Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, will soon be on the stock market. Here’s what that could mean

Paul Hoskin
·2 min read
31
The download screen for the Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in New York. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corporation approved a merger with Donald Trump’s parent company — which owns the social media platform.
The download screen for the Truth Social app is seen on a laptop computer, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in New York. Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corporation approved a merger with Donald Trump’s parent company — which owns the social media platform. | John Minchillo
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Shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corporation approved a merger with Donald Trump’s parent company — which owns the social media platform Truth Social.

The deal, voted on Friday, means that Truth Social could be publicly traded through the stock market as early as Monday and “could net the former president an eventual windfall of $3 billion or more,” per CNBC.

Details about the merger and its stock market impact

According to NPR, Digital World would be listed in stock market trading under Trump Media, specifically under the stock symbol DJT — Trump’s initials.

The former president, according to CNBC, would hold close to 80 million shares through the merged company.

Per Politico, Trump’s stake will be under a lock-up agreement for most of this year, preventing Trump from selling or getting loans immediately from his shares. The former president could get a waiver for this rule, but he reportedly would not have the ability to sell more than up to 1% of his shares per quarter.

What about Trump’s New York case?

The merger comes in the wake of Trump’s $454 million civil fraud case, in which the former president has recently faced difficulties securing a bond to fight off those penalty damages, reported Deseret News.

ABC News reported that Trump faces a deadline of next Monday to financially secure and guarantee coverage of the judgment.

In addition, Trump also faces large legal bills for attorneys from three separate civil cases. The former president asked a New York appeals court to issue a stay of his $454 million judgment — seeking to overturn the ruling — but the court has yet to rule, according to CNBC.

Despite these issues, the former president claims to have $500 million in cash after his lawyers alleged Trump doesn’t have enough to post a bond for his civil fraud case. He has also asserted that the New York judge who delivered the verdict was preventing the former president from spending personal money on his presidential campaign, per CNBC.