this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2024
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Former President Donald Trump is on the cusp of scoring a major financial bonanza – at least on paper.

As long as Trump Media & Technology Group’s share price doesn’t spectacularly implode before Tuesday’s closing bell, Trump is on track to receive another 36 million shares as the owner of Truth Social.

This milestone is on track to be hit after the market closes on Tuesday.

Even though Trump Media is losing money and Truth Social is very tiny, those new shares Trump is in line to receive would be valued at about $1.3 billion at current prices.

Trump’s net worth has been on a roller coaster ride ever since his social media company finalized its deal to go public late last month. The former president is the dominant shareholder in a stock that has been called a “meme stock on steroids.”

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[–] athos77@kbin.social 105 points 8 months ago (3 children)

"meme stock on steroids" aka "a way to launder money to trump". Just like the fake NFTs, the sneakers, bibles and all the other bullshit.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 33 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Trump is just a meme of capitalism. The stock market is just a front to launder money, and control people.

[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's crazy how apparent and in the open this all is and is just the "this is fine" meme

[–] 4grams@awful.systems 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I’m convinced it’s the same “fuck you get mine” mentality that it always has been. turnip just is showing them how to play the game. these clownshoes all think they can be the next one to cheat their way to the top. new american dream everyone.

[–] tsonfeir@lemm.ee 2 points 8 months ago

Maybe this is why I’m not a billionaire. I’ve never been good at cheating the system.

As a publicly traded stock, I wonder if any journalist is working on tracking ownership of the stock. Certainly it will be time-consuming - a Russian plan to launder donations would use local-registered shell companies, I'd guess - but probably doable.

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 100 points 8 months ago (4 children)

I think this example illustrates very well how detached from reality the stock market is: Truth Social is not an important social media platform and will probably never make a profit. Nevertheless, one can make an absurd amount of money with such a bogus company - but unfortunately only if one has the right friends and belongs to their circles.

In this sense, one almost has to be grateful to Trump because he makes the functional logic of this rotten system so obvious.

[–] agressivelyPassive@feddit.de 68 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's market manipulation for money laundering purposes, nothing more.

It's the high street version of putting an empty box for sale on eBay for 10000€.

[–] Dkarma@lemmy.world 14 points 8 months ago

This is it so much. It's not even remotely about how the stock market is detached from reality.. IT Always WAS!

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 25 points 8 months ago

To put in perspective how detached from reality Trump Media's stock price is, the Truth Social platform's total revenue is about the same as a single McDonald's location.

Despite this, the company has a market cap of almost 5 billion. That is completely insane.

[–] massacre@lemmy.world 21 points 8 months ago

Sorry to say, but this one goes well beyond the current fuckery of the existing Stock Market.

This is the biggest money laundering scheme ever run in public view. The only thing propping up any price for Truth SOcial are those with a vested interest in paying off The Donald and putting the GOP in power; Saudia Arabia and Russia - with just a splash of China. Follow the money.

[–] TenderfootGungi@lemmy.world 11 points 8 months ago

Possibly. Or a really creative way of bypassing campaign finance laws.

[–] OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee 20 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Surely you can't add 36 million shares without impacting the share price, and the diluted per-share value impacts every stock he owns, not just the new ones.

I don't know how the math pencils out but I would be surprised if the value of his total ownership stake increases by a billion dollars with all that math working against it.

[–] Webster@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

The distribution itself shouldn't cause a large drop in the per share price since the market is aware of this coming and would view it as a high probability of happening based on current prices. Otherwise this would be the easiest short term short ever.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Even if he makes a billion, the two judgments against him is like ~$700 million. The other trails fines and legal fees will be in the billions as well.

[–] FenrirIII@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Nah, the GOP and PACs will pay for it all. Trump's a drifter, he doesn't pay his bills.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago

Haven't you heard?! The GOP is broke as well. Trump has more money than they do at the moment.

[–] ares35@kbin.social 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

diaperbaby: here's our new collateral for the appeal bond

ny ag: lol no

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 8 months ago (2 children)

As long as Trump Media & Technology Group’s share price doesn’t spectacularly implode before Tuesday’s closing bell, Trump is on track to receive another 36 million shares as the owner of Truth Social.

36 million of 0 is still 0.

Even though Trump Media is losing money and Truth Social is very tiny, those new shares Trump is in line to receive would be valued at about $1.3 billion at current prices.

36 million of 0 is still 0.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 29 points 8 months ago (3 children)

But it's not 0? Trump is shit and this company is his latest scam, but you literally quoted that these shares are currently worth over a billion dollars.

[–] Cheradenine@sh.itjust.works 9 points 8 months ago

Yes, unfortunately it is worth what the market will bear. Stans and those wanting to launder will keep it high enough that he will get a payday for nothing.

It would be great if the FTC, the SEC, and the FEC hammered him into the grave, but that won't happen. IIRC the first two are looking into it, but not at the orange one himself. There are of course multiple lawsuits about this already from former company officers.

Some of the original money came from China in a deal that the FTC is looking at, and further cash came from a Russian that is also being investigated.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago (1 children)
[–] ripcord@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago

It rebounded pretty significantly last week, from $22 to $35.

Last 4 years have taught me not to expect any sanity or justice with this shit again. I do not expect this to collapse.

[–] catloaf@lemm.ee 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Valued at, maybe. Worth? I'll believe it when you can use them to buy over a billion dollars' worth of Big Macs, or even sell them for enough to buy them.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 10 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

It doesn't really matter what it's valued at. All that matters is what some Russian or Saudi oligarch decides they want to pay for it when they want to make Trump dance for them.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 8 months ago

Maybe so, but Trump can't cash out for six months, so they better have some good timing.

[–] bradorsomething@ttrpg.network 2 points 8 months ago

It might have a $2 valuation. Someone has to sell the next mypillow to these people.

[–] Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Does current value take into account the amount of people will to buy at a certain price? Like, if people are buying at $49 per share, the value should be $49. But what if that's only for 10,000 shares? Those shares are worth 500,000. But then if the next people are only willing to buy for $20 per share, that's the new value.

But if they're looking at how much 1,000,000 shares are worth, are they looking at current buying price or how much people are willing to pay for 1,000,000 shares?

[–] Yewb@lemmy.world 3 points 8 months ago

In a functional stock market price is dictated by supply and demand... we no longer have that.