A single post by the winner of the 2024 United States presidential election Donald Trump on Truth Social boosted the stock value of his media company, Trump Media and Technology Group, increasing his net worth by approximately $500 million, CNN reported.
Earlier, Trump Media’s stock had been declining following an initial spike after his election victory earlier in the week. By the time the market opened on Friday, the stock had dropped 42 per cent from its peak on Wednesday.
In the stock market, it’s common for traders to buy shares ahead of a favourable event for a company, only to sell afterwards to secure their profits. This pattern was playing out with Trump Media until the former president intervened.
On Friday (Nov 8), when the stock was falling again, Trump took to his social media platform and said he had no plans to sell his shares in the company. “There are fake, untrue, and probably illegal rumours and/or statements made by, perhaps, market manipulators or short sellers, that I am interested in selling shares of Truth,” the former president wrote.
Following his post, the stock rebounded, climbing almost 15 per cent by the end of the day (Nov 8). As the company’s largest shareholder, Trump owns around 114.75 million shares, which rose in value from $3.2 billion to $3.7 billion after the rally. Over the week, however, Trump Media’s stock had only gained about 4.4 per cent.
In the lead-up to the election, while Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris were closely matched in most polls, betting markets leaned towards the Republican, leading investors to invest heavily in assets they believed would be influenced by his leadership.
This optimism fueled a roughly 200 per cent surge in Trump Media stock over the six weeks before the election. Earlier this year, in September, Trump said that he wouldn’t be selling his shares or leaving the platform he created.
With nearly 115 million shares, Trump holds about 53 per cent of Trump Media, which brought his stake’s worth to around $3.7 billion at Friday’s stock price, while the total market cap of the company was close to $7 billion.
(With inputs from agencies)