It is fun to check in from time to time on the slow collapse of Trump's media mini-empire, through the lens of the share price of Trump Media & Technology Group, ticker symbol DJT. This has just hit $17, a steep decline from previous peaks and below the launch price in January. Ass a commercial operation, DJT is a joke, Guardian: "It generated sales of just $4.13m in 2023, according to regulatory filings, and lost $58.2m." Kevin Drum guesses its fair market worth as $70m, based on hopes that Trump will win in November and usage will soar. $17 a share means a notional total value of $3.4 bn. This is obviously a gross over-valuation, propped up by shady plutocrats looking for a tax-efficient and deniable way to pay him a bribe. The negative view is that DJT is not a going concern but the latest and largest of Trump's business scams, and the true value is $0.
For a time, Trump's large stake (59%) in DJT looked like the real wealth - tens of billions - that Trump has vainly pursued all his adult life. His stake has shrunk to under $2bn. If all goes well, he could end up with $40m or so, a respectable haul for a grift, but not superyacht wealth. Or nothing, if the book-cooking has crossed the line into securities fraud, which would not be surprising.
Trump could cut his losses, or broken dreams, earlier by selling up. Two problems here. He is prevented by earlier undertakings from selling stock before late September. His flunkies on the board will jump at his bidding, but they have their own civil criminal liability to think of. More important,, he would crash the stock, slashing the total sum realized. Any significant sales of stock by Trump will be read, and mercilessly amplified by the Harris-Walz campaign, as jumping ship and leaving small MAGA co-investors to their fate. My guess is that he will wait till after the election. But he's a demented sociopath facing ruin, and predictions based on rational behaviour are not worth much.
It is fun to check in from time to time on the slow collapse of Trump's media mini-empire, through the lens of the share price of Trump Media & Technology Group, ticker symbol DJT. This has just hit $17, a steep decline from previous peaks and below the launch price in January. Ass a commercial operation, DJT is a joke, Guardian: "It generated sales of just $4.13m in 2023, according to regulatory filings, and lost $58.2m." Kevin Drum guesses its fair market worth as $70m, based on hopes that Trump will win in November and usage will soar. $17 a share means a notional total value of $3.4 bn. This is obviously a gross over-valuation, propped up by shady plutocrats looking for a tax-efficient and deniable way to pay him a bribe. The negative view is that DJT is not a going concern but the latest and largest of Trump's business scams, and the true value is $0.
For a time, Trump's large stake (59%) in DJT looked like the real wealth - tens of billions - that Trump has vainly pursued all his adult life. His stake has shrunk to under $2bn. If all goes well, he could end up with $40m or so, a respectable haul for a grift, but not superyacht wealth. Or nothing, if the book-cooking has crossed the line into securities fraud, which would not be surprising.
Trump could cut his losses, or broken dreams, earlier by selling up. Two problems here. He is prevented by earlier undertakings from selling stock before late September. His flunkies on the board will jump at his bidding, but they have their own civil criminal liability to think of. More important,, he would crash the stock, slashing the total sum realized. Any significant sales of stock by Trump will be read, and mercilessly amplified by the Harris-Walz campaign, as jumping ship and leaving small MAGA co-investors to their fate. My guess is that he will wait till after the election. But he's a demented sociopath facing ruin, and predictions based on rational behaviour are not worth much.
What is the difference between a Federal Government debt and deficit? Some journalists appear to equate them. -- Hedley