Donald Trump took the office of the President of the United States in January 2025, and in the less than two years since, his personal wealth has ballooned by $4.1 billion – largely thanks to cryptocurrency ventures.
Forbes now estimates his net worth to be approximately $6.4 billion, a significant leap from $2.3 billion in 2024.
The new figures also starkly reveal the contrast between Trump and the three previous presidents, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush, highlighting the 80-year-old Trump's ongoing controversial use of the office.
How did Biden, Obama, and Bush raise their net worth?
© MANDEL NGANMorning Joe contributor and analyst Steve Rattner posted a bar chart on X that highlighted the wild gap between Trump and the former presidents, with Trump's net worth rising 183% in the first two years.
In comparison, President Biden's wealth grew by 5% in the first two years, due to "ordinary salary savings and investment returns".
President Bush's net worth rose 35% thanks to "reinvested proceeds from a pre-2001 Texas Rangers stake," while President Obama saw an increase of 47% in his first two years because of "royalties from books he wrote before taking office".
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesObama wrote The Audacity of Hope in 2006, and the 1995 memoir, Dreams Of My Father.
How did Trump raise his net worth?
In comparison, 26% of Trump's new net worth comes from "pre-existing real estate and golf" ventures.
However, the overwhelming majority comes from cryptocurrency, with Rattner, a former staffer on Obama's Auto Task Force, calling the windfall "unprecedented in scale & source," in his post.
© Getty"Obama's wealth grew from royalties on books written before office — and Bush's mostly from a sports‑team stake from over a decade prior. Most of Trump's new billions are from deals made in office," he added.
What is the $TRUMP meme coin?
The "Official Trump" ($TRUMP) token launched in January 2025, days before he was inaugurated.
Meme coins are highly speculative and volatile, relying on trading volume spikes, and $TRUMP opened with a market valuation of around $15 billion.
A year on, it is now worth around $400 million, a dip of 97% that led to massive investor losses – but not for Trump.
© Getty ImagesThat's because Trump and Trump-affiliated entities never directly invested. Instead, they earned hundreds of millions in royalties; each time a $TRUMP meme coin was bought or sold, a 1% to 5% transfer fee was automatically routed to affiliated wallets – such as Trump's company – regardless of token price.
Stablecoins, like USD1, are lower risk, bridging the gap between cryptocurrency, such as $TRUMP and traditional currency, by generating a predictable yield and maintaining a consistent value.
Is Trump's involvement in crypto illegal?
Trump and his family have faced repeated criticism of profiting off the presidency, however Trump maintains that all dealings are completely legal because his sons, Eric and Don Jr, largely handle the business operations.
© Getty Images"I could know about it. I didn’t. There’s nothing illegal. There’s nothing wrong with it I could know (sic)," Trump said in an interview with CNBC in July after the disclosures were released.
His involvement and continued personal profits have also led to debates in the US Senate including the ongoing drafting of the CLARITY Act.
What is the CLARITY Act?
The CLARITY Act attempts to establish a formal regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies that would "prohibit federal elected officials or immediate family members from issuing or directly monetizing personal digital assets during their tenure in office".
