Former President Donald Trump, who built his billion-dollar fortune in the brick-and-mortar world of real estate, is getting a financial boost from digital assets including cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a new financial disclosure form shows.
Trump, whose net worth Forbes estimates at $4.5 billion, disclosed he earned $7.2 million in an NFT licensing deal, while he has also socked away at least $1 million, and up to $5 million, in a “virtual ethereum key.”
His financial disclosures also showed earnings from several book sales, including $300,000 from 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 from celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and other notables.
The disclosure forms, which are required of all presidential candidates, also outlined his liabilities, which range from several mortgages on properties including Trump Tower in Manhattan to some newer and greater debts related to legal judgments.
Trump is appealing a trio of judgments against him for more than half a billion dollars — a combined $88.3 million from two cases in which juries found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E. Jean Carroll, and a New York State case in which a judge ruled that Trump owes more than $450 million, including interest, for a fraud scheme. Trump has pledged millions in covering bonds in those cases.
The disclosure of Trump’s crypto holdings comes amid a public shift in the former president’s take on digital currencies, which he once called “a scam.” In recent campaigning, he has pitched himself as the pro-crypto presidential candidate, vowing to make America a “bitcoin-mining powerhouse.”
“You’re going to be very happy with me,” Trump said at the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Tennessee, in July.
In his campaign, Trump has sought to bolster his connection to Silicon Valley — and gain its financial support — by picking Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential running mate. After working at a law firm, Vance jumped into venture capital, going to work for billionaire investor Peter Thiel, who donated $15 million to Vance’s 2022 campaign for Ohio’s Senate seat.
Trump’s digital assets
While the disclosure form doesn’t note when Trump bought the 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 NFTs. In 2022, when investors were bidding up prices for digital collectibles, Trump rolled out his first NFT collection, a group of digital trading cards that represented the former president as an astronaut, race car driver, cowboy and superhero. At $99 a pop, the collection sold out in less than a day.
In February, Trump also licensed his likeness for a line of sneakers including “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 earn money from some of his older ventures, including the oreality 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 annually.
While his assets include the ethereum as well as at least $100,000 in gold bars, Trump’s investments are largely held in stocks, index funds and bonds including U.S. Treasuries, the forms show.
Trump’s golf clubs and properties also continue to boost his wealth by hundreds of millions in the last year, including just under $57 million from his Florida Mar-a-Lago club alone.
Below are selected sources of income and assets reported by Trump in his financial disclosure form.
Income:
- $300,000 in royalties from the Trump-branded Greenwood Bible
- $4.5 million in royalties from the 2023 book “Letters to Trump”
- $505,763 in royalties for “A MAGA Journey”
- Between $100,001 to $1 million in royalties from “The Apprentice”
- $50,0001- $100,000 in royalties for “The Art of the Deal”
- $90,776 in pension income from the Screen Actors Guild
- $7.2 million in licensing fees from NFT INT LLC
Assets:
- Cryptocurrency wallet, virtual ethereum key: $1,000,001 to $5 million
- Gold bars – $100,001 – $250,000 in value
— With reporting by Graham Kates.