Trump Transfers DJT Shares to Revocable Trust: New SEC Filings
President-elect Donald Trump recently made a significant move, transferring all of his shares in Trump Media to a revocable trust of which he is the sole beneficiary. This transfer, which took place earlier this week, was detailed in regulatory filings. What’s interesting is that Trump did not receive any money in exchange for gifting his 114,750,000 shares to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. The value of this stock, given the closing price of Trump Media shares at $35.41 apiece, exceeds $4 billion.
The structure of this arrangement means that since Trump is the beneficiary of the trust, he “indirectly” owns the shares he transferred, as indicated in the SEC filing. Acting as the trustee of this trust is Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who now has sole voting and investment power over the securities it holds.
This gift of shares doesn’t alter the dominance of Trump within Trump Media, the company behind the Truth Social app. Prior to the transfer, Trump held nearly 53% of the company’s outstanding shares, consolidating his influence within the organization.
The financials of Trump Media paint an intriguing picture. Despite a skyrocketing market capitalization of over $7 billion, the company’s revenue report on Election Day showed just $1.01 million in sales and a net loss of $19.2 million for the quarter. As of the end of the third quarter, the company possessed $673 million in cash and investments, with no outstanding debt.
The method Trump used to transfer his shares into a revocable trust isn’t entirely new, as he had adopted a similar approach before taking office in 2017. This scheme involved transferring real estate assets and other liabilities to the very same trust. He had also used this arrangement in 2016 during his presidential campaign.
It’s worth noting that Trump has not held any executive position within Trump Media, the shares of which became public after a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp earlier this year. Interestingly, Trump nominated two members of Trump Media’s board for key positions in his administration: Linda McMahon as Education Secretary and Kash Patel as the next FBI director. Moreover, Trump appointed Devin Nunes, CEO of Trump Media, as the Chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, a position not requiring Senate confirmation.
As there has been no comment from the Trump camp or Trump Media regarding this share transfer, it remains an intriguing development to watch.
