Former President Donald Trump, who built his billion-dollar fortune in the physical world of real estate, is getting a financial boost from digital assets, including cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, a new financial disclosure form shows.
Trump, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $4.5 billion, revealed he made $7.2 million from an NFT licensing deal, while he also saved at least $1 million, and as much as $5 million, in a “virtual Ethereum key.”
His financial disclosures also showed income from several book sales, including $300,000 in royalties for a $59.99 Bible he endorsed in partnership with singer Lee Greenwood, as well as $4.5 million for “Letters to Trump,” a 2023 collection of letters sent to Trump over the years by celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and other prominent figures.
The disclosure forms, required of all presidential candidates, also outline his liabilities, which range from several mortgages on properties including Trump Tower in Manhattan to some more recent and larger debts related to court judgments.
Trump has appealed three judgments against him for more than half a billion dollars: a total of $88.3 million from two cases in which juries found him guilty of sexually abusing and defaming the writer E. Jean Carroll, and a New York state case in which a judge ruled that Trump owed more than $450 million, including interest, for fraud. Trump has pledged millions of dollars in security in those cases.
The revelation of Trump’s cryptocurrency holdings comes as the former president has changed his tune on digital currencies, which he once called a “scam.” During his recent campaign, he presented himself as the pro-crypto presidential candidatepromising to make America a “bitcoin mining power.”
“You will be very happy with me,” Trump said at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July.
In his campaign, Trump sought to strengthen his ties to Silicon Valley — and win its financial support — by choosing Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential running mate. After working at a law firm, Vance went into venture capital, going to work for a billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who donated $15 million to Vance’s 2022 campaign for the Ohio Senate seat.
Trump’s digital assets
While the disclosure form doesn’t indicate when Trump bought ethereum, the digital asset has gained about 10% in value so far in 2024. By comparison, bitcoin has jumped 32%, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
Trump has a Longer involvement with NFTsIn 2022, as investors bid up prices for digital collectibles, Trump launched his first NFT collection, a group of digital trading cards depicting the former president as an astronaut, race car driver, cowboy and superhero. At $99 each, the collection exhausted in less than a day.
In February, Trump also licensed his image for a line of sneakers, including the “Never Surrender High-Tops,” but his income from that deal was not included in this disclosure.
The financial disclosure forms also show that Trump continues to make money from some of his former businesses, including the reality TV show “The Apprentice” and his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal.” He also receives a pension from the Screen Actors Guild of more than $90,000 a year.
While his assets include ethereum and at least $100,000 in gold bullion, Trump’s investments are largely held in stocks, index funds and bonds, including U.S. Treasuries, the filings show.
Trump’s golf clubs and properties also continue to add hundreds of millions to his wealth over the past year, including just under $57 million from his Florida club Mar-a-Lago alone.
Below is a selection of sources of income and assets reported by Trump on his financial disclosure form.
Income:
- $300,000 in royalties for Trump-branded Greenwood Bible
- $4.5 million in royalties for the book “Letters to Trump” published in 2023
- $505,763 in royalties for “A MAGA Journey”
- Between $100,001 and $1 million in royalties for ‘The Apprentice’
- $50,0001 to $100,000 in royalties for “The Art of the Deal”
- $90,776 in pension income from the Screen Actors Guild
- $7.2 Million in NFT Licensing Fees from INT LLC
Assets:
- Cryptocurrency wallet, Ethereum virtual key: $1,000,001 to $5 million
- Gold bars – value from $100,001 to $250,000
—With reporting by Graham Kates.
