A partial accounting: What we know about President Trump’s finances |
By Jonathan D. Salant We have an idea of President Donald Trump’s net worth, because he has to file an annual disclosure form with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
We know who the biggest donors have been to his presidential campaigns and the super PACs that support him, because they have to disclose their contributions and expenditures to the Federal Election Commission. And because he has used campaign funds to pay legal fees, rather than setting up a legal defense fund, we have some sense of how he has paid for attorneys to defend him in lawsuits.
In the coming weeks, we will get a full accounting of which corporations, special interests and individuals funded Trump’s second inauguration.
But during Trump’s first term in office, we didn’t know who was staying at his Washington hotel just blocks from the White House, or buying condominiums at Trump Las Vegas, or holding receptions at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., or at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. We also never saw his tax returns, breaking a decades-long precedent dating back to President Richard Nixon.
We still don’t have that information (though Trump sold the D.C. hotel in 2022). And now that Trump has returned to the White House, there is even more we do not know about the president’s financial dealings, such as the investors in his World Liberty Financial crypto project or the buyers of Trump meme coins, Trump-branded Bibles or Trump-branded sneakers.
That’s because Trump, unlike his predecessors, never divested from his businesses and instead has found more ways to make money while occupying the White House. Federal law requires senior government officials — except the president — to divest from business interests that may pose a conflict of interest.
“We start from the point of view that we should be concerned about this because he shouldn’t have kept ownership of his businesses,” said Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, said no other president has ever had such an intermingling of personal and public business.
“We’ve seen President Trump and members of his family and close associates significantly profiting off the presidency in a way that’s unprecedented in American history,” he said. “These cryptocurrency and meme coins create a pathway … for foreign governments, for special interests, to ingratiate themselves with this administration.” Bookbinder said someone doing business with Trump could reap benefits down the road. Trump is involved in negotiations to end the schism between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia-based LIV Golf. The Trump Organization’s golf courses have hosted PGA and LIV tournaments, and a deal between the two organizations could mean millions of dollars for the president’s company, The New York Times reported. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is not hiding information from the public.
“President Trump has been the most transparent president in history in all respects, including when it comes to his finances,” Leavitt said. “President Trump handed over his multibillion-dollar empire in order to serve our country, and he has sacrificed greatly. President Trump has disclosed his financial holdings through his annual financial disclosure report and he will continue to do so.”
While Trump’s disclosure form provides some insight into his earnings, investments and liabilities, officials report dollar figures in broad ranges — limiting the public’s insight. |
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Trump administration profile: Howard Lutnick |
The Senate confirmed Howard Lutnick to be secretary of commerce on Feb. 18, putting in place a staunch supporter of President Trump’s aggressive trade policies.
Lutnick spent decades as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald before being confirmed by the Senate on a 51-45 vote. His relationship with Trump dates back to his 2008 appearance on Trump’s reality show “The Apprentice.” Lutnick co-chaired Trump’s 2024 transition team alongside Linda McMahon, becoming part of the president’s inner circle.
Since taking office, Lutnick has swiftly implemented Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy — including 25 percent levies on steel globally and threats of 200 percent tariffs on European alcohol — triggering international retaliation, market instability and recession fears. Lutnick has dismissed inflation concerns and committed to advancing Trump’s trade agenda even if it requires taking the American economy into a recession.
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Lutnick was one of Trump’s most significant financial backers in the 2024 election cycle, emerging as a central figure in GOP fundraising circles. He was the 31st biggest donor to outside spending groups in the entire 2024 election cycle, contributing over $14 million exclusively to conservative groups. His largest contributions went to MAGA, Inc., totaling nearly $9 million, making him the PAC’s ninth largest donor.
- He made additional donations to other Republican PACs, including $1.7 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and nearly $2 million to Turnout for America.
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Lutnick’s exact net worth remains undisclosed, but his financial disclosure during the confirmation process revealed positions in more than 800 businesses and private organizations, a complex network of investments from which he pledged to divest within 90 days of his confirmation. The status of this divestment process remains unclear.
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Lutnick’s advocacy for cryptocurrencies while in office has drawn scrutiny due to his extensive prior business ties to the industry. Cantor Fitzgerald is the primary banking partner for Tether, a controversial stablecoin issuer, and recently announced plans to expand its crypto business. The firm holds significant crypto-related investments, including a stake valued at more than $1.58 billion in Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, and over $87 million in iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF.
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Lutnick’s leading role in promoting Trump’s Strategic Bitcoin Reserve has raised ethical concerns, particularly as his family’s firm stands to benefit from cryptocurrency price increases. Critics contend that the proposed reserve, which would pool bitcoin confiscated through government seizures, would mainly reward current cryptocurrency investors instead of providing benefits to ordinary American citizens.
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In his confirmation hearing, Lutnick rejected mainstream economic consensus opposing Trump’s tariffs, calling it “nonsense” that tariffs contribute to inflation. He publicly stated that Trump’s economic policies would be “worth it” even if they led to a recession, calling them “the most important thing America has ever had.” When challenged about market instability caused by sudden tariff announcements, Lutnick defended the approach as strategic negotiation rather than chaos.
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Lutnick has championed Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff strategy, which imposes U.S. import taxes equal to what foreign nations charge on American goods. This approach sidesteps decades of established international practice where tariff rates were set through collaborative negotiations among multiple countries. Financial experts argue this gives the Trump administration unprecedented unilateral power to redefine global trade relationships based on presidential preference alone.
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Mike Waltz, national security advisor
- Marco Rubio, secretary of state
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Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation
- Susie Wiles, director national intelligence
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Tulsi Gabbard, director national intelligence
- Kash Patel, director of the FBI
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Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services
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Linda McMahon, secretary of education
- Elise Stefanik, ambassador to the United Nations
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Doug Burgum, secretary of the interior
- Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
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FEC dismisses Trump complaint against Washington Post |
The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that alleges The Washington Post made “illegal corporate in-kind contributions” to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.
In a bipartisan, 4-0 decision, the commissioners rejected the Trump campaign’s claim that the Post purchased advertising on social media to boost news articles critical of Trump.
Trump’s campaign had alleged that The Washington Post was conducting a “dark money corporate campaign in opposition to President Donald J. Trump” and “pretextually using its own online advertising efforts to promote Kamala Harris’s presidential candidacy.” |
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See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week: |
The Tax Lobby Is Gunning for the End of Free Direct File (NOTUS)
Several tax prep giants have stepped up their lobbying at this pivotal moment. Intuit spent $3.7 million on federal lobbying in 2024, more money than it has ever spent on federal lobbying in a single year, according to the money in politics trackers at the nonpartisan nonprofit OpenSecrets. The American Coalition for Taxpayer Rights spent $390,000 on federal lobbying last year, more money than it has spent in a single year. |
Pam Bondi’s net worth: From Florida prosecutor to U.S. Attorney General (Lexington Herald-Leader)
After leaving as state attorney general in 2019, Bondi joined Ballard Partners, a Tallahassee, Florida-based lobbying firm that is described as "specializing in all aspects of governmental and public affairs." Ballard had 174 clients and generated $19.3 million in revenue in 2024, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks money in U.S. politics. |
Elon Musk tops list of 2024 donors as worries grow about his political influence (Washington Examiner)
Any race in Georgia is likely to be closely contested and fantastically expensive. The twin Senate races in 2020, when Ossoff and Warnock narrowly won and flipped control of the Senate to Democrats, cost more than $900 million combined, according to OpenSecrets, which tracks political spending. Warnock’s 2022 reelection over Republican Herschel Walker cost more than $470 million, OpenSecrets found. |
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