Original|Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author|Wenser(@wenser 2010)
How much can a U.S. President earn in a year?
Before Trump, that number was typically $400,000, the statutory base presidential salary; plus an additional $50,000 annual allowance, $100,000 in tax-free travel expenses, and $19,000 in entertainment subsidies. The perks of power also include the presidential limousine, Marine One helicopter, Air Force One, and free residency in the White House.
But "typically" never describes Trump. Recently, according to Trump's annual financial disclosure documents released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump's personal income in 2025 exceeded $2.2 billion, setting a record for the highest annual income during a U.S. President's term.
This 927-page document clearly outlines the business empire with Trump at its core of power.
Trump's "Monetization Manual": Earning $1.4 Billion from Cryptocurrency, with BTC and ETH Holdings Exceeding $100 Million
For Trump, who has served as U.S. President twice, the $400,000 base salary is no longer in his sight. He has twice refused the presidential salary.
Leveraging his "brand image" and "family business," he has instead expanded in the business world, carving out various wealth paths beyond his core real estate business.
Trump's "Income Curve": Personal Wealth Triples in 2 Years, Cryptocurrency Becomes a Gold Mine
According to Forbes' billionaire list data, in 2024, Trump's personal net worth was still $2.3 billion; at that time, his annual income was around $600 million, while also burdened with massive debts—one, a $500 million fine owed to the state of New York due to fraud charges; another, $88 million owed to "sexual assault plaintiff" Carroll due to sexual assault scandal and defamation charges.
According to 2026 data, Trump's current personal net worth is $6.5 billion. In 2025, Trump's personal annual income was $2.2 billion, of which, the "family's new business" cryptocurrency generated $1.4 billion in revenue, accounting for about 64%; the "family's old trade" real estate brought in $575 million, about 26%; the remaining 10% of income mainly came from lawsuit settlements ($86.5 million), brand licensing fees ($68.6 million), and other incomes like stock investments ($79.3 million).
Odaily Planet Daily will focus on unraveling the Trump family's "cryptocurrency wealth-building scriptures" and the "Trump-style industry chain."
Trump's "Crypto Details": I Didn't Know, Nor Did I Recuse Myself
The "Great President" recently stated in a media interview that he was unaware of his "cryptocurrency earnings," saying: "I've always been making money. I'm a businessman, and a very good one. I made money, a considerable amount... I have people handle that money. I haven't even spoken to them—I don't even know who they are... My son Eric (Trump's second son) takes care of that. I don't discuss such things with him... Not knowing these things is not illegal... There is no law requiring recusal from every decision that might relate to you while running the country. That's simply not realistic."
Somehow, this "Huh? I made money again?" type of boastful statement from Trump is utterly unsurprising.
According to the latest personal financial disclosure documents, Trump's personal assets include over $100 million worth of BTC and ETH, plus a few altcoins like LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, and ONDO; Trump also received nearly $800 million in income from the crypto project World Liberty Financial, co-founded with his son (including $527 million from token sales and $263 million from equity transfers, including income from stablecoin company Stablecoin Holdco LLC and WLFI company equity); about $635 million in income from selling TRUMP Meme coins, and over $80 million from legal settlements with media companies.
Reuters previously estimated that since Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, the Trump family's crypto businesses have generated at least $2.3 billion in profits from investors.
Where does the income in the cryptocurrency world come from?
Taking the "Presidential Meme coin" as an example, TRUMP led to investment losses for about 1 million people.
A mountain of bones lies beneath the general's success; in the cutthroat crypto market, behind every penny of Trump's income are the blood-stained chips handed over by retail and institutional investors.
Trump's "Personal American Dream": I Am the Stock God
Beyond crypto, stock market income is also a prominent part of the Trump wealth legend.
According to financial document information, in 2025 Trump reported over 22,000 stock trades, with an average of 87 trades per day, making him a proper "high-frequency trader." As Trump mentioned earlier, the White House explained that "these trades were all executed by the professional investment team managing the Trump Trust account, not directly by Trump himself."
A closer look at Trump's stock holdings is thought-provoking.
- Regarding specific stocks, the 8 stock accounts under Trump's name hold over 4,000 stocks, mainly concentrated in Google (Alphabet), Apple, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon, etc., with holdings ranging from $5 million to $25 million. Additionally, index products like S&P 500 ETFs and tech sector ETFs are also listed.
- Regarding trading style, Trump's stock investments are not "value investing" but more like "swing trading." Over the past year, Trump's stock accounts traded Microsoft stock 84 times; Google even more, 97 times. Strangest of all, on August 18 last year, Trump's stock accounts almost bought the aforementioned 8 tech stocks in one go, plus hot picks across payments, tech, investment banking, insurance, healthcare, etc., like Visa, Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth, and Eli Lilly.
- Regarding long-term holdings, Trump's accounts bought gold ETFs and silver ETFs 5 times within a year, never selling any; U.S. Treasuries and a Vanguard Group fund tracking dividend growth are also on this list.
Let's think carefully about what was happening in the "outside world" when these market trades occurred.
Over the past year, Trump's accounts have been frequently engaging in intensive trading around major U.S. policy announcements: In April last year, Trump announced "Emancipation Day" tariffs on global trade partners, triggering a "global tariff war," with U.S.-China tariffs even soaring above 100%. At that time, Trump's accounts executed hundreds of stock trades over several consecutive days; days later, Trump first performed the "TACO" act, initially saying "now is a good time to buy," then announcing a suspension of tariff increases, leading to a significant stock market rebound. Then, from late August to October last year, Trump's accounts bought at least $82 million worth of corporate and municipal bonds across various industries, many of which clearly benefited from U.S. policy adjustments.
Just yesterday, the U.S. launched another strike against Iran, causing crude oil to rise and U.S. stocks to fall. A suspected insider address built a position betting on "long crude oil, short Nasdaq," with a position size of $21 million and floating profits exceeding $500,000, inevitably leading to speculation.
All signs indicate that "TACO" is filled with insider trading and covert collusion.
The "TACO" Conspiracy Theory: Insider Trading and Going Through the Motions
Conflicts between Trump's business dealings and U.S. national interests have long been a public focus and a core controversy. Many Democratic senators have previously raised objections, demanding measures and investigations by relevant departments. However, limited by Trump's presidential status, most disputes eventually fizzled out or were temporarily shelved.
But looking back now, many of Trump's unusual behaviors might actually be profit-driven actions.
In January 2025, just days before Trump officially took office, an investment firm linked to the UAE government acquired 49% of WLFI's equity for $500 million; soon after, despite strong opposition from some U.S. national security officials, the Trump administration reached a computer chip export agreement related to artificial intelligence with the UAE.
Furthermore, the Trump Organization's family business earned millions to tens of millions of dollars from real estate projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Romania, Vietnam, and other countries, which subsequently received policy or political concessions from the U.S. in trade, military, technology, and other areas.
This also ties into the Trump family's real estate business, which built their fortune, and the branded destinations created relying on Trump's powerful celebrity halo.
Brand Value: Bearing the Trump Presidential Name
Looking at Trump's personal financial report, a notable column includes many companies starting with "DT Marks"—DT Marks Dubai, DT Marks Doha, DT Marks Abu Dhabi, DT Marks Hyderabad, DT Marks Gurgaon... Looking around, it seems real estate businesses worldwide are connected to the Trump family.
In reality, these companies are just "shell companies"—most have no real assets, and "valuation" is out of the question. Their only value is "bearing the TRUMP name and enjoying the Trump brand premium." In other words, through "surname licensing," Trump used 20 "DT Marks" companies to rake in nearly $60 million in 2025 alone, with DT Marks Dubai generating $10.36 million and DT Marks Abu Dhabi generating $9.24 million.
Unlike Obama, who after leaving office sells memoirs, gives global speeches, and takes photos with entrepreneurs, Trump has long maximized the commercial value of "President" and the "Trump" surname.
The Mutual Embrace of the Political-Commercial Era and the Businessman President
Over 250 years, compared to the political power represented by the "U.S. President" identity, the president's money-making ability has never garnered widespread attention.
When Biden left the presidency, his net worth was about $10 million; Obama's personal net worth by the end of 2025 was only nearly $70 million; The Obama couple's total income in 2013 was only $481,100, a decrease of nearly $130,000 from 2012 because "the books didn't sell well," and they still had to bear a personal income tax rate as high as 20.4%.
From Washington to Trump, across 47 presidents, the salary has only been raised 5 times, respectively—Washington's $25,000 during his term (reportedly all donated to the country); President Grant's salary increased to $50,000 before 1873; 36 years later, President Taft's annual income reached $75,000; In 1949, President Truman's salary broke $100,000; 20 years later, President Nixon's salary finally rose to $200,000; In 1999, at Clinton's request, the U.S. President's salary was raised to $400,000, but due to U.S. law limiting "salary increases to take effect only after the next president enters the White House," George W. Bush ultimately became "the first U.S. President with a $400,000 salary."
Now, in just the first year of his second term, Trump has single-handedly raised annual income to the tens of billions of dollars level. Clearly, not through a fixed salary. Era progress? National fortune management? Power monetization? All three. This is what Trump, different from his predecessors, sees with his eyes and grasps with his hands: seeing through the essence of world rules and fully utilizing them for his own benefit.
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