Trump's Media Company Worth Nearly $8 Billion on First Trading Day – The New York Times
Advertisement
Supported by
Trump Media & Technology Group, fresh from a merger with a cash-rich shell company, started trading on the Nasdaq, adding billions of dollars to the former president’s wealth.
Matthew Goldstein and
Former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company jumped on its first day of trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday, giving the company an estimated market value of close to $8 billion, larger than established corporations like Mattel, Alaska Airlines and Western Union.
The biggest beneficiary of the market action has been Mr. Trump, who owns about 60 percent of Trump Media, making him the largest shareholder. His stake in the company — the parent of Truth Social, the online platform that is Mr. Trump’s main megaphone for reaching supporters and attacking critics — is worth about $4.6 billion on paper.
For many investors, investing is as much as a sign of support for Mr. Trump personally as it is for his relatively small, loss-making social media company, which describes itself as a platform that stands against censorship by Big Tech. Such was the frenzy on Tuesday that trading in Trump Media’s shares was briefly halted by the stock exchange shortly after it opened because of extreme volatility. After gaining as much as 40 percent, the stock eased toward the close, ending the day 16 percent higher.
Trump Media closed its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corporation, a cash-rich public shell company, on Monday.
“We do appreciate President Trump but it’s more about free speech,” said Mark Willis, 63, who lives in Indian Trial, N.C. and has been buying shares in the public shell company that merged with Trump Media ever since the merger plan was proposed in 2021. “We believe this is the only social media platform that is not heavily influenced by the government.”
Scott Lewczak, a graphic designer in Nokesville, Va., and another longtime shareholder, said he is going to make money on the big surge in the price of Trump Media, but that is not the point. He said his investment was to support Truth Social and Mr. Trump.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Advertisement