Original|Odaily Planet Daily(@OdailyChina)
Author|Wenser(@wenser 2010)
How much can a U.S. President earn in a year?
Before Trump, the figure was typically $400,000, which is the statutory basic annual salary for the President. Additional benefits include $50,000 in supplemental expenses, $100,000 in tax-free travel allowance, and $19,000 for entertainment expenses. Perks of the office also include the presidential limousine, Marine One helicopter, Air Force One, and free residence at the White House.
But "typically" never describes Trump—recently, according to Trump's annual financial disclosure report released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Trump's personal income exceeded $2.2 billion in 2025, setting the record for the highest annual income during a presidential term.
This 927-page document clearly outlines the business empire centered on Trump's power.
Trump's "Power Monetization Handbook": Earning $1.4 Billion from Cryptocurrency, with BTC and ETH Holdings Exceeding $100 Million
For Trump, who has served as President twice, the $400,000 basic salary is already insignificant; he has twice refused the presidential salary.
Instead, he has expanded his territory in the business world through his "brand image" and "family business," forging numerous paths to wealth beyond his original real estate industry.
Trump's "Income Curve": Personal Wealth Triples in 2 Years, Cryptocurrency Becomes a Cash Cow
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, but he was saddled with huge debts—one, a $500 million fine owed to the state of New York due to fraud charges; the other, $88 million owed to sexual assault accuser E. Jean Carroll for defamation and sexual abuse 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, accounting for about 64%; the "family's old business" real estate income was $575 million, accounting for about 26%; the remaining 10% of income mainly came from lawsuit settlements ($86.5 million), brand licensing fees ($68.6 million), and other income such as stock investments ($79.3 million).
Odaily Planet Daily will focus on uncovering the Trump family's "cryptocurrency wealth creation methods" and the "Trump-style industrial chain."
Trump's "Crypto Details": I Wasn't Aware, and I Didn't Recuse
"The great President" recently stated in a media interview that he was unaware of his "cryptocurrency earnings." His exact words were: "I've always made money. I'm a businessman, and I'm a very good businessman. I made money, a substantial amount... I let other 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) handles that area. I don't discuss such matters with him... Not knowing these things is not illegal... There's no law requiring recusal from every decision that might relate to you while running the country. That's simply not practical."
Somehow, this kind of Versailles-style boasting of "Huh? I made money again?" uttered by Trump is hardly surprising.
According to the latest personal financial disclosure, Trump's personal assets include over $100 million worth of BTC and ETH, along with a few altcoins like LINK, AAVE, ENA, MOVE, ONDO; Trump also received nearly $800 million in revenue 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 equity); about $635 million in revenue from selling TRUMP Meme coins, and over $80 million in revenue from legal settlements with media companies.
Reuters previously estimated that since Trump returned to the presidency in January 2025, the Trump family's crypto business has generated at least $2.3 billion in profits from investors.
What is the source of income in the cryptocurrency world?
Taking the "President Meme coin" TRUMP as an example, it led to investment losses for about 1 million people.
Behind a general's success lie ten thousand skeletons. In the cutthroat crypto market, behind every dollar Trump earns are blood-stained chips handed over by retail investors and institutions.
Trump's "Personal American Dream": I'm the Stock God
Beyond crypto business, income from the stock market is also a significant part of Trump's wealth legend.
According to financial documents, in 2025 Trump reported over 22,000 stock trades, averaging 87 trades per day, making him a veritable "high-frequency trader." As Trump mentioned earlier, the White House explained that "these trades are executed by the professional investment team of the Trump Trust account, not directly by Trump himself."
A closer look at Trump's stock holdings is intriguing.
- In terms of specific holdings, the 8 stock accounts under Trump's name hold over 4,000 stocks, primarily concentrated in Google (Alphabet), Apple, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Amazon and other U.S. stock giants, with holdings ranging from $5 million to $25 million. Additionally, index products like the S&P 500 ETF and tech sector ETFs are also listed.
- In terms of 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 shares 84 times; Google even more, at 97 times. The strangest was on August 18 last year, when Trump's stock accounts almost simultaneously bought the aforementioned 8 tech stocks, plus hot stocks across multiple sectors like Visa, Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, UnitedHealth, Eli Lilly, spanning payments, tech, investment banking, insurance, healthcare, etc.
- In terms of long-term holdings, Trump's accounts bought gold ETFs and silver ETFs 5 times within a year, never selling once; U.S. Treasuries and a Vanguard Group fund tracking dividend growth are also included.
Let's think carefully about what was happening in the "outside world" when these trades occurred.
Last year, Trump's accounts frequently conducted intensive trades around major U.S. policy announcements: In April last year, Trump announced "Independence Day" tariffs on global trading partners, triggering a "global tariff war," with U.S.-China tariffs even soaring over 100%. At that time, Trump's accounts conducted hundreds of stock trades over several days; a few days later, Trump first played the "TACO" script, saying "now is a good time to buy," then announced a suspension of tariff hikes, leading to a sharp rebound in U.S. stocks. Also, from late August to October last year, Trump's accounts bought at least $82 million worth of corporate bonds and municipal bonds across various industries, many of which clearly benefited from U.S. policy adjustments.
Just yesterday, the U.S. launched strikes against Iran again, causing oil prices to rise and U.S. stocks to fall. A suspected insider address opened positions betting on "long oil, short Nasdaq," with a position size of $21 million and floating profits exceeding $500,000, making one inevitably speculate.
All signs indicate that "TACO" is filled with insider trading and covert collusion.
"TACO" Conspiracy Theory: Insider Trading and Going Through the Motions
The conflict between Trump's business dealings and U.S. national interests has long been a public focus and a core controversy. Many Democratic senators have previously raised objections, demanding relevant departments take measures and launch investigations, but limited by Trump's presidential status, most disputes ended inconclusively or were temporarily shelved.
But in hindsight, many of Trump's unusual behaviors may have been profit-driven moves.
In January 2025, just days before Trump officially took office, an investment firm linked to the UAE government acquired a 49% stake in WLFI for $500 million; shortly after, despite strong opposition from some U.S. national security officials, the Trump administration reached an agreement with the UAE regarding the export of AI-related computer chips.
Additionally, his family business, The Trump Organization, received millions to tens of millions in income from real estate projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Romania, and Vietnam, countries that subsequently received policy or political concessions from the U.S. in trade, military, and technology.
This also involves the Trump family's real estate business origins and the brand hotspots created by leveraging Trump's powerful celebrity aura.
Brand Value: Endorsed by President Trump
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... It seems like real estate businesses worldwide are connected to the Trump family.
But in reality, these companies are mostly "shell companies"—most have no actual assets, let alone "valuation." Their only value is "bearing the TRUMP name, enjoying the Trump brand premium." In other words, through "surname licensing," Trump used about 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 sells memoirs, gives global speeches, and takes photos with entrepreneurs after leaving office, Trump has long maximized the commercial value of the "President" title alongside the "Trump" surname.
The Era of Politics-Business and the Merchant President: A Two-Way Street
For 250 years, compared to the political power represented by the identity of "U.S. President," the president's money-making ability has never attracted widespread attention.
When Biden left office, his net worth was about $10 million; Obama's personal net worth by the end of 2025 was only nearly $70 million; the Obamas' total income in 2013 was only $481,100, $130,000 less than 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, 47 presidents, the salary increased only 5 times—Washington's $25,000 during his term (reportedly all donated to the country); President Grant's salary increased to $50,000 in 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 reached $200,000; in 1999, at Clinton's request, the U.S. President's salary increased to $400,000, but due to U.S. law stipulating "pay raises can only take effect after the next president enters the White House," George W. Bush became the "first U.S. President with a $400,000 salary."
And now, in just the first year of his second term, Trump alone has raised annual income to the level of tens of billions of dollars. Clearly, not from a fixed salary. Is it the times moving forward? National fortune management? Power monetization? All three. This is what Trump sees and grasps that his predecessors did not: seeing through the essence of the world's rules and then fully leveraging them for his own use.
Recommended Reading
Trump's Finances Exposed: Holding 15.7 Billion WLFI Tokens, Paying $50 Million in Sexual Assault Case
The U.S.: Wages Increase Only Once Every 45 Years
Data from "World Population Review"
