 "US-President elect Donald Trump. AFP file")
Shares of Trump Media and Technology Group dipped during midday trading on Friday after President-elect Donald Trump transferred his nearly 114.75 million shares, valued at approximately $4 billion into a revocable trust.
According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the transfer, representing over half of the company’s stock, was categorised as a “bona fide gift” to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust.
It’s not clear why Trump transferred the stock. Donald Trump Jr. is the sole trustee and has sole voting and investment power over all securities owned by the trust.
Trump Media shares were down about 2% at midday, to $34.68 each. At one point Friday, they were down around 6%.
Trump Media shares have been extremely volatile since the company began trading in March. They reached intraday highs close to $80 on the first day of trading, then slumped to all-time lows in September when Trump and other insiders were finally allowed to sell shares after standard lock-up agreements expired. Trump has not sold any shares in the company.
The company’s stock price has fluctuated wildly on news — good and bad — related to Trump. They tumbled after Trump’s conviction in a hush money trial in May, then surged after the first assassination attempt on Trump in July. They surged again after he won re-election in November, even as the company reported a $19.2 million third-quarter loss.
Trump created Trump Media after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
Trump said in November that he had no intention of selling his shares in the company, which owns the Truth Social media platform. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is the sole trustee of the trust and has sole voting and investment power over securities held by it, according to the securities filings.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsTrump Media has a market capitalisation of around $7.7 billion as retail traders bet on the stock as a proxy of Trump winning the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
With inputs from agencies.