Key Background
The White House has previously insisted Trump’s finances were placed in a blind trust after he took office. However, it is still unclear exactly who is controlling these stock transactions. In May, Eric Trump, the president’s son and executive vice president of the Trump Organization, said the president’s accounts are “managed by independent third-party financial institutions,” and “neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization has any role in selecting, directing, approving, influencing or soliciting specific investments.” However, Democrats have still called this arrangement into question, as well as the “unprecedented” volume of trading that has gone on during his second term in office. In a signed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the lawmakers estimate he made 14,000 stock trades in 2025 worth up to $1.06 billion, for an average of about 50 trades per day. Forbes has reached out to the White House for further comment about the most recent trades. In a statement provided to Bloomberg and other outlets, the White House said Trump’s stock trades are made using “computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.”
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Big Number
$2.4 billion. That’s how much Forbes estimates Trump made during his first year back in office in 2025, which far outpaces his $760 million estimated income in 2024. Notably, this figure does not include his stock trades, which were mostly reinvested in the market. Most of this newfound success instead came from his cryptocurrency ventures.
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Surprising Fact
Trump sold stock in Yum Brands, the fast food restaurant operator that owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, in early June, then bought more in a transaction valued between $1,000 and $15,000 on June 12. This happened about a month before the cyclospora outbreak was linked to lettuce used by Taco Bell restaurants in Michigan and four other states, causing visits to plummet. Yum Brands’ stock price cratered in July, but has since recovered slightly and is up 3.8% for the month.
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Further Reading
ForbesTrump Is Making Three Times As Much In White House As He Did In BusinessBy Dan AlexanderForbesDemocrats Demand Answers On Trump’s ‘Unprecedented’ Stock Trading VolumeBy Sara DornForbesTrump’s Financial Disclosure: Major Crypto Moves Made Him Over $1 Billion In 2025By Antonio Pequeño IV