Former President Donald Trump has reportedly fallen short of the wealth threshold required to make Forbes’ list of America’s wealthiest people as he grapples with legal challenges and prepares for a potential 2024 campaign. Forbes has estimated his current fortune to be approximately $2.6 billion, which falls $300 million below the Forbes 400 cutoff. This marks a decline from his net worth of $3.2 billion just a year ago. Forbes attributes part of this decrease to the underperformance of Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, which has been struggling financially.
According to Forbes correspondent Dan Alexander, Truth Social has failed to gain significant user engagement, with sign-ups accounting for only about one percent of the user base of its competitor, formerly known as Twitter. Additionally, Trump’s 90 percent stake in Truth Social’s parent company has seen a significant devaluation, dropping from an estimated $730 million to less than $100 million.
The financial difficulties faced by Truth Social have been exacerbated by the stalled merger between Trump Media & Technology Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). While at one point the merger implied a valuation of over $15 billion, it remains in a state of uncertainty. Alexander notes that if Trump’s platform were thriving, securing alternative financing would likely not be a significant challenge. However, the platform’s lackluster performance raises doubts about its future prospects.
Trump’s financial decline can also be attributed to losses in his office building investments, particularly a San Francisco property in which he holds a 30 percent stake. Additionally, Trump faces a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit in New York, along with legal bills related to four indictments, which could further impact his financial situation.
In summary, Forbes’ assessment of Donald Trump’s wealth suggests that his financial standing has diminished in recent times, with Truth Social’s struggles being a notable contributing factor, alongside other financial setbacks and ongoing legal challenges.
[Trump] pitched Truth Social as a cancel-free antidote to Twitter. Investors, especially mom-and-pop traders, loved the idea. They poured money into a special-purpose-acquisition company that planned to merge with Trump’s business, at one time pushing the implied valuation of the venture above $15 billion. Forbes valued things more conservatively, adding $730 million to Trump’s fortune. That was still enough to put him back on the list of America’s richest people. Two years later, the SPAC deal remains in limbo. If Trump’s platform were thriving, he would probably have no trouble finding alternate financing. But it’s not, and there is little reason to be optimistic about Truth Social’s future.
After all, if people are not logging on to Trump’s platform to hear what he has to say now—while he is simultaneously facing a series of indictments and steamrolling the Republican presidential primary—they probably never will.
