President Donald Trump’s crypto and media ventures have left investors $7 billion in the hole, according to a damning report.
After he was ousted from the White House in 2020, the then-ex-president launched Trump Media and Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social. Upon re-taking the hot seat, he followed up with a foray into crypto, launching, with the help of his sons, World Liberty Financial, Trump’s memecoin, Melania Trump’s memecoin, and American Bitcoin.
He then proceeded to make billions as his investors lost staggering amounts of money. A Forbes count revealed that the president lined his coffers with a cool $3 billion from his various ventures, as the people who poured their savings in lost out by $7 billion.
“We’re just poor cattle to them,” Chad Nedohin, a worship leader, told the publication. “He doesn’t care about anyone.”
Vadim Fistikan was one of the self-made folks who believed in Trump, only to lose their life savings. He saved and saved, working as a truck driver until he amassed $100,000.
He bet on Trump and lost badly. He said he was about to buy his dream home when he noticed he could invest in Truth Social via a special purpose acquisition company.
“I saw this whole Trump thing going on,” he said. Shares in a SPAC connected to Trump Media and Technology Group jumped 1,650 percent in two days. The value plummeted even more quickly, falling by 30 percent after the first couple of days.
But that’s when Fistikan gambled, buying up shares. The three-time Trump voter added to his bet until it hit $205,000, before it spectacularly fell to $30,000.
He now believes it was a “scam.”
“Pretty much my whole life savings [was] in this one stock,” said Fistikan. “This is the greatest theft, con job he has ever done.”
Trump Media has cratered 89 percent from its peak. World Liberty tokens have plunged 82 percent, while Trump’s memecoin has lost 98 percent of its value. Melania Trump’s token is down 99 percent, and American Bitcoin shares have tumbled 95 percent.
Nick Pinto, a 26-year-old content creator, pumped money into Trump’s memecoin.
He invested $7,000. Then, after “it went crazy,” he invested an additional $480,000. This got him to a special investor dinner with Trump. He said the food was average and the service was shoddy.
“They didn’t even give me soda—all I had was water,” he said.
But the food was the least of his concerns, as the memcoin quickly tanked and he checked out with roughly $250,000 in losses.
Ryan Kenney, a 41-year-old military spouse, invested almost $100,000 in American Bitcoin. It is now worth about $9,000.
“Maybe people didn’t lose as much as I did,” he says, “but that might be hundreds of thousands of Americans all losing five grand.”
Representatives of the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump Media and the White House were also contacted for comment.
