People can’t seem to get enough of Trump and his political moves! Even though many tabloids wrote negative things about him, people were already obsessed with him before he returned to power.
Before the 2024 presidential elections, concerns grew over Trump’s money-making ventures. A report from The Washington Post revealed that he was selling $100,000 watches, which could be bought with bitcoin.
This raised fears that wealthy donors could avoid legal limits by purchasing these expensive items instead of making direct political donations. MSNBC’s Steve Benen pointed out that Trump could then use the money to fund his campaign since there are no rules on how much a candidate can spend on their own race.
Billionaires like Elon Musk openly supported Trump. They could legally pour huge amounts into his campaign, use his social media platform X to influence people, and promote his brand—all without facing major legal restrictions.
According to The New Republic, Trump is set to make even more money, surpassing his past business ventures like NFTs, golden sneakers, and other merchandise. One of his biggest moves was taking his company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), public in March 2024. This was after he was banned from X (formerly Twitter) on January 8, 2021, following the January 6 Capitol riot.
Trump then launched Truth Social as a Twitter alternative in February 2022, promoting it as a free speech platform aimed at conservative users. His company made huge profits as its stock value surged. Trump personally owned more than half of it, worth nearly $3 billion.
As the election approached, Trump introduced a new crypto venture called World Liberty Financial (WLFI). After winning, his wealth and business dealings expanded even further. A supporter invested another $45 million, and on January 20, the day of his inauguration, Trump’s team launched an official cryptocurrency called $TRUMP, creating a frenzy in the digital market.
Trump’s administration introduced $TRUMP under CIC Digital LLC, an affiliate of the Trump Organization. His media company, TMTG, also launched another cryptocurrency called Truth-Fi, investing $250 million in tokens. However, the crypto industry is heavily regulated, so Trump’s administration worked on making the rules more relaxed.
Eventually, Trump’s Justice Department dropped corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for his cooperation on immigration policies and other government measures.
However, these moves impacted other industries too. Lawyers worried about losing work, while businesses started pouring money into Trump’s family. Companies paid millions to settle lawsuits Trump had filed or struck new business deals with him. Melania Trump secured a $40 million Amazon documentary deal, wrote a book, and even negotiated with Jeff Bezos at Mar-a-Lago.
Elon Musk also got involved, paying Trump $10 million to settle a lawsuit over his Twitter ban after January 6. Later, Musk joined Trump’s administration as an adviser and became the volunteer head of a new department called DOGE.
In the end, instead of reducing corruption, Trump’s second term made it easier for big corporations, tech leaders, and investors to openly influence politics and funnel money into his circle.
