Trump Earns $2.2 Billion Annually, Two-Thirds from Crypto, Trades Stocks 87 Times Daily
- Core Thesis: Trump's 2025 personal income exceeded $2.2 billion, a record for a U.S. President, with cryptocurrency ventures contributing $1.4 billion (64% of total). However, his wealth surge is shadowed by insider trading controversies and retail investor losses.
- Key Elements:
- Trump's 2025 net worth stands at $6.5 billion, with an annual income of $2.2 billion, a 2.8x increase from 2024. Crypto income totaled $1.4 billion, including ~$800 million from the WLFI project and ~$635 million from the TRUMP Meme coin.
- Trump's personal portfolio holds over $100 million in BTC and ETH, alongside various altcoins like LINK, AAVE, and ENA. Reuters estimates his family's crypto ventures have generated at least $2.3 billion in profits.
- The TRUMP Meme coin has led to losses for approximately 1 million investors. Trump claims ignorance of his crypto earnings, stating they are managed by family members, thereby avoiding legal scrutiny.
- Trump's stock account logged over 22,000 trades annually, averaging 87 per day, with high-frequency activity focused on tech giants. Trade timing closely aligns with major U.S. policy moves (e.g., "Liberation Day" tariffs), raising insider trading suspicions.
- Through the "DT Marks" brand licensing, 20 shell companies generated nearly $60 million annually. Additionally, he profited from real estate ventures in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, countries that subsequently received U.S. policy concessions.
- Historical comparison: Biden's net worth at the end of his term was ~$10 million; Obama's net worth by end of 2025 was nearly $70 million. Trump's first-year income in his second term reached tens of billions, vastly surpassing his predecessors.
Original｜Odaily（@OdailyChina）
Author｜Wenser（@wenser2010）
How much does a U.S. president earn in a year?
Before Trump, that figure was typically $400,000, which is the statutory annual presidential salary; plus an additional $50,000 annual expense allowance, $100,000 in tax-free travel allowance, and $19,000 for entertainment expenses. Perks of the office also include the presidential limousine, Marine One helicopter, Air Force One, and free residency at the White House.
But "typical" has never applied to Trump. Recently, Trump’s annual financial disclosure filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics revealed that Trump's personal income for 2025 exceeded $2.2 billion, setting a record for the highest annual income during a U.S. presidency.
This 927-page document clearly outlines the business empire centered around Trump's power.
Trump's "Guide to Monetizing Power": $1.4 Billion from Crypto, Over $100 Million in BTC and ETH Holdings
For a twice-elected U.S. president like Trump, the $400,000 base salary is already beneath notice; he has declined the presidential salary twice.
Instead, leveraging his "brand image" and "family business," he has carved out new avenues of wealth beyond his real estate roots.
Trump's "Income Curve": Personal Wealth Doubles 2.8 Times in 2 Years, Crypto Becomes a Cornucopia
According to Forbes billionaire data, in 2024 Trump's net worth was still around $2.3 billion. At that time, his annual income was about $600 million, but he was also burdened with massive debts: a $500 million fine owed to New York State for fraud, and an $88 million judgment owed to E. Jean Carroll for sexual abuse and defamation.
As of 2026 data, Trump's current personal net worth stands at $6.5 billion. In 2025, Trump's personal annual income was $2.2 billion, of which the "new family business" of cryptocurrency generated $1.4 billion, accounting for approximately 64%; the "old family business" of real estate brought in $575 million, about 26%; the remaining 10% came mainly from litigation settlements ($86.5 million), brand licensing fees ($68.6 million), and other income like stock investments ($79.3 million).
Odaily will focus on peeling back the layers of the Trump family's "crypto wealth-building secrets" and their "Trump-style industry chain."
Trump's "Crypto Details": I Didn't Know, and I Didn't Recuse Myself
In a recent media interview, the "great President" claimed to be unaware of his own "crypto earnings". His exact words were: "I've always been making money. I'm a businessman, and a very good one. I made money, a considerable amount... I let other people manage it. I haven't even spoken to them – I don't even know who they are... My son Eric handles that side of things. I don't discuss such things with him... Not knowing these things isn't illegal... There's no law saying that when governing the country, you have to recuse yourself from every decision that might relate to you. It's simply not realistic."
For some reason, this humblebrag of "Huh? I made more money again?" coming from Trump doesn't surprise anyone.
According to the latest personal financial disclosure, Trump's personal assets include over $100 million in BTC and ETH, as well as smaller amounts of altcoins like LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, and ONDO. Trump also earned nearly $800 million from the crypto project World Liberty Financial, which he co-founded with his sons (including $527 million from token sales and $263 million from equity transfers, including equity in stablecoin company Stablecoin Holdco LLC and WLFI). He also received approximately $635 million from selling TRUMP Meme coins and over $80 million from legal settlements with media companies.
Reuters previously estimated that since Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, the Trump family's crypto ventures have generated at least $2.3 billion in profits from investors.
Where does the income from the crypto world come from?
Success is built on countless failures. In the dog-eat-dog crypto market, every dollar Trump earns comes from the blood-stained chips of retail and institutional investors.
Trump's "Personal American Dream": I Am the Stock Picker
Beyond crypto, stock market gains are another significant chapter in Trump's wealth story.
According to financial documents, Trump reported over 22,000 stock trades in 2025, averaging 87 trades per day, making him a veritable "high-frequency trader." As Trump said earlier, the White House explains that "these trades were executed by the professional investment team managing the Trump Trust Account, not directly by Trump himself."
Looking closer at Trump's stock holdings reveals a telling picture.
- Specifically, Trump's 8 stock accounts hold over 4,000 stocks, primarily concentrated in major US tech giants like Alphabet (Google), Apple, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Amazon, with holdings ranging from $5 million to $25 million each. Index products like the S&P 500 ETF and tech sector ETFs are also on the list.
- In terms of trading activity, Trump's stock investments don't follow a "value investing style" but rather resemble a "swing trader." Over the past year, Trump's stock account bought and sold Microsoft stock 84 times; Google even more, at 97 times. Most strikingly, on August 18 last year, Trump's account seemingly bought all 8 of the aforementioned tech stocks at once, along with other popular names spanning payments (Visa, Mastercard), investment banking (JPMorgan Chase), insurance (UnitedHealth), pharmaceuticals (Eli Lilly), and other sectors.
- Regarding long-term holdings, Trump's account bought gold ETFs and silver ETFs 5 times over the year and sold none. US Treasuries and a Vanguard fund tracking dividend growth were also held.
Let's consider what was happening "outside the market" when these on-exchange trades occurred.
Throughout last year, Trump's account frequently executed intensive trades around the release of major US policies: In April, Trump announced "Liberation Day" tariffs on global trading partners, sparking a "global tariff war" that saw US-China tariffs surge over 100%. During this period, Trump's account executed hundreds of stock trades over several consecutive days. Days later, Trump performed his first "TACO" maneuver, first saying "it's a good time to buy," then announcing a pause on tariff hikes, leading to a sharp rebound in US stocks. Also, from late August to October last year, Trump's account bought at least $82 million in corporate and municipal bonds across various industries, many of which clearly benefited from US policy shifts.
Just yesterday, the US launched another strike against Iran, causing crude oil prices to rise and US stocks to fall. A suspected insider address placed bets on "long crude oil, short Nasdaq" with a position size of $21 million, generating floating profits of over $500,000, inevitably fueling speculation.
Numerous signs point to the "TACO" strategy being rife with insider trading and backroom deals.
The "TACO" Conspiracy Theory: Insider Trading and Going Through the Motions
The conflict between Trump's business dealings and US national interests has always been a public focus and a core controversy. Many Democratic senators have previously raised objections, urging authorities to take action and launch investigations. However, constrained by Trump's presidential status, most controversies have either fizzled out or been temporarily shelved.
But in retrospect, many of Trump's anomalous actions may have been motivated by profit-seeking.
In January 2025, just days before Trump officially took office, an investment firm linked to the UAE government acquired a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million. Shortly after, despite strong opposition from some US national security officials, the Trump administration reached an agreement with the UAE regarding the export of computer chips related to artificial intelligence.
Furthermore, his family business, the Trump Organization, received millions to tens of millions of dollars from real estate projects in countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Romania, and Vietnam. These countries subsequently obtained policy or political concessions from the US in areas such as trade, military, and technology.
This also leads back to the "real estate business" that founded the Trump family fortune and the brand destinations built on Trump's powerful celebrity aura.
Brand Value: Endorsed by President Trump
Scrolling through Trump's personal financial report, a conspicuous section includes numerous companies starting with "DT Marks" – DT Marks Dubai, DT Marks Doha, DT Marks Abu Dhabi, DT Marks Hyderabad, DT Marks Gurgaon... It seems like real estate businesses worldwide have ties to the Trump family.
But in reality, these are mostly shell companies – most have no actual assets, and "valuation" is meaningless. Their only value is "bearing the TRUMP name and enjoying the brand premium." In other words, through "surname licensing," Trump leveraged about 20 "DT Marks" companies to rake in nearly $60 million in 2025 alone. DT Marks Dubai brought in $10.36 million, and DT Marks Abu Dhabi brought in $9.24 million.
Unlike Obama, who sold memoirs, gave global speeches, and took photos with entrepreneurs after leaving office, Trump has maximized the commercial value of the "presidency" combined with the "Trump" surname.
A Symbiotic Relationship: The Era of Politics and Business Meets the Merchant President
For 250 years, compared to the political power represented by the "U.S. President" identity, a president's earning ability has never attracted widespread attention.
When Biden left office, his net worth was around $10 million. By the end of 2025, Obama's personal net worth was just shy of $70 million. The Obamas' total income in 2013 was only $481,100 because "the book didn't sell well," nearly $130,000 less than in 2012, and they had to pay a 20.4% income tax rate.
From Washington to Trump, across 47 presidencies, the salary has only been raised 5 times: President Washington's salary was $25,000 (reportedly donated entirely to the nation); in 1873, President Grant's salary increased to $50,000; 36 years later, President Taft's salary reached $75,000; in 1949, President Truman's salary broke $100,000; 20 years later, President Nixon's salary finally reached $200,000; in 1999, at President Clinton's request, the salary was raised to $400,000. However, due to a US law stipulating that "salary increases can only take effect after the next president enters the White House," George W. Bush ultimately became the "first U.S. president with a $400,000 annual salary."
Now, in just the first year of his second term, Trump has single-handedly elevated his annual income to the tens of billions level. Clearly, not from a fixed salary. Moving with the times? Capitalizing on national fortunes? Monetizing power? It's a combination of all three. This is what sets Trump apart from his predecessors in terms of vision and action: understanding the fundamental rules of the world and then fully exploiting them for his own benefit.
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