President Donald Trump’s net worth is about to double as shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) approved its merger with Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG), which owns Trump’s Truth Social.
The tie-up between the two companies gives Trump a major business windfall, reaching $3 billion, that could boost his campaign and legal fight forward.
The newly merged company could begin trading on the Nasdaq Composite Index next week and will use the DJT ticker.
Trump has the majority of shares in the company, at least 58 percent, with almost 79 million shares. His total stake is estimated to reach $3 billion, as Digital World closed in stocks last Friday at $36.94.
The merger approval was a positive development for Trump, whose financial woes pile up amid the several legal charges he is confronting. Early this week, his lawyers pleaded in court that the bond required was “impossible” to secure as the former president lacked cash on hand.
A senior executive at a large US hedge fund signaled that, despite a six-month lock-up provision, the former president could obtain a waiver to liquidate his billion dollars worth of stock to meet the deadline imposed by the Communist judge to post the $450 million bond.
But the Republican nominee had already made it clear that he had no intentions of giving this money to Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge—the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” Trump told the Hill when asked for comment.
He also vowed to take the case “all the way up to the Supreme Court if necessary.”
“They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal the decision of a Trump-hating, incompetent judge who has been overturned more than any judge in the state,” he said.
Trump aims to secure the half-billion-dollar bond before Monday to avoid James’ seizure of his assets.
In his social media post last Friday, the GOP leader said he already had $500 million but did not want to use it for bond payments.
Meanwhile, former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-California) is expected to take over the CEO role, while Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump administration officials will join as board members.
Just as with any other tech startup, Truth Social has struggled to keep itself afloat.
In the first nine months of 2023, the social media platform announced a $10.6 million operating loss. But revenues surged from $237,000 in 2022 to $3.38 billion last year.
