Before returning to the White House, Donald Trump has transferred all 114.75 million shares of the parent corporation that runs his Truth Social platform to a revocable trust.
His interests in Trump Media & Technology Group are currently worth approximately $4 billion, accounting for the majority of his $6 billion net worth. He is the group’s biggest shareholder.
According to SEC filings, the president-elect transferred the stock earlier this week to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. According to documents, his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is the sole trustee and has sole voting and investment control over the trust’s shares.
Trump remains the “sole beneficiary” of the trust.
The president-elect has faced criticism from ethics groups, lawmakers, and government watchdogs for a web of possible conflicts of interest for his term.
His appointees — many of whom are billionaires and uber-wealthy Wall Street figures with their own conflicts — will be tasked with regulating agencies and overseeing policy that could affect his profit margins, while the administration’s dealings with other countries could benefit his real estate empire and other financial investments.
In 2017, before his first president, Trump transferred his assets, real estate holdings, and liabilities into his eponymous trust, promising to hand over management of his empire to his sons, contribute his salary to the government, and refrain from engaging in new overseas business.
However, the former president, whose Trust was scrutinized in a years-long investigation into fraud within the Trump Organization, has spent the years since leaving office engaging in new deals across his real estate and branding interests, from opening a new golf course to promoting Bibles and guitars and investing in cryptocurrency.
A legally necessary ethics strategy for Trump’s prospective administration conspicuously omitted language addressing how such ethical laws would apply to Trump personally.
“Without a clear plan, the American public is left in the dark about how Trump — a wealthy businessman with a real estate empire and ties to numerous industries — will navigate the potential conflicts of interest that may arise in his second term,” according to the Campaign Legal Center.
Trump has also proposed numerous Truth Social board chairs to his administration, including professional wrestling tycoon Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education and conspiracy theorist Kash Patel as the future FBI director.
Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, has also been selected to chair the future president’s intelligence advisory council.
