Politics Business Culture Technology Environment Travel World
Home Business Feature
Business · Exclusive

Trump's Crypto Empire Generated Over €1 Billion in First Year Back in Office

Trump's Crypto Empire Generated Over €1 Billion in First Year Back in Office
Business · 2026
Photo · Beatrice Romano for European Pulse
By Beatrice Romano Business & Markets Editor Jul 1, 2026 4 min read

US President Donald Trump earned roughly $1.2 billion (€1.05 billion) from his family's cryptocurrency ventures during his first year back in the White House, according to a federal financial disclosure released on Tuesday. The 927-page filing, submitted to the US Office of Government Ethics, offers the most detailed picture yet of how Trump's fortune has grown since he returned to office in January 2025.

Barely established when he was sworn in, Trump's crypto businesses now generate more revenue than large parts of the property empire he spent decades assembling with his family. Two ventures account for the bulk of the windfall.

World Liberty Financial, the firm launched in 2024 by Trump's sons and business partners, brought in more than $500 million (€438 million) from selling new crypto products, including so-called governance tokens that grant holders voting rights in certain company decisions but no ownership stake. A separate business tied to the $TRUMP "meme" coin, a cryptocurrency bearing the US president's face and name, generated a further $635 million (€557 million) from token sales.

Trump's crypto activities appear to be a major driver of the near tripling of his personal fortune, which Forbes estimates rose from $2.3 billion (€2 billion) to $6.5 billion (€5.7 billion) between 2024 and 2026.

Investors Left Holding Losses

For many buyers, the story has been far less lucrative. The $TRUMP coin, which briefly traded above $74 in the days after its launch, has since collapsed to under $2, while World Liberty's tokens have shed around 80% of their value since they began trading last September.

Since the disclosure lists only revenue and not profit, the true scale of Trump's personal gains cannot be known. However, the filing shows that the US president and his family collected fees and royalties up front, while many investors have seen the value of their holdings fall sharply.

Among those investors was Chinese-born crypto billionaire Justin Sun, who poured $75 million (€65.7 million) into the governance tokens and $200 million (€175.3 million) into both $TRUMP and $MELANIA meme coins. A US fraud case against him was later paused before being resolved with a $10 million (€8.7 million) settlement. Sun has denied any connection between his spending and the outcome of his legal troubles.

After the release of the filing, the White House rejected suggestions of any ethical concerns. "Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest," Principal Deputy US Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP. Kelly said Trump had "proudly made the United States the crypto capital of the world."

"All actions by President Trump and his administration are taken in the best interest of the American people, and any so-called 'reporters' pushing otherwise are recycling the same, tired, false narrative that Democrats and the legacy media have been pushing for a decade," Kelly added.

Beyond Crypto: Trump's Wider Business Empire

The filing also details an aggressive international expansion, with new hotel, resort and condominium agreements generating millions of dollars in countries that were negotiating with Washington over trade and security at the same time. A development in the United Arab Emirates earned the Trump business around $10.4 million (€9.1 million) last year, one in Saudi Arabia roughly $9 million (€7.9 million), and projects in Qatar, Romania and Vietnam were $5 million (€4.3 million) apiece.

Closer to home, Trump's established businesses boomed alongside all the new ventures. Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida, generated around $77 million (€67.5 million), a jump of roughly 50% on the previous year, as heads of state and executives flocked to the property during his new term.

The disclosure also reveals the wide range of ways the Trump brand is now monetised. The US president earned millions from a sprawling range of branded goods, from sneakers and watches to bumper stickers, with Trump-branded watches alone bringing in $4.7 million (€4.1 million), and more than $200,000 (€175,300) coming from the "God Bless the USA" Bible, a branded edition promoted with country singer Lee Greenwood. Branded merchandise of this kind, sold by a sitting US president, has no precedent.

A 1978 law requires the president and vice president of the United States to declare their income as well as their assets. First Lady Melania Trump's income is also set out in her husband's financial disclosure, including more than $10 million (€8.7 million) tied to a biographical Amazon documentary and over $500,000 (€438,250) from her memoir. For comparison, US Vice President JD Vance reported between $1 million (€876,500) and $5 million (€4.4 million) in royalties from his 2016 book Hillbilly Elegy.

The disclosure comes amid broader tensions between the US and Europe over trade and digital regulation. The European Union has been pushing for a digital services tax that Trump has threatened to counter with tariffs, as reported in Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs on EU Over Digital Services Tax. Meanwhile, the US president's fossil fuel push has faltered as solar energy surges past coal, a trend detailed in Trump's Fossil Fuel Push Fails as US Solar Surges Past Coal.

More from this story

Next article · Don't miss

World Cup 2026: Heat Disparities Threaten European Teams' Performance

New analysis shows heat stress is unevenly affecting World Cup teams, with Portugal, Spain, and Brazil facing over 66% chance of impaired performance. Only three host stadiums are climate-controlled, and climate change is worsening conditions.

Read the story →
World Cup 2026: Heat Disparities Threaten European Teams' Performance