Donald Trump and his family generated at least $2.2 billion in income last year, nearly four times more than he reported in 2024, according to Forbes. Much of that money reportedly came from supporters who invested in Trump-linked business ventures, including Trump Media and Technology Group and the $TRUMP meme coin.
But while the Trump family’s income surged, many of the investors who backed those ventures have faced sharp losses. Forbes reported that Trump supporters are down an estimated $7 billion after putting money into his business interests.
Trump Media shares have lost 56% of their value over the past year, while the $TRUMP coin has fallen about 81% in the same period. Many retail investors who bought into the ventures as an expression of loyalty to Trump have seen large portions of their savings disappear during a period of growing economic volatility.
Some of those investors are now openly criticizing Trump and people in his orbit.
“We’re just poor cattle to them,” Chad Nedohin, who was once the unofficial captain of Trump Media’s shareholders, told Forbes “He doesn’t care about anyone.”
Nedohin is not alone. Vadim Fistikan, a three-time Trump voter, told Forbes he invested $205,000 in Trump Media after it went public through a SPAC. The money had been set aside by him and his family to buy a waterfront property in Florida.
His investment is now worth about $30,000. When Fistikan expressed frustration on Truth Social, he said other Trump supporters attacked him for speaking out.
“I’m like, ‘Hey, this is a scam,'” he posted. “And a lot of people were like, ‘No, you’re just a Trump hater.’ I’m like, ‘No. I was on board since day one. … I’m now broke. Pretty much my whole life savings [was] in this one stock. This is the greatest theft, con job he has ever done.”
Another investor, Nick Pinto, did not buy Trump Media shares but invested in the $TRUMP meme coin after it launched in January 2025. He initially put in $7,000, then increased his position to $480,000 in an effort to qualify for a dinner at Trump’s Virginia club.
A friend later persuaded him to sell most of his holdings, but Pinto still lost $250,000.
“This is something that the Trump family kind of came up with out of the blue,” Pinto told Forbes, referring to the advice that his friend, a fellow Trump investor, shared with him. “And there’s not really a way for us to predict the future of the coin or what their plans for it are.”
Even as those ventures struggle, the Trump family has continued moving into new cryptocurrency projects. Forbes reported that World Liberty Financial earned Trump $799 million last year, partly after the government of the United Arab Emirates quietly purchased a stake.
The company also released the $WLFI coin, with the Trump family receiving 75% of sales. Investors, however, have seen the coin fall 74% over the past year, leaving it trading at about six cents.