Trump’s Truth Social stake down by $6.5 billion — on day he’s allowed to start selling

Former President Donald Trump can now start selling his Truth Social stock after a 6-month "lock-up" period has finally expired. But there's one problem: His shares are effectively worthless compared to six months ago.

When Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) — trading as Trump's initials, $DJT, on the Nasdaq Composite — launched its initial public offering (IPO) in late March, one share would set an investor back by almost $71. But as of September 20, the stock's price is in the gutter, trading at just $13.72 per share.

MarketWatch is reporting that the former president is now able to start liquidating some of his stake in his social media company, in accordance with the agreement he signed with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) TMTG merged with ahead of its IPO. But his majority stake, which amounts to roughly 57% of all total shares, has been on a precipitous slide since late July, when Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the surprise Democratic presidential nominee.

READ MORE: Trump has now lost $4 billion in personal wealth as Truth Social stock hits new all-time low

According to MarketWatch, the company itself has also been steadily losing money. The publication reported that in the second quarter of 2024, Truth Social posted a net loss of $16.37 million on $837,000 in revenue. And between the second quarter of 2023 to Q2 of this year, the company has experienced $22.8 million in losses on just $1.19 million in revenue.

Trump's 114.75 million shares in TMTG, which is the parent company of his Truth Social platform, were worth roughly $8.1 billion after the IPO this spring. But given the rapid decline in $DJT stock, those shares are now worth just $1.57 billion. This means the former president's net worth has dropped by more than $6.5 billion in just the last six months.

The ex-president may have been eyeing the liquidation of some of his stock given that he still owes the State of New York more than $454 million from the civil judgment handed down by Judge Arthur Engoron earlier this year. He also still owes more than $88 million to writer E. Jean Carroll, who won two civil judgments against Trump in 2023 (for sexual abuse) and 2024 (for defamation). But under TMTG's current share price, that would mean selling off nearly half of his entire stake.

And of course, Trump is still running a nationwide presidential campaign, and is losing badly in the money race to Harris after she broke numerous campaign fundraising records in just a matter of months. If he hopes to beat back Harris' bombardment of the airwaves in competitive battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, selling some of his shares and putting the money into various super PACs could provide a welcome jolt in the final stretch of the campaign cycle.

READ MORE: Trump — who is battered by civil judgments — will now no longer publicize his net worth

Should Trump make such a significant sale of his own stock as the majority owner, it could trigger a massive sell-off by investors who could interpret the former president's move as a signal that the stock itself is an unreliable asset.

CBS reported Friday that Trump is firmly stating he has "absolutely no intention of selling" any TMTG stock. However, it's unclear whether other major investors — which include former Apprentice contestants and TMTG executives — are looking to cash in and bail on the stock.

Click here to read MarketWatch's report in its entirety.

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