Forbes Reporter Challenges Trump’s Account of $3 Billion Wealth Gain

Trump disputed the premise during the interview with Ross Douthat. “So did everyone’s!” he said when Douthat cited the nearly $3 billion increase, then added, “Well, you should have had stock.” Trump also said he did not pay close attention to his net worth, before conceding, “I guess it’s gone up” over the past two years.

Alexander’s account traces an initial $1.8 billion increase in 2024 to Trump Media and Technology Group becoming publicly traded after merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp. He then pointed to World Liberty Financial, launched shortly before the election to sell a crypto token. Alexander said the Trump side was entitled to a 52.5% cut of each dollar investors put in after the first $30 million.

Chinese billionaire Justin Sun invested $30 million in the venture 20 days after Trump’s election victory and announced a further $45 million investment a day before the inauguration, Alexander wrote. Trump also launched a meme coin that surged before falling sharply, leaving most investors billions of dollars underwater, according to the article. Foreign investment in World Liberty Financial continued after the election, including from the United Arab Emirates. The Wall Street Journal later reported that associates of an Abu Dhabi royal family member had agreed to buy a 49% stake in the venture for $500 million.

Alexander said World Liberty Financial and the meme coin generated $1.425 billion in liquidity in one year. He also cited overseas licensing income that was 10 times higher in 2025 than two years earlier. His breakdown attributed $1 billion to World Liberty Financial dealings, $1 billion to crypto-token sales, $400 million to branding ventures and $500 million to an appeals court decision overturning a fine in Trump’s civil financial fraud case.

Alexander concluded that almost none of Trump’s roughly $3 billion gain from fall 2024 to fall 2025 came from stocks. He said Forbes had estimated Trump’s liquid assets at about $415 million in fall 2024, with stock accounting for about 10% after review of his financial disclosure.