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Donald Trump’s net wealth is evaporating fast as stock in the parent company of Truth Social plunges to fresh depths since its recent market debut.
Shares in Trump Media and Technology Group have tumbled to their lowest level since just before its first trading day, and are now down 50% from its $79.38 peak price.
The former President owns roughly 79 million shares or nearly 60% of the company, which began trading under the DJT ticker symbol late last month following a reverse merger with a blank check firm.
The plunge has wiped some $2 billion off the value of his stake since the stock began its steep descent on April 1st.
With rising legal bills to pay, at this rate, there might not be much value left for Trump to still extract by the time the former president can dump any shares once the six-month lock-up period is over.
Briefly, it seemed as if the stars were aligning for Trump at a crucial time when he’s mounting a bid to retake the White House and become the first person since Grover Cleveland in 1893 to serve non-consecutive terms as President.
DILLER, on $DJT:
“WHY are you even talking about this? It’s a scam. Just like everything he’s ever been involved in ..”@CNBC @SquawkCNBC
pic.twitter.com/UZq5CSBUXD— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) April 4, 2024
First Trump managed to scrounge up $175 million in cash after a judge drastically reduced the amount in a $464 million civil fraud case.
Then he became $3 billion richer overnight after MAGA supporters rushed to scoop up shares and financially contribute to his cause.
Trump Media’s peak market cap of around $10.4 billion eclipsed even that of Reddit, a far more mature social media company that went public weeks earlier.
The egregious gulf between the underlying fundamentals of the Truth Social parent company and the valuation it received from investors prompted numerous comparisons with meme stocks and altcoins.
But almost as quickly as it came, the streak of luck now looks to be petering out.
Not even Marjorie Taylor Greene reportedly held on to her stock
First, Trump Media published 2023 results that showed the company racked up losses of $58 million on revenue of only $4 million.
Adding insult to injury, the outlook appeared gloomy after its unorthodox auditor warned it may not have survived without the $300 million in cash it received from Digital World Acquisition Corp. as part of its reverse merger.
Advertisers might be in a position to fix that by spending more to place products and services, but Trump Media served up a major red flag after refusing to commit to publishing any metrics that might give ad buyers a sense of how much reach the platform offers.
With the platform believed to be bleeding users, not even Republican lawmakers are willing to stake their money on Trump Media it seems.
Forbes reported this week only two House representatives bought shares in Digital World Acquisition Corp. prior to the merger according to the latest available filings. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the two, has since liquidated her holdings.
“It’s a scam. Just like everything he’s ever been involved in,” Barry Diller, chairman of media group IAC, told CNBC last week.
Trump faces a slew of court cases including four criminal complaints—one including unlawfully interfering in a federal election.
Trump’s Save America political action committee spent nearly $5.6 million on legal bills in February, according to a regulatory finding.
That may help explain why the former President has stooped to selling gold-colored footwear and hawk special edition bibles online that have even his supporters alarmed.
