Donald Trump's Net Worth Takes $1 Billion Hit As Truth Social Stock Plummets
April 1 2024, Published 6:13 p.m. ET
The parent company of Donald Trump's alternative social media platform, Truth Social, took a nosedive in the stock market on Monday after reporting serious financial losses, RadarOnline.com has learned.
As a result, the former president's net worth has taken a hit of more than $1 billion.
In the past year, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) lost $58 million and had $4.1 million in reported revenue, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report, filed days after the company's stock surged.
TMTG also reported that its fourth-quarter earnings amounted to $751,500 after topping $1 million in the first quarter, marking a 39% year-over-year decline, the SEC filing said.
The price of shares had tumbled by more than 21% as of Monday afternoon to around $48, but the stock is still up by nearly 200% so far this year.
Upon going public last week, the company's market value shot up to more than $6.5 billion dollars, which made the former president's shares worth an estimated $4.88 billion. However, the stock's devaluation has now brought his stake down to about $3.83 billion, The Guardian reported.
Monthly active American users on the site also fell 51% year-over-year, to 494,000 in February, according to CNN.
For context, Twitter generated around $665 million in revenue for the year leading to its public launch, and $5.2 billion in the final year before Elon Musk's takeover. X now has 75 million active monthly users in the U.S.
The decision to go public was seen as a potential financial lifeline for Trump, who owns more than 78 million shares in the company, aiding in covering various legal expenses, penalties, and funding his presidential campaign.
However, analysts warn the stock may face further devaluation once Trump begins selling off a significant portion of his more than 78 million shares in the company.
Moreover, Trump's ongoing legal battles, including cases related to the 2016 election, the Capitol insurrection, and defamation lawsuits, pose additional risks to the company's stability. The potential legal fallout from these cases could further erode investor confidence and impact Truth Social's reputation, the parent company acknowledged in its SEC filing.
"The value of [Trump Media and Technology Group's] brand may diminish if the popularity of President Trump were to suffer," TMTG said. "To the extent users prefer a platform that is not associated with President Trump, TMTG's ability to attract users may decrease."
All of TMTG's revenue comes from advertising on Truth Social. Most of its expenses are tied to interest on debt, although the company also had around a $16 million operating loss for 2023.
Trump spent much of Easter Sunday on Truth Social attacking the "crooked and corrupt prosecutors and judges" involved in his ongoing legal troubles, as RadarOnline.com reported.
By 3 PM Eastern Time, the embattled former president had racked up over 70 "Truths" and "Re-Truths" in the posting bender.
"Happy Easter to all, including crooked and corrupt prosecutors and judges that are doing everything possible to interfere with the presidential election of 2024, and put me in prison," Trump wrote in all-caps on Sunday afternoon.
MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace expressed frustration over comments he made on the platform regarding a judge's daughter, as RadarOnline.com also reported.
Wallace, accompanied by former federal Judge Michael Luttig and other guests, criticized the remarks as attempts to undermine the credibility of the justice system in anticipation of potential legal rulings against him.
The ex-president also announced that he will, in fact, pay the reduced $175 million bond in his New York civil fraud trial while he seeks to appeal the $460 million judgment.