Author: Ba Jiuling, Wu Xiaobo Channel
During both of his terms, Trump rejected the $400,000 presidential salary, after all, he can earn $2.2 billion a year himself.
Recently, the U.S. Federal Government Office of Ethics released a 927-page annual financial disclosure document, which showed that Trump's personal income exceeded $2.2 billion in 2025, setting a record for the highest annual income of a U.S. president in office.
What does this number mean? It exceeds McDonald's net profit for the fourth quarter last year. If Trump were to receive the $400,000 statutory presidential salary, he would need to survive without food or drink for 5,500 years.
In contrast, former President Obama busied himself with writing books, giving global speeches, and posing for photos with entrepreneurs after leaving office, nearing a net worth of $70 million by the end of 2025; Biden's net worth before leaving office was around $10 million, less than a fraction of Trump's income for that year.
But Trump hasn’t always been so prosperous. In 2024, Trump's annual income was only over $600 million, and before taking office, he had to pay nearly $500 million in fines for fraud to New York State, and $88 million to Carroll for sexual assault and defamation.
Trump's tricky financial situation was easily resolved after he took office—his annual income soared 3.5 times, and his personal net worth surged from $2.3 billion in 2024 to $6.5 billion in 2026.
Image Source: InternetNetwork
Translated, Trump's average daily earnings during his year in the White House were $6.02 million, and $250,000 per hour. This huge income was not just from real estate rentals; from cryptocurrency to resorts, from brand licensing to stock investments, Trump has almost turned the identity of "president" into a business.
Next, let’s break down this “report card” and interpret some of Trump's “investment secrets.”
1 Where Does the Money Come From?
According to a compilation of the disclosure documents by The Wall Street Journal, of the $2.2 billion Trump earned last year, $1.4 billion came from cryptocurrency, accounting for about 64%, and $575 million from real estate, accounting for about 26%, with the two combined accounting for nearly 90%.
Additionally, there were also $86.5 million from lawsuit settlements, $68.6 million from brand licensing fees, $79.3 million from stock investments, among other incomes.
Image Source:The Wall Street Journal
Cryptocurrency is undoubtedly the most dazzling page in Trump's “money-making playbook.”
Of the $1.4 billion cryptocurrency income, $635 million came from the personal meme coin launched by Trump—$TRUMP. Unlike cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum that have payment or technical functionalities, most meme coins have virtually no practical use, and their value derives more from celebrity effects, online popularity, and investor speculation.
In January 2025, with only two days left before returning to the White House at the peak of his popularity, Trump signed an IP licensing agreement with a company affiliated with him, authorizing the launch of $TRUMP named after himself. After the token was launched, it quickly gained popularity, and Trump pocketed over $600 million in licensing fees from the deal.
Trump promotes $TRUMP
Besides $TRUMP, another significant source of Trump's cryptocurrency income comes from the WLFI token.
As the 2024 presidential campaign was nearing its end, the Trump family founded the cryptocurrency company World Liberty Financial (abbreviated WLFI) and issued the WLFI token. Investors who purchased WLFI tokens could participate in platform governance, enjoy ecological rights, and earn profits by buying low and selling high in trading markets. In 2025, Trump made a massive profit of $527 million from WLFI token sales, soaring 9 times from 2024.
Finally, Trump also sold part of his equity in World Liberty Financial last year, earning $263 million.
If Trump has turned cryptocurrency into his most profitable new business, then real estate is Trump's old and foundational industry.
In 2025, the U.S. real estate market saw sluggish transactions, with home sales lingering at a 30-year low. Amid the market downturn, most of Trump's real estate projects performed poorly, with annual income levels equaling or being lower than what Trump reported ten years ago.
However, among a series of lackluster real estate projects, two types stood out as stars—resorts and golf courses, with annual income growth of 15%.
The biggest increase naturally came from the club that Trump frequently visited since taking office.
Mar-a-Lago is Trump's most famous resort, referred to by him as the "Winter White House," where he often holds events. In 2025, Mar-a-Lago's income exceeded $77 million, soaring by 50%, and the golf club near Mar-a-Lago also saw a 27% increase in revenue.
Trump attends a Halloween party at Mar-a-Lago
Ordinary real estate follows market trends, while these resorts and golf courses fluctuate with Trump's journeys.
2 Eye-Catching Stock Trades
Although cryptocurrency and real estate accounted for most of Trump's income last year, his every move in the stock market also came under the magnifying glass of the American media.
In 2025, Trump disclosed over 22,000 stock trades, averaging 87 trades each trading day.
In comparison, Trump made only 517 trades during his first term, and Biden made only 13 trades throughout his entire term. It seems Trump's investment account suddenly switched to "ultra-high-frequency mode" with his second return to the White House.
In his second term, Trump’s trading activity skyrocketed
However, what is more striking than the number of trades is the timing of Trump's trades—according to The Wall Street Journal’s analysis, Trump's account often engaged in concentrated trading around major policy announcements.
For example, in April last year, Trump announced tariffs on global trading partners known as "Liberation Day" tariffs, causing global stock markets to tremble. Subsequently, his investment account made hundreds of stock trades over several days. Days later, Trump suddenly posted on social media that "now is a good time to buy," shortly thereafter, he announced a delay in imposing tariffs on most countries, leading to a significant rebound in U.S. stocks.
Moreover, from late August to early October last year, Trump's account purchased at least $82 million worth of corporate bonds and municipal bonds across multiple industries, many of which clearly benefited from U.S. policy adjustments.
In response to external doubts, the White House explained that these trades were executed by a professional investment team handling Trump's trust account, rather than being directly operated by Trump himself. Recently, Trump also told reporters that he never questions the operations of the fund manager, attributing his significant profits to the rising stock market—“Everyone is making money, and I can make money because I have substantial capital and a lot of cash at hand.”
However, Trump clearly overlooked one aspect.
After the Watergate incident, to minimize the connection between public power and personal wealth, U.S. presidents usually sell assets potentially influenced by policies or place them under management of a blind trust established by independent third parties, ensuring they cannot intervene or be aware of specific holdings.
Although Trump also established a trust, it is not managed by an independent third party, but by family members, so it has always been accompanied by controversy over conflicts of interest.
3 The Master of Monetizing "Presidential Influence"
After reviewing the 927-page financial disclosure document, the most discussed aspect is not how much Trump earned,but that Trump has almost turned the presidential identity into a business and maximized the conversion of presidential influence into commercial profits.
Some have criticized that the White House serves as an operational center for brands for Trump, unlike for other presidents where it is an office.
The most typical example is cryptocurrency.
During his first term, Trump criticized cryptocurrency as “based on thin air” and a scam. However, in his second term, Trump's attitude did a 180-degree turn; he not only launched a series of favorable policies for the crypto industry but also stated publicly, “We want to make America the capital of cryptocurrency,” even hosting a group of the largest $TRUMP investors at the White House.
Trump attends the signing ceremony of cryptocurrency legislation
Moreover, it’s not just Trump aiming to make a profit; his entire family is also unwilling to be outdone. After the establishment of World Liberty Financial, Trump became the "chief cryptocurrency advocate," his two sons Donald Jr. and Eric served as "Web3 ambassadors," and youngest son Barron was given the title of "DeFi visionary"; within 48 hours of the launch of $TRUMP, First Lady Melania also launched her meme coin $MELANIA.
Reuters recently estimated that since Trump returned to the White House in 2025, the Trump family has profited at least $2.3 billion from cryptocurrency-related projects.
Real estate follows a similar logic.
Reportedly, the initial membership fee for Mar-a-Lago Club was around $20,000, but after the 2016 election, membership fees skyrocketed from $100,000, $200,000, to now $700,000, $1 million... The exorbitant membership spots have been widely advertised as providing “an opportunity for face-to-face interactions with Trump,” yet have also faced criticism for being a subtle sale of political connections..
The introduction page of Mar-a-Lago club states
that it allows entry into the “Trump world” system
During Trump's visit to Scotland in 2025, he even went to the newly opened golf course owned by him for a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Although he was criticized again for using presidential trips to promote private enterprises, Trump probably does not care, as this project earned him over $40 million last year.
In the stock market, Trump also spares no effort to advocate for the stocks he bought.
The Financial Times pointed out that Trump’s purchases seemed mechanically aligned with market indices, but in reality, he held a large number of stocks from companies significantly impacted by public policies.
For instance, Trump purchased $67 million worth of Nvidia stock, and since taking office, he has mentioned Nvidia in public at least 31 times and on social media 19 times.
Trump’s timing of buying and selling Nvidia stocks
and the times he publicly addresses Nvidia on social media
This series of money-making moves by Trump seems like a public experiment on the boundaries of modern political commercialization. Whether it is commercial innovation or a conflict of interest, the American public opinion is already in fierce debate.
To supporters, this is a legendary story of a successful businessman, while to critics, it implies that the presidential office is becoming a commercially viable asset.
Fox, the former acting director of the Federal Office of Ethics, stated that every president since the Watergate scandal has managed their finances in a manner to address conflicts of interest, but Trump completely disregards these standards. He fully exemplifies that it is time for further ethical reforms.
Meanwhile, the Trump Organization responded that this nearly thousand-page financial disclosure report proves that the president has conducted the most comprehensive and transparent financial disclosure in history.
Ultimately, whether these $2.2 billion is considered money earned legally may depend on U.S. law, but the debate triggered by the $2.2 billion regarding how far public power and private business should maintain distance may soon enter a new phase.
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