President-elect Donald Trump has transferred all of his Trump Media shares to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, controlled by his eldest son, Donald Jr., according to regulatory filings revealed Thursday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission filing showed that Trump received no money for the roughly 115 million shares in Trump Media & Technology Group — the parent company of his social media platform, Truth Social — that were transferred to the trust, describing it as “a bona fide gift.” The shares are worth about $4 billion.
Trump Jr. is the sole trustee and has sole voting and investment power over all securities owned by the revocable trust, The Associated Press reported.
Trump Media shares slid in midday trading on Friday following the news, per The Associated Press.
Trump Media — created after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — was one of Trump's most valuable assets, according to The New York Times. He said on the campaign trail this year that he had no intention of selling any of his shares. It wasn't clear why he transferred them.
It may be an attempt to avoid future conflicts of interest between his second term and his social media company, the Times reported. Trump has used Truth Social to announce cabinet nominees, top-ranking Trump administration officials and make statements about his proposed policies, as well as respond to criticism.
Some have raised concerns about investors in Trump Media trying to gain favor with Trump. He has nominated two Trump Media board members to high-level positions in his administration, according to CNBC, and named Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes to chair the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board.
In November, Trump Media & Technology Group was considering buying crypto trading firm Bakkt, the Financial Times reported. Industry analysts have warned that Trump's business connections to crypto could present conflicts of interest, since he selects the SEC chair overseeing crypto regulation and could financially benefit.
Dennis Kelleher, CEO of Better Markets, told the New York Times the transfer of shares to a trust would do little to address potential conflicts.
“This is not a blind trust with an independent trustee, where people can have confidence that the conflicts of interest are in fact removed,” he said.
William LaPiana, dean of faculty at New York Law School and an expert on trusts and estates, said the trust isn't bound to withhold anything from Trump.
“The person who created it can end it at any time,” LaPiana told the New York Times. “What you do is you tell the trustee: ‘I want all the property back.’”
