MW Donald Trump joins list of world's biggest billionaires, boosted by Truth Social stake: report
By Barbara Kollmeyer
Former President Donald Trump has joined the ranks of the biggest billionaires in the world, thanks largely to his stake in a social-media company that just completed a merger with a blank check company.
In roughly a day, Trump's net worth surged roughly $4 billion to $6.5 billion, qualifying him for a spot on Bloomberg's Billionaires list, the news outlet reported late Monday.
Shares of the special-purpose acquisition company, Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWACU) surged 35% on Monday, the biggest one-day gain since January after closing a merger with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which is now the official name of the company. As of Tuesday, it will begin to trade under the ticker "DJT."
The company said in February that Trump would own 78,750,000 shares of the post-merger group, or 69.4% of shares outstanding assuming maximum redemptions by DWAC shareholders. That would mean the value of Trump's holdings jumped $1.02 billion on Monday, with a value of $3.93 billion based on the closing price.
Read: Trump scores two financial victories with appeals-bond ruling and Wall Street stock listing
Trump's wealth could fluctuate, though, as he's not able to cash in on those shares for at least six months, according to SEC filings.
A longtime tracker of Trump's wealth, Forbes estimated it at $2.6 billion in September 2023:
Trump was also granted a financial lifeline on Monday after a judge reduced the amount of a $454 million bond deadline he faced to $175 million, while he appeals a fraud lawsuit in New York, while giving him 10 more days to secure those funds.
Tomi Kilgore contributed to this article
-Barbara Kollmeyer
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March 26, 2024 06:24 ET (10:24 GMT)
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