Despite his protestations of being ‘really rich’, this is the first time Donald Trump will be able to say he’s a bona fide billionaire without his fingers crossed behind his back.
Thanks to the Nasdaq debut of his Twitteresque social media platform, Truth Social – a company borne of necessity after the former president was kicked off that other channel – Trump will finally join the ranks of Bloomberg’s billionaires list.
Truth Social began its journey on the Nasdaq under the ticker 'DJT' on Tuesday, marking Trump’s re-entry into the public trading space.
Truth’s parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group, merged with listed company Digital World Acquisition Corp, which facilitated the public listing, allowing Trump to bypass the traditional initial public offering (IPO) route.
The launch saw the shares in the company surge, hitting an early peak with more than 50% gain, before settling at a 16% increase by market close. DJT’s valuation had reached $7.8 billion by the end of the trading day.
This means that Trump, who holds a 58% stake, is worth up to $4.6 billion on paper on the basis of his stock exchange debut alone.
Trump Tower safe – for now
The windfall comes in the nick of time for the former president, who is facing 91 federal felony counts, a raft of legal fees and a steep account to settle with the State of New York, along with the small matter of some campaign finance he’ll need for the presidential contest in November.
As late as last Friday, commentators were speculating that the bailiffs would be slapping a sticker on Trump Tower if its namesake failed to stump up the half a billion bond he’d owed after he lost his civil tax fraud case in New York.
As it happened, the appeals court cut Trump some further slack, reducing the bond to $175 million, which the former president says he can (now) pay in cash.
If Truth Social continues its run on Wall Street, then Trump won’t be short of pocket money.
And with mounting legal and financial pressures, speculation abounds about whether he might liquidate some of his DJT shares to cover expenses, despite a six-month lock-up period preventing such moves.
By the time he can cash in his shareholding, the initial flurry of interest in his stocks may have waned – and analysts warn that any large-scale sell-off by Trump could destabilise the stock's performance.
Who’s buying?
The float has drawn in a peculiar section of the investment community, including hardcore supporters of the former president and retail investors keen on leveraging the Trump-associated hype.
Some have suggested it will become a real-time barometer of Trump’s popularity as the election contest heats up.
Users of the platform urged others to invest to boost the company’s value and showcase their political allegiance.
Despite the stock’s initial success, genuine concerns linger over the financial stability of DJT, which reported significant losses against modest revenues.
Truth Social's market debut draws parallels with Trump's past ventures into public trading, mirroring the highs and subsequent lows experienced by Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts, which ultimately filed for bankruptcy.
One thing is for certain – this stock will be a key yardstick of political stability, or lack thereof, in the US for the next few months.