When Amazon reportedly agreed to pay $40 million to license Melania, the documentary immediately became one of the most talked-about entertainment deals of the year. Now, President Donald Trump's certified annual financial disclosure, made available by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on June 30, 2026, provides the clearest public accounting to date of the income Melania Trump reported receiving from the documentary, NFT sales and book royalties: more than $17.2 million in reported 2025 income across three private commercial ventures she built or expanded before returning to the White House.
The filing is specific enough to examine each one.
The Documentary: $10.71 Million
The largest figure in the disclosure is $10.71 million in reported net proceeds from income associated with the documentary Melania, according to the disclosure. The film, directed by Brett Ratner, follows the First Lady in the weeks leading up to the 2025 inauguration. It premiered at the Kennedy Center in January 2026 before a theatrical release, and is currently streaming on Prime Video internationally.
Reuters reported that Amazon MGM Studios paid $40 million to license the film and a related docuseries, and reportedly spent an additional $35 million on promotion and distribution — figures the production has disputed, though lawmakers cited the same numbers in written inquiries to Amazon. The documentary grossed approximately $16.6 million at the global box office before moving to streaming.
Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins said there was "a very competitive bidding process" for the film, and that it performed well on Prime Video. The company has not publicly disclosed streaming numbers, making it difficult to independently assess the deal's commercial rationale beyond the theatrical return.
The documentary accounted for roughly two-thirds of Melania Trump's total reported 2025 income — by far her largest revenue source.
The NFTs: $6 Million
The disclosure also shows that Melania Trump reported $6,011,259 from the sale of NFTs and other collectibles. That figure stands out when compared with the prior year's disclosure, which showed approximately $217,000 from the same category — an increase to just over $6 million in a single year.
The filing does not explain the increase or identify which collections generated the reported revenue. Her website currently lists a digital collectibles section with sold-out NFTs including On the Move, The MetaRose, Women's History Month Collection, Head of State and Melania's Vision. Earlier collections were priced from $50 to $180,000 per piece.
The Memoir: $521,161
The filing also lists $521,161 in reported net proceeds from book sales of her 2024 memoir, Melania, published by Skyhorse Publishing. It is the smallest of the three revenue streams. The filing does not attribute the continued sales to any specific factor, though the memoir remained on sale throughout the documentary's promotional period.
Why the Disclosure Generated Controversy
The numbers alone would have drawn attention. But the debate surrounding this disclosure predates it by several months, and it centers on the gap between what Amazon reportedly spent and what the film earned theatrically.
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ben Ray Luján, along with Representatives Pramila Jayapal, Dan Goldman and Hank Johnson, wrote to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy arguing that the "excessive price Amazon paid" led many to question whether Melania was "a box office gamble or bribe," and asked the company to address concerns that its investment was part of a "pay-to-play arrangement with the Trump Administration." Warren separately called Amazon's acquisition price "bribery in plain sight" in letters to the Department of Justice and Treasury filed in March 2026.
Amazon and the White House have denied those characterizations. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said it was "just not correct" to describe the deal as a way of buying influence, and said the acquisition "appears it was a good business decision." In a written response to lawmakers in March, Amazon said it disagreed that licensing the film was improper and said the decision followed a competitive bidding process. President Trump called the suggestions "fake news." White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said, "Neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage — in conflicts of interest."
Those allegations reflect concerns raised by members of Congress. No court or regulatory agency has made any finding of bribery or illegality in connection with the deal.
What the Filing Settles — and What It Doesn't
The disclosure does not resolve the questions lawmakers raised about Amazon's motivations. What it does answer is something that had previously been the subject of speculation: how much Melania Trump reported earning from her private ventures in 2025. Whether the Amazon documentary proves to be a one-time project or the beginning of a longer entertainment partnership may become clearer when the planned companion docuseries is released.
As of July 3, 2026. Figures sourced from President Donald Trump's certified annual financial disclosure, made available by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics on June 30, 2026.
Originally published on Enstarz
