Trump earned nearly $10 billion.

How can AI meme coins turn presidential influence into commercial value?

Recently, Forbes released its annual global billionaire list. U.S. President Trump’s net worth increased from $5.1 billion to $6.5 billion, a net gain of $1.4 billion (about 9.655 billion RMB) in one year, jumping 55 spots to rank 645th worldwide. Forbes listed him as the wealthiest president in U.S. history while in office.

Where did this $1.4 billion come from? Cryptocurrency accounts for the largest portion, totaling about $850 million. Traditional assets, including Mar-a-Lago, commercial real estate, golf courses, etc., appreciated by approximately $520 million. Additionally, a debt was eliminated due to a court ruling: the New York State appellate court overturned a previous civil fraud fine of $517 million, citing “unconstitutional penalties,” which had been counted as liabilities.

On September 17, 2025, local time, a statue of Trump was displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Photo / Visual China

New Business Arena

Trump is not naturally a cryptocurrency believer.

In 2019, Trump posted on social media: “I’m not a fan of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They’re not currencies, highly volatile, and built on air.” In a 2021 interview with Fox Business, he directly called Bitcoin “a scam” and advocated for stricter regulation.

What changed his stance was a batch of digital collectible cards featuring his own likeness.

In December 2022, Trump launched his first NFT digital trading cards, priced at $99 each. The initial 45,000 cards sold out within 24 hours. A significant portion of buyers paid with cryptocurrencies. Trump later recalled that he specifically asked his assistants about the proportion of crypto payments, and the answer was “overwhelming majority,” which “surprised him very much.”

This may have been the starting point for him to seriously consider cryptocurrencies.

In early 2024, Trump admitted in an interview with CNBC that he had made money through cryptocurrencies and described them as “crazy but interesting new currencies.” In July of that year, he appeared at the Nashville Bitcoin Conference, promising that if re-elected, he would ensure the federal government would not sell its Bitcoin holdings, and declared his goal to make the U.S. the “world’s crypto capital.” On the same day, his campaign announced it had raised $25 million in donations from the crypto industry. After the election, Bitcoin’s price continued to rise, surpassing $100,000 for the first time.

On January 17, 2025, just three days before Trump’s second inauguration, the $TRUMP meme coin officially launched, starting at around $7. Within 48 hours, it soared to $74, with a market cap exceeding $14.5 billion. The token was 80% held by Trump-related companies.

A large number of Trump supporters and retail investors flooded in amid the hype, buying at high prices, causing the price to fall rapidly. Chain analysis by The New York Times showed over 810,000 wallets lost about $2 billion in total, but Trump-related companies profited approximately $100 million in transaction fees from high trading volumes.

Subsequently, meme coins gradually formed a clear commercial logic.

In April 2025, the project team announced that the top 220 token holders would be invited to a private dinner with Trump. After the announcement, the meme coin’s price surged over 50% in a single day. This meant that access to the president was directly linked to a tradable digital asset, with clear bidding.

On March 12, 2026, Trump announced via social media that his second campaign event was scheduled for April 25 at Mar-a-Lago, featuring a crypto and business summit with 297 seats. Eligibility was still based on ranking by meme coin holdings, with the top 29 also earning VIP meetings with Trump.

However, the event terms also stated that if it conflicted with White House schedules, Trump might not attend, and the event could be canceled at any time. Several media outlets noted that the event coincided with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which drew attention to whether Trump would actually attend. Within 12 hours of the announcement, the meme coin’s price rose another 50%.

“Gray Area”

Trump earned $1.4 billion in a year. The core controversy in the U.S. remains: Is a sitting president directly profiting from policies influenced by himself?

A Democratic House investigation concluded that Trump’s regulatory policies in the cryptocurrency sector objectively favored his family’s business ventures. Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to regulators, demanding a halt to the review of World Liberty Financial’s banking license until the Trump family fully divested from the company. She stated publicly, “We have never seen such a scale of financial conflicts of interest.”

The White House responded that Trump’s assets had been placed into a trust managed by his children, thus avoiding conflicts of interest. Critics, however, pointed out that this arrangement differs fundamentally from an independent blind trust legally. Trump was not unaware of the trust’s assets; he could access information about them at any time.

Historically, U.S. presidents have managed personal wealth through unwritten conventions. Assets are usually placed in independent blind trusts, with management and transaction information kept separate. Presidents generally distance themselves from business decisions during their terms to reduce conflicts between public power and private interests.

Typically, after leaving office, former presidents increase their wealth through publishing memoirs, giving speeches, and participating in foundation activities. Johnson, Bush, Obama, and others have earned substantial royalties and speaking fees post-presidency.

The real issue is not just how much Trump earned, but that the presidency itself has become the most valuable business asset. Meme coins, Mar-a-Lago, crypto summits—these are just different ventures, all driven by one main question: who is willing to bid for proximity to the president?

More controversially, beyond Trump’s asset surge, the blurred boundary between politics and business—already fuzzy—seems to be pushed even further.

(Author: Research Fellow at the Asia and Africa Institute, University of London)

Reporter: Xue Zijing

Editor: Xu Fangqing