Trump's wealth decreases by $1B due to decline of his social media company

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's fortune declined by $1 billion as the value of his social media company plummeted following its announcement of a loss exceeding $58 million in 2023, with the income from his Truth Social platform arriving in a slow stream. 

On Monday, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.'s share price dropped 21% to $48.66, dipping below the $49.95 price at which the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) it combined with was previously trading. Trump holds a 57% share in the entity, as per U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents, making his portion currently valued at $3.76 billion on paper. 

This decrease has brought his total net worth down to $6.4 billion, a 14 % reduction, according to Bloomberg's calculations. 

For the entire year, Trump Media reported a mere $4.1 million in revenue, as revealed in a Monday filing, highlighting its inflated valuation in comparison to similar companies. The firm has not shared the number of active users, only mentioning in its February prospectus that around 9 million people have signed up for Truth Social across its various platforms. 

Nevertheless, the company has experienced significant appreciation in value this year, with its market capitalization now around $6.6 billion, having become a favorite among meme stock enthusiasts and individual investors. 

For context, Reddit Inc., which shares a comparable market valuation and went public recently, reported 267.5 million weekly active users last quarter and 804 million in revenue for the previous year. In contrast, Snap Inc., with a market capitalization of $19 billion, suffered a $1.3 billion net loss on $4.6 billion in revenue last year, estimating its daily active users at about 420 million for the first quarter. 

Amid these financial developments, Donald Trump is embroiled in legal issues, facing four criminal charges. His first trial, which accuses him of manipulating business records to hide payments made to a porn star prior to the 2016 election, is scheduled to begin on April 15. Additionally, he must secure a $175 million bond by April 4, following a trial verdict by the New York attorney general that showed he had significantly overvalued his assets in bank dealings annually. Trump is challenging this decision. 

Source: Newsroom