1 week Ago By Drew Harwell
Former US president Donald Trump’s shares in the parent company of his social media platform Truth Social have plunged in value in the weeks before he can sell them, a losing streak that has at least temporarily erased billions of dollars from his paper net worth. Trump is the biggest shareholder of Trump Media and Technology Group . But he has been unable to sell his 114 million shares because of a standard lock-up agreement that began when Trump’s company first went public through a merger in March and does not end until later this month, securities filings show.
In those six months, Trump Media’s stock has plummeted almost 70% to about US$17 ($27.53) - an all-time low since the merger was approved. At that price, Trump’s roughly 60% stake in the company would be valued around US$2 billion ($3.
2b), over US$4 billion less than when the company publicly debuted. Trump has not said what he will do with the shares after the lock-up expires, and a sale even at the recent depressed prices would be enormously profitable. But the stock’s nosedive suggests the market has doubts over the company’s performance.
Trump Media lost more than US$16 million in the second quarter and earned less than US$1m in revenue, the company said last month. Some analysts expect the stock - which trades under Trump’s initials, DJT - could plunge further if Trump loses the presidential election in November ..
