On his second day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump was asked whether he would continue to profit from his personal business activities after his $TRUMP token soared to $20 billion in market value.
"I don't know much about it, except that I launched it. I heard it was very successful," Trump responded. "I haven't checked it out yet. What's it worth now?"
"You've made a lot of money, sir," the reporter pressed. "It seems like billions of dollars in the last few days."
"Billions? That's chump change to these guys," Trump said, pointing to a group of tech billionaires at a White House event.
Trump has never made clear whether he will stop exploiting his presidency for personal gain — something historians note almost all of America's past presidents have pledged to avoid.
Huge profits raise questions
According to U.S. ethics watchdog groups, Democratic lawmakers and cryptocurrency analysts, just two cryptocurrency investments held by Trump-related entities have earned at least $300 million in fees through transactions of digital tokens such as memecoin since January. Analysts note that greater potential profits come from Trump entities’ holdings of memecoin and other Trump-themed cryptocurrency investments.
Last week, World Liberty Financial, another Trump family cryptocurrency project, announced that its digital tokens were used by an Abu Dhabi investment company to inject $2 billion into Binance. Democratic lawmakers and analysts said the deal posed a conflict of interest and could have generated at least $27 million in revenue for World Freedom Finance each year.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has eased regulations on the cryptocurrency industry and disbanded a Justice Department unit aimed at combating crypto fraud.
Cryptocurrency isn’t Trump’s only source of funding since returning to the White House. Experts say the president also profits from real estate, his Truth Social platform and a range of branded merchandise.
“It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find an exact number right now,” said Fred Wertheimer of Democracy 21, a nonprofit accountability group. “I don’t think this is a fluke.”
"The president has bragged about his billions for years, but as president, it's a different story," Wertheimer said. "He's not hiding all his business activities, but he's certainly not reporting what's going on."
Senate launches investigation
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, R-Calif., the top Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told USA Today he is conducting an investigation into Trump's profits during his presidency.
The cryptocurrency business — including a digital meme coin celebrating Trump’s surviving a Dark Web assassination attempt in July 2024 — will be key to Blumenthal’s investigation. He said Trump “makes money from the transactions because of the fees that are incurred, and also from the inflated price of the tokens that he promotes or induces sales of.”
Blumenthal, a former Connecticut attorney general, said: "Whether it's tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, it needs to be investigated, but the brazenness of this conduct is shocking, ridiculous and a potential threat to national security."
Blumenthal said he was particularly concerned that the opaque nature of cryptocurrency trading makes it nearly impossible to determine how much Trump has profited — and who might be seeking influence by buying Trump tokens.
He said it could pose a national security threat by allowing a foreign government to enrich Trump — and gain his favor — without the public’s knowledge.
A White House spokesman denied this, saying the president had no conflict of interest because his assets were controlled by his children. A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial, a crypto company controlled by the Trump family, told USA Today that the company is "not politically affiliated."
Sneakers, Bibles — and digital currency
Compared with his first term, Trump has this time overturned the convention that restricts the commander-in-chief from using his power to profit from it.
In addition to Memecoin and other cryptocurrencies, Trump and his business partners have promoted dozens of branded merchandise, including Trump sneakers and a Trump-autographed Bible.
Trump has also gone all in on digital art, or non-fungible tokens (NFTs), selling “Trump Bitcoin Digital Trading Cards,” including more than 100 new collectibles released in January 2025, according to Cryptopolitan and other crypto industry trackers.
An Intimate Private Dinner for Trump Investors
On April 23, one of the many private companies associated with Trump and his family upped the ante by offering “the most exclusive invitations in the world” to existing and new buyers of $TRUMP memecoins.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a memecoin is a crypto asset inspired by an internet meme, character, or trend, and "the promoter attempts to attract an enthusiastic online community to purchase the memecoin and participate in its trading."
“In this respect, memecoins are similar to collectibles,” the SEC said. “Memecoins often have limited or no functionality.”
The $TRUMP memecoin is promoted as "the only official Trump meme, produced by President Donald J. Trump."
However, the “fine print” in its disclaimer reminds that the coin is “intended as an expression of support and participation in the ideals and beliefs embodied by the $TRUMP symbol” and is “not intended to be, or become, an investment opportunity, investment contract or security of any kind.”
The disclaimer states that Trump Organization affiliate CIC Digital LLC and a company called Fight Fight Fight LLC jointly own 80% of $TRUMP MemeCoin.
An announcement on the official $TRUMP memecoin website said the first 220 investors will win an "intimate private dinner" with the president at Trump's Northern Virginia golf club on May 22.
The first 25 Trump Memecoin investors were promised an “ultra-VIP experience, including a private reception with the President and a guided tour of the White House.”
The $TRUMP memecoin surged as much as 80%, adding more than $100 million to its value, according to Finance Magnates and other crypto trackers.
Chainalysis spokesperson Jorah Huntington told USA Today that data showed that in just a few days after the dinner was announced, Trump and related entities made $1.3 million in transaction fees, with cumulative revenue exceeding $320 million.
"This is one of the most blatant and egregious examples of selling presidential access that I have ever seen," said Donald Sherman, executive director and chief legal counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
The White House declined to comment: "No conflict of interest"
The White House and the Trump Organization did not respond to a series of questions seeking comment on Trump Memecoin and other investments.
Attorney William Burke also did not respond. He was hired in January to enforce ethical standards at the Trump Organization, but was recently fired following reports that he was also representing Harvard University in its legal conflicts with the Trump administration.
"The president's assets are held in a trust managed by his children. There is no conflict of interest," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told USA Today.
Kelly was referring to the Trump Organization's announcement in January that it would hand over day-to-day management of Trump's multibillion-dollar real estate, hotel, golf, media and licensing businesses to his children once he enters the White House.
But Trump's current arrangement is more open to abuse than during his first term, when countries such as Saudi Arabia paid millions of dollars to his companies, according to interviews with USA Today and reports by congressional Democrats and watchdog groups.
Presidents have historically earned trust by pledging not to seek personal gain while in office, ensuring that policy decisions are made in the national interest — not personal gain.
“That’s no longer the case,” said Danielle Bryan, president of the Project on Government Oversight in Washington. “President Trump has made it clear that he’s going to make as much money as he can while he’s in office because he’s president — and he’s made no secret of it.”
California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, a former federal prosecutor, is one of several Democratic senators who have called on the Office of Government Ethics to investigate Trump's crypto business, including whether a strategic bitcoin reserve he established in March improperly helped his own investments.
"Donald Trump made a ton of money, and the only losers are the American people," Schiff said in a video posted on X.
For Trump, who calls himself the first "crypto president," $TRUMP is just one part of his broader empire, which also includes a memecoin launched for First Lady Melania Trump that was initially valued at billions of dollars.
In another business, the Trump family quietly took control of World Liberty Financial in January, a crypto company that raised $550 million by selling its digital currency $WLFI. Reuters reported in March that the Trump family received the vast majority of those funds with the help of terms that industry experts said favored company insiders.
The Trump family is now entitled to 75% of World Liberty Financial’s net proceeds from token sales, 60% of operating income — and about $400 million in transaction fees, according to the company’s website and Reuters.
WLF responds: "It has nothing to do with politics"
David Waxman, a spokesman for World Liberty Financial, told USA Today he could not comment on how much money Trump and his family have made from the business.
He said allegations of conflicts of interest or corruption were "extreme, top-level exaggerations, completely false and totally untrue". Waxman described World Liberty as a "nonpolitical organization. We have absolutely nothing to do with politics."
Trump's personal stake in the company, whose motto is "Inspired by Donald J. Trump," is unclear.
In calling for an investigation, Schiff referenced crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun Sun, who injected $75 million into World Liberty Financial.
Justin Sun has faced a civil fraud case brought by U.S. securities regulators involving celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and rapper Soulja Boy.
"You will not be surprised to learn that the fraud case against Justin Sun has now been shelved by the Trump administration," Schiff said in his video. "The American people now have no way of knowing whether this administration is acting on behalf of the American people or on behalf of the financial interests of Donald Trump."
Justin Sun's lawyer, William Sharon, did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
As of May 1, Justin Sun— with an estimated $14 million invested — topped the $TRUMP Memecoin website’s investor leaderboard, qualifying for a private dinner with Trump.
In recent months, World Liberty has also branched out into other businesses.
On May 1, Zach Witkoff, one of the co-founders of World Liberty, announced that its "USD1 stablecoin" is being used as the "official stablecoin" by an Abu Dhabi company for a $2 billion investment in Binance, the world's largest crypto exchage. (A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency whose value is anchored to another asset, such as the U.S. dollar.)
Witkoff said they were "excited" about the new deal. Witkoff is the son of Trump's top diplomatic envoy, close friend and billionaire developer Steve Witkoff.
As of April 30, the total value of USD1 tokens reached about $2.1 billion, according to CoinMarketCap, making it one of the fastest-growing stablecoins in the world, Reuters reported, adding that "however, the identity of its major holders remains unclear."
Witkov said World Liberty now also does business with Justin Sun Justin Sun attended a crypto conference in Dubai on May 1 along with Vitkov and Eric Trump.
Golf Properties and Saudi Arabia
Bryan, Wertheimer and others said it is not possible to know how much Trump has earned from various sources because his White House financial disclosure form is not due to be filed with the Office of Government Ethics until mid-May.
During his first term, foreign governments spent millions of dollars at Trump’s hotels and golf courses, and Trump’s businesses earned as much as $160 million from foreign sources, according to CREW.
“But in that case, at least you got a hotel room,” asked Rick Claypool of Public Citizen. “When you put $5 million into these Trump meme coins, what’s the value of that other than putting money in the president’s pocket?”
Trump sold his hotel in Washington. But he still profits from foreign spending at his golf properties. Saudi Arabia's LIV golf tour has held seven events at Trump golf courses, despite pressure from Trump to merge the more established PGA Tour with the LIV - a move that would benefit the Saudis.
The PGA Tour rejected LIV's latest multibillion-dollar offer in early April.
"But hopefully we'll get the two tours merged," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “You have the PGA Tour and the LIV Tour. I think merging them would be a good thing.”
Even though Truth Social has reported losses, the value of Trump's stake in the platform has risen dramatically during his presidency. On April 2, the company filed documents with securities regulators to allow Trump's trust to sell about $2.3 billion in stock.
The “Paid Presidential Circle” is controversial
Last month, during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Donald Trump Jr. co-hosted a launch party for his private club, "The Executive Branch," which costs more than $500,000 to join.
Politico, citing people familiar with the project, said the goal was to "cater to business and tech giants looking to cultivate relationships with the Trump administration."
On April 30, Senator Chris Murphy displayed a large chart in the Senate, condemning Trump's "corruption during his first 100 days in office" and saying that "TRUMP coin is the biggest scandal in the history of the US presidency."
The controversy over the president's business interests will continue to simmer as the mid-May financial disclosure deadline approaches. The White House insisted that all actions were legal, but watchdog groups stressed that Trump broke the historical tradition that "presidents do not make policies for personal gain."
“Trump has made it clear that he wants to maximize his profits from his presidency,” concluded Danielle Bryan, chairwoman of the Project on Government Oversight, “and he has made no secret of it.”
Josh Meyer
