Donald Trump will make a $400,000 salary as president. His shares in Trump Media could keep him rich to the tune of $8 billion

First, as president, he will receive an annual salary Salary: $400,000On the other hand, he is currently amassing huge amounts of money on paper thanks to the hundreds of shares he owns in the publicly listed social media site’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.

The share price of the hugely popular social media platform, parent company of Truth Social, has risen more than 100% since January and more than 85% over the past month.

What experts say Trump deserves

Analysts have spent years trying to accurately ascertain Trump’s net worth, and Trump has not helped by refusing to release his tax returns over the years.

What we do know is that Trump received a large inheritance from his father Fred Trump’s real estate dealings, and Trump then went on to make significant real estate investments himself, landing a host of TV licensing deals in the early 2000s.

But it has also been buried in recent years under a mountain of lawsuits and settlements.

However, he is one of the richest people on the planet: he is currently ranked 479th Bloomberg Billionaire Index List of the 500 richest people in the world. As of Wednesday, Bloomberg Trump’s wealth was estimated at $6.49 billion.

last week, Forbes He made a similar estimate $8 billion, which is significant month-on-month growth. On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal He says his wealth is greater, ranging between $7.5 billion and $10 billion, including debt, which represents a double increase from his wealth when he ran for president in 2016 and 2020.

However, Bloomberg He says real estate – Trump’s original industry – is the main source of his wealth.

Trump’s media keeps him asset rich

The bulk of Trump’s paper wealth is the 114.75 million shares of Trump Media stock he owns. That depends Jay Ritterprofessor of finance at the University of Florida.

When markets opened on Wednesday, Trump’s stock was worth “roughly $4.8 billion,” Ritter said. luck. But the value fluctuates wildly, as it has throughout the election cycle. “The stock has fallen to $35 as I write, (now) it is worth about $4 billion.”

In addition, these billions are not at hand. “If (Trump) tries to convert these shares into cash, he will have to pay capital gains taxes on the entire amount of the proceeds, because his cost basis is zero,” Ritter said.

It is unlikely that Trump will be able to sell most of his shares at a high price.

As of late September, Trump Media had $3.14 per share in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, and is currently losing money, with annual revenue of just 2 cents per share, Ritter noted. As such, if Trump gradually sells his stake over the next year (assuming an average price of $10 per share), taking into account the capital gains tax rate, Ritter estimates that Trump’s current $4 billion would equate to just $800 million after Tax deduction. .

But Ritter said the values ​​of Trump’s other assets, such as real estate, are unlikely to change much once he returns to the Oval Office.

“The main unusual thing about his personal balance sheet is that the largest asset, on paper, is his holdings of DJT shares,” he explained. “This value cannot be easily converted into cash, whether the election is won or lost.”

Or as Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management, which has invested in Trump Media, said in an email Wednesday morning to luck: “The only thing I can share is that he just made a small fortune in DJT stock.”

for you:
CEO Daily is your weekday morning wrap-up on the news, trends and talk business leaders need to know.
Register today.here.