Former President Donald Trump has joined the ranks of the biggest billionaires in the world, thanks largely to his stake in a social-media company that soared on its first day of trading.
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Trump’s net worth has surged this week, qualifying him for a spot on Bloomberg’s Billionaires list, the news outlet reported late Monday. It calculated his net worth at roughly $6.5 billion.
But that total has likely risen. Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. DJT soared 42% in their debut on Tuesday, a day after closing a merger with special-purpose acquisition company, Digital World Acquisition Corp on Monday. The latter surged 35% on the closure news Monday.
The company said in February that Trump would own 78,750,000 shares of the post-merger group, or 69.4% of shares outstanding assuming maximum redemptions by DWAC shareholders. That would mean the value of Trump’s holdings jumped $1.02 billion on Monday, with a value of $3.93 billion based on the closing price.
The sharp gains seen for shares early Tuesday indicate the value of his stake has climbed by more than $2 billion since the finalization of the merger was announced on Monday.
Read: Trump scores two financial victories with appeals-bond ruling and Wall Street stock listing
Trump’s wealth could fluctuate, though, as he’s not able to cash in on those shares for at least six months, according to SEC filings.
A longtime tracker of Trump’s wealth, Forbes estimated it at $2.6 billion in September 2023:
Trump was also granted a financial lifeline on Monday after a judge reduced the amount of a $454 million bond deadline he faced to $175 million, while he appeals a fraud lawsuit in New York, while giving him 10 more days to secure those funds.
Tomi Kilgore contributed to this article
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