Donald Trump‘s net worth has plunged by $700 million since last fall, with the loss mostly attributed to the failure of his site Truth Social.
The former president’s wealth dropped from $3.2 billion to $2.5 billion ahead of his historic arraignment today, according to analysis by Forbes.
Truth Social – which Trump has been using aggressively in the lead-up to his arrest – is responsible for $550 million of the drop alone.
The news comes as it was revealed he is facing up to 136 years in jail for 34 felony offences, revealed in an unsealed indictment today.
Initial forecasts suggested the platform – designed to rival Twitter – would have 81 million users by 2026 but currently it has just 5 million.
Donald Trump’s net worth plunged by $700 million ahead of his arraignment today, according to new analysis by Forbes
Truth Social alone has shaved $550 million off Trump’s net worth after the social media site failed to generate the tens of millions of users estimated
Today shares in Truth Social’s acquisition company Digital World Acquisition Corp. were trading at around $14 a piece – down from $97.54 on March 4.
Trump launched Truth Social in October 2021 – nine months after being banned from Twitter which accused him of abusing the platform to incite violence among his followers.
The venture was expected to boost his fortune by billions, with shares in Digital World shooting up from $10 to $175 within days of the announcement.
But it proved unpopular even with his most die-hard fans.
And the issue was compounded by billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter which reversed the ban on Trump and other right-wing figures – diluting the case for an alternative platform.
Truth Social estimates around 100,000 users per month meaning at its current pace it would not hit its projected 81 million users until 2086.
Digital World is planning to take the company public and has until September 8 to complete the merger.
But the corporation has also been mired in chaos after its CEO Patrick Orlando was sensationally sacked from the job ‘due to unprecedented headwinds faced by the company.’
Shares in Truth Social’s acquisition company Digital World were hovering at around $14 a piece today, down from nearly $100 on March 4
Trump frequently posts on his Truth Social account – especially in the lead-up to his arrest
Forbes calculates that Truth Social is now worth $42 per user – meaning Trump’s 85 percent stake in the business is likely worth $180 million today.
The decline was in part responsible for Trump plummeting by 205 spots on the 2023 World Billionaire’s list, to No. 1,217.
Forbes concludes that the site is likely to ‘join Trump Steaks, Trump University and GoTrump.com in the graveyard of failed Trump ventures.’
Trump has been using the profile constantly to document the events around his historic arraignment, which concerns a $130,000 hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Earlier today, he wrote on the platform: ‘THE RADICAL LEFT DEMOCRATS HAVE CRIMINALIZED THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. THIS IS NOT WHAT AMERICA WAS SUPPOSED TO BE!’
Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records as he faced a New York judge this afternoon – and became the first President of the United states to be arraigned and charged with a crime.
Photos show Trump, 76, sitting alongside his defense team in the Manhattan court room with a stony-faced look for the unprecedented hearing.
The former president silently walked into the courtroom after he surrendered, was placed under arrest and fingerprinted as press shouted questions. He avoided handcuffs and being placed in a cell.
Donald Trump made history on Tuesday when he stood in a Manhattan court and became the first former President of the United States in history to be indicted on criminal charges
Chaos erupted at the Manhattan courthouse this morning ahead of Trump’s arraignment. Trump fan Juliet Germanotta, dressed in a jean jacket and a MAGA hat, throws herself over a Trump banner outside the courthouse
Germanotta is pictured arguing with one of his critics after trying to tear down an anti-Trump sign outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse
Outside Trump Tower in the morning, Democrat protesters clanged cowbells and commanded the former president to ‘wake up and smell the justice’.
At the courthouse, journalists from around the world lined up through the night to ensure their space in the courtroom. After dawn, protesters on both sides descended on the building and were separated by NYPD barricades.
In dramatic scenes, Trump fan Juliet Germanotta threw herself at an anti-Trump banner and attempted to rip it up.
She was met with incredulity from the protesters who’d erected it and a scrappy back-and-forth ensued, during which she yelled: ‘I have COVID!’
