Trump Receives 36 Million Bonus Shares of 'Truth Social' Stock Worth Approximately 1.6 Trillion Won

TMGT Stock Price Halves After Reaching All-Time High

Former President Donald Trump, confirmed as the Republican candidate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election this November, is expected to receive an additional bonus worth $1.2 billion (approximately 1.65 trillion KRW) from the listing of the social networking service (SNS) he created, 'Truth Social.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 23rd (local time), major foreign media outlets including Bloomberg cited documents submitted by Truth Social's parent company, 'Trump Media & Technology Group (TMGT),' to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reporting that Trump is scheduled to receive an additional 36 million shares as a listing incentive.

Former President Trump currently holds 78 million shares, accounting for 57% of TMGT's equity. To receive the additional shares as an incentive, TMGT's stock price must trade at $17.50 or higher for 20 trading days within 30 trading days after the listing. If the stock price does not fall below $17.50 on any of those 20 trading days, Trump will meet the bonus payment conditions. In that case, Trump's holdings are expected to increase to 115 million shares, representing about 65% of the equity.

As of 2:55 PM on the same day, TMGT's stock price was trading around $32. This means that Trump could gain an additional $1.2 billion in revenue from the stock bonus.

However, even if Trump receives the shares, it is expected to be difficult to immediately convert them into cash. Trump and key executives are effectively restricted from selling shares for six months after the listing. Currently, Trump Media has requested the SEC to allow the sale of shares.

TMGT's stock price rose to $66.22 after its listing last month but has since dropped to around $32. The value of Trump's stake in Truth Social has halved from $5.165 billion (approximately 7.1 trillion KRW) to $2.496 billion (approximately 3.43 trillion KRW).

Meanwhile, TMGT has drawn criticism after it was revealed that the company applied for the H-1B visa program, a professional visa that former President Trump had criticized while maintaining a hardline immigration policy. The company reportedly applied to hire foreign workers at the minimum annual salary of $65,000 allowed under the H-1B program in 2022 and was approved a few months later.