President-elect Donald Trump transferred his entire stake of shares in Trump Media to a revocable trust this week. He did not receive any money for the gift of his 114,750,000 shares to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust. Trump is now the sole beneficiary of the trust, indirectly owning the Trump Media shares he transferred. The value of the transferred stock is more than $4 billion, as Trump held nearly 57% of the company’s shares. After the transfer, Trump directly owned 0 shares of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. but indirectly owned 114,750,000 shares.
This type of transfer is not new for Trump, as he made similar moves before his first inauguration in 2017 and during his 2016 presidential campaign. These transfers were made to the same revocable trust, with real estate holdings, assets, and liabilities being transferred. The SEC filings noted that the reporting person, Trump, is the settlor and sole beneficiary of the Trust.
This move comes ahead of Trump’s second non-consecutive term as president, set to begin on January 20th. It is a way for him to divest from his business interests and avoid potential conflicts of interest while in office. Trump’s involvement in the social media company that operates the Truth Social app has been under scrutiny, and this transfer of shares is seen as a step towards addressing those concerns.
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