Trump Media, based in Sarasota, Florida, has just 36 employees and lost $58 million last year, filings show. Online analytics firm Similarweb estimates that Truth Social’s traffic is less than 1 percent of that of Reddit, a platform that generated $800 million in revenue last year.
But the stock market frenzy has boosted the value of Trump Media to about $5.5 billion – more than the market value of Macy’s, Columbia Sportswear and Alaska Airlines, which generate billions in annual revenue.
The Washington Post shared with the Trump media the numbers it wanted to highlight in the report, all of which were taken from company filings. Trump media spokeswoman Shannon Devine responded in a statement: “Truth Social just launched successfully as a public company, with a committed and growing audience of millions of users, so it’s no surprise. That Washington Post partisans — already the target of an ongoing legal action against us for its defamatory reporting — will spawn ridiculous hit pieces like this one.”
Trump Media filed a defamation lawsuit against The Post last year, saying the news organization misreported allegations about his financial support. A federal judge in Florida recently dismissed the case but said Trump Media can amend its complaint if it believes it can make a viable claim.
Trump is Trump Media’s largest shareholder, owning 57.3 percent of the company, or 78.7 million shares — worth about $3.2 billion based on the stock’s closing price on Friday.
Through the “earn-out” provision, Trump will receive an additional 36 million shares if the price stays above $17.50 for 20 days, which could happen on April 26, bringing his total shares to $4.7 billion.
Under the six-month “lock-up” agreement, Trump cannot sell or transfer his shares until Sept. 25 — or possibly days earlier, if the stock hits a certain price threshold. Trump could ask the company’s board to waive the requirement, but has yet to do so. The lock-up also applies to company executives and board members.
Three people on Trump Media’s seven-member board of directors have been compensated either in stock or cash or both.
Devin Nunes, chief executive and president of Trump Media, received 115,000 shares worth about $4.6 million. He was paid $750,000 last year, which increased to $1 million this year.
Nunes, a former Republican congressman from California, will also receive a lump sum “retention bonus” of $600,000 this month. A bonus agreement signed by Nunes said the money was designed to help “ensure the continuity” of the Trump media business.
Board member Eric Swider, who was chief executive of the special purpose acquisition company that merged with Trump Media, and his consulting firm Renatus in Puerto Rico received about 153,000 shares as part of the merger agreement, which was worth $6.2 million.
Another board member, Kash Patel, a former Nunes aide who served on Trump’s National Security Council, was paid $130,000 last year under a consulting contract with his company Trishul. Patel also serves as a “national security adviser,” the filing said. [Trump] as a private citizen” and receives payment for this service from Trump’s Save America Political Action Committee.
The other four board members — former Trump trade representative Robert E. Lighthizer; Linda McMahon, former Trump Small Business Administration leader; Louisiana Attorney W. Kyle Green; and Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. — were not paid last year, although a filing said the board itself may “award stock as non-cash compensation” from time to time.
A former board member, Dan Scavino Jr., a longtime Trump associate who led the White House’s social media operation and is now advising Trump’s presidential campaign, was hired last year by his company, Hudson Digital. $240,000 was paid through a consulting contract. Scavino will also receive a $600,000 retention bonus this month.
Trump Media also issued a $2.2 million “executive promissory note” to Scavino. The company issued similar promissory notes to other executives, which automatically converted into stock on the day of the merger. The filing does not specify whether Scavino’s note was exchanged.
Philip Johan, chief financial officer of Trump Media, received 490,000 shares worth $19.8 million. He was paid $337,500 last year, and his salary rose to $365,000 when the merger closed. He last served as finance chief of a chain of fitness clubs.
Chief Operating Officer Andrew Northwall received 20,000 shares valued at $812,000. He was paid $365,000 last year. He previously worked at Parlor, the social network popular with pro-Trump rioters at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Johan and Northwall will also receive $600,000 in retention bonuses this month.
Other executives will receive a total of $1.24 million in bonuses. They include Chief Technology Officer Vladimir Novachki, who also received 45,000 shares valued at $1.8 million, and General Counsel Scott Gleb, who received 20,000 shares valued at $812,000. Gleb served as an associate White House counsel under Trump.
Trump Media co-founders Andy Letinsky and Wes Moss, who met Trump on “The Apprentice” and helped launch the business in 2021, acquired a combined 7.5 million shares through their partnership, United Atlantic Ventures, which The stake is about $304 million.
Arch Global Investments II, the largest founding investor in Digital World Acquisition, the company that merged Trump Media to take it public, said in a filing that it received 13.3 million shares, worth about $539 million. . A previous Trump media filing said Arc would receive 9.5 million shares.
Arc and Digital World are involved in a legal dispute over how many shares Arc is owed. Arc is managed by former Digital World chief executive Patrick Orlando.
Trump Media said it has helped fund its operations by issuing 19 convertible notes through 2021 totaling more than $40 million. Holders of these notes, many of which do not identify filings, can convert unpaid principal into stock. The company said that many of the notes have been amended or extended since they were issued, and that it has an “ongoing disagreement” with a noteholder over their “different interpretations of certain terms.”
The company also said it issued convertible notes to unnamed investors during the final quarter of 2023 for “working capital purposes,” and that more than $1 million of the notes remained outstanding as of year-end.
The Trump media deal sits at the center of four ongoing lawsuits, all filed in the past two months:
- Trump Media and Digital World sued Ark and Orlando in Florida, saying their “irrational and disturbing behavior” has imposed “massive costs” and “extensive reputational damage.”
- Litinsky and Moss’ United Atlantic Ventures filed a lawsuit against Trump Media in Delaware, saying Trump has pursued a “last-minute stock grab” that will weaken its shares. Trump is scheduled to be impeached in the case this month.
- Arc filed a lawsuit in Delaware against Digital World, its chief executive and three board members, saying they worked to deprive Orlando of millions of shares.
- Trump Media sued Moss, Letinsky and Orlando in Florida, accusing the co-founders of mismanaging the company with a “toxic corporate culture” and forcing them to forfeit their shares. A Delaware judge in the United Atlantic Ventures case said during a hearing on April 1 that he was “disturbed” that the Trump media filed the lawsuit while the dispute was already in his court. was
Digital World said it spent $19.6 million on “legal investigations” last year, mostly because of its $18 million settlement with the SEC, Trump media filings show.
Trump Media also agreed to pay an unnamed law firm $500,000 for services last year, the filing said. In November, the firm was issued a $500,000 convertible note at $10 per share. That share is worth $2 million today.