Donald Trump’s estimated net worth just doubled as Truth Social owner closes deal to go public

Donald Trump’s estimated net worth just doubled as Truth Social owner closes deal to go public
  • PublishedMarch 26, 2024

Truth Social owner Trump Media and Technology Group has finalised its deal to go public, creating a massive windfall for former president Donald Trump that doubles his net worth.

After Trump Media announced it would make its stock market debut on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), Trump for the first time joined the list of the world’s 500 wealthiest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bloomberg estimated Trump’s net worth spiked by $US4 billion ($6.1 billion) in just a day, giving him a fortune of $US6.5 billion.

Former president Donald Trump comments as he departs 40 Wall Street after a news conference. (AP)

The closing of the merger between Trump Media and Digital World Acquisition Corp amounts to a multibillion-dollar windfall for Trump, who is the chairman and dominant shareholder of the new company.

News of the merger’s completion propelled shares of Digital World up 21 per cent. Buying continued into the afternoon, boosting Digital World 39 per cent higher on the day to about $US51. At current prices, Trump’s stake is valued at about $US4 billion. However, there are lock-up restrictions that would likely prevent Trump from selling or even borrowing against the value of that stock for months.

Trading of the new company under the ticker symbol “DJT” on the Nasdaq Stock Market would start tomorrow, the companies said.

Devin Nunes, the CEO of the combined company, said in a statement that the business would move to “reclaim the Internet from Big Tech censors.”

“We will continue to fulfill our commitment to Americans to serve as a safe harboUr for free expression and to stand up to the ever-growing army of speech suppressors,” Nunes said.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the shell company that now owns Truth Social, surged more than 20 per cent off the back of the news. The stock is up over 170 per cent over the past six months.

Experts warn that the market is overvaluing Trump Media given the company’s fundamentals.

Trump Media generated just $US3.4 million of revenue through the first nine months of last year, according to SEC filings. The company posted a net loss of $US49 million over that span.

Meanwhile, Truth Social’s user base is shrinking – more so than that of X, the company formerly known as Twitter.

The number of Truth Social’s US monthly active users on iOS and Android is down 39 per cent year-over-year, according to Similarweb data shared with CNN earlier this month.

In anticipation of its merger with Trump Media, trading of DWAC shares had embodied the same kind of frenzy shown in Tupperware’s stock surge last July, or that of meme stocks AMC Entertainment and GameStop during the height of the pandemic. On Truth Social, there are more than 8000 members in a chat group titled “The DWAC Shareholder Group,” where users discuss the shareholder vote to approve the merger and post memes and supportive messages.

SOURCE: 9NEWS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *