Members of the public will be able to start purchasing shares of Donald Trump’s media company under the name “DJT” on Tuesday, giving the former president a major financial boost as he faces a slew of court cases and continues his 2024 White House campaign.
The move comes after a merger was finalized between Digital World Acquisition (DWAC) and the Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social. The merger reportedly increases Trump’s net worth by over $4 billion and land him on Bloomberg Billionaires Index for the 500 wealthiest people in the world.
Shares of DWAC were just under $50 by late Monday afternoon, up about 186% since the start of the year. On Tuesday, the company will be traded under “DJT” on the Nasdaq stock exchange after merging with Trump Media.
Bloomberg News noted Trump controls about 58% of Trump Media shares and now has a total net worth reach about $6.4 billion. But CNBC reported that the former president will have to sit on his shares for at least six months due to trading rules.
The rapid rise of DWAC shares has been in part attributed to Trump supporters who bought into the company in part to back the former president amid his 2024 campaign and legal battles. The media company is valued much higher than the $3.3 million revenue that was reported for Truth Social from January to September 2023.
The merger was finalized on Monday after months of negotiations with DWAC CEO Eric Swider to join Trump Media as director.
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“As a public company, we will passionately pursue our vision to build a movement to reclaim the Internet from Big Tech censors,” Trump Media CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement. “We will continue to fulfill our commitment to Americans to serve as a safe harbor for free expression and to stand up to the ever-growing army of speech suppressors.”
Members of the board of Trump media include Nunes, the former president’s son Donald Trump Jr., and former Trump administration officials including Kash Patel, Robert Lighthizer, and Linda McMahon.
The business news comes as a New York appeals court ruled on Monday that Trump can have an extra 10 days to post a reduced $175 million bond as he challenges a $464 million civil fraud judgment against him, his sons, and his company.