Trump’s net worth reportedly soars to $6.5 billion after media company stock jumps

Donald
Trump
faces
hundreds
of
millions
of
dollars
in

legal

penalties,
his
presidential
campaign
is
confronting
a

cash
crunch
and
his
businesses
have
reported
operating

losses
for
years.

But
on
Monday
afternoon,
Trump
was
richer
than
he
has
ever
been.

Trump’s
net
worth
shot
up
by
more
than
$4
billion
in
recent
days
to
about
$6.5
billion,
according
to

Bloomberg,
which

tracks
the
500
wealthiest
people
in
the
world.

The
bonanza
was
the
result
of
a
merger
approved
Friday
between
Trump’s
social
media
company,
Trump
Media
&
Technology
Group,
and
a
shell
company,
Digital
World
Acquisition
Corp.,
known
as


DWAC.

Trump
owns
nearly
80
million
shares,
or
roughly
58%,
of
Trump
Media,
which
operates
his
social
media
site
Truth
Social.
At
DWAC’s
closing
price
Monday
of


$49.95
a
share,
Trump’s
stock
was
worth
$4
billion
on
paper.

The
newly
merged
social
media
company
said
it
will
begin
trading
Tuesday
under
the
ticker
symbol
DJT.

DWAC’s
share
price
soared
35%
in
Monday
trading,
after
a
New
York
appeals
court
slashed
the
amount
of
cash
the
former
president
needs
to
get
a
bond
saving
him
from
having
to
immediately
pay
a
$454
million
civil
fraud
penalty.

Early
Monday,
Trump
appeared
to
be
unable
to
put
up
the
more
than
$550
million
to
secure
a
bond
that
would
stop
the
state
from
moving
to
seize
his
real
estate
assets.

Shortly
after
10
a.m.,
an
appeals
court
ruled
that
Trump
only
needed
to
post
a
$175
million
bond.
The
court
also
paused
the
judgment
from
coming
due
for
10
days.

Trump
says
he
has
the
cash
to
cover
that
bond.

As
a
result
of
the
media
merger
and
the
adjusted
bond,
Trump,
77,
was
included
Monday
in
the
Bloomberg
Billionaires
Index
for
the
first
time
in
his
life,
according
to
the
news
outlet.

It’s
unclear
whether
his
wealth
will
stay
this
high,
however.
Trump
is
barred
from
selling
his
DWAC
shares
for
six
months,
and
the
stock
has
a
volatile
share
price
history.

Trump
Media
brought
in
less
than

$3.5
million
in
revenue
in
the
first
nine
months
of
2023,
while
posting
a
$49
million
net
loss
in
the
same
period.

MSNBC’s
Stephanie
Ruhle
on
Friday

described
Trump’s
media
company
as
a
meme
stock
largely
dependent
on
one
man.

Bloomberg
said
its
estimate
of
Trump’s
net
worth
was
based
on
ethics
disclosures
required
for
presidential
candidates,
public
filings
tied
to
key
real
estate
holdings
and
staff
reporting.