealing how Trump turned loyalty into a steady stream of cash while offloading the price of scandal onto his movement.
Trump Hotel, Hanoi
In Vietnam, Trump’s brand was tied to an ambitious resort outside Hanoi, developed with a local conglomerate soon after his high-profile summit with Kim Jong Un in 2019. The centerpiece was an 18-hole golf course, marketed to international tourists and designed to showcase the Trump name in a rapidly growing leisure market.
Planned as the largest Trump-branded property in the world, the complex included luxury villas, a hotel and commercial space sprawling across hundreds of acres.
The estimated licensing and management fees from the project could deliver Trump roughly 40 million dollars over time. While pitched as a boost to Vietnam’s tourism sector, the timing made clear that the venture was built on political capital, emerging directly from Trump’s presidential visibility. For the developers, associating with the Trump name offered prestige and foreign attention; for Trump, it marked a new Asian stronghold for his brand.
The corporate payoff
Trump’s presidency also provided lucrative gains through lawsuits and settlements, where corporations and media outlets often chose to pay rather than wage prolonged fights with a sitting president and his family. The New Yorker calculates that Trump, his companies and even Melania Trump collectively gained about $91 million from these cases during and after his time in office.
Melania leveraged her position as First Lady into a lucrative Amazon Prime Video documentary deal that further boosted the family’s earnings. Trump himself repeatedly used litigation to pressure publishers and former associates. In many cases, the threat of costly legal battles was enough to secure payments or favorable terms.
What made these episodes stand out was how much the Trump presidency amplified their value. As president, Trump’s name recognition gave lawsuits greater weight, increasing the pressure on corporations to settle.
For the Trump family, the courtroom became another stage for monetisation. The settlements were not as eye-popping as the billion-dollar real estate or crypto ventures, but they underscored how the presidency itself became a lever in extracting concessions from powerful companies, turning legal disputes into steady profit.
Truth Social
In October 2021, Trump launched his own social-media platform, Truth Social, through a shell company that merged with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The deal handed Trump a roughly 60% stake in the newly formed Trump Media & Technology Group, valued initially at $175 million of the $293 million raised.
The platform, aimed primarily at the MAGA base, relies heavily on Trump’s status as former and current president, with Presidential statements often exclusively shared on Truth Social, driving user engagement.
Despite early projections of a $1.7 billion valuation, the company has struggled financially. Last year, Trump Media lost over $400 million, with quarterly revenues consistently under $1 million. Analysts describe it as a meme stock, driven more by Trump’s persona than fundamentals. Estimates place Trump’s stake at roughly $25 million, highlighting the gap between headline valuations and the platform’s actual financial performance.
David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker journalist and the author of the investigative piece ‘The Number: How Much Is Trump Pocketing Off the Presidency?’, in an interview with Democracy Now!, noted that while Donald Trump’s financial ventures appear legal, they are unprecedented in scale and timing. Unlike previous presidents, who typically profit after leaving office through books or speaking engagements, Trump and his family have monetised his position while serving in the White House.
Analysts stress that, under the US law, disclosure is the prescribed remedy for potential conflicts of interest, leaving voters and Congress to judge what is appropriate. The combination of legality, extraordinary profits, and direct ties to public office makes Trump’s presidency unique in modern American history, raising questions about the evolving boundaries between public service and private gain.
Observers, from ethics reformers to advocacy groups, worry that such practices undermine democratic norms by transforming public office into a commercial platform. While disclosures were made, the sheer scale and speed of these transactions suggest an urgency to monetise every opportunity. The line between public service and private profit becomes harder to distinguish, raising questions about influence, accountability, and fairness.
Trump’s presidency illustrates the public office leveraged as a personal profit engine, turning access and loyalty into substantial tangible wealth.