Opinion | How Trump Has Used the Presidency to Make at Least $1.4 Billion

How much money has Donald Trump pocketed from the presidency since his second election? We did the math. This stack of bills represents $83,730. That’s the median household income in the United States. Keep an eye on these green stacks. Let’s start with the licensing deals. Foreign companies, often with the involvement of their governments, are paying to use the Trump name on buildings. And the timing is often suspicious. About a month after the Trumps broke ground on this project outside of Hanoi, the administration agreed to lower its threatened tariffs on Vietnam. Then there’s Melania. “Here we go again.” “He’s plugging his wife’s documentary.” The Trumps are pocketing $28 million for the documentary. Amazon paid significantly more than competing bids and far more than the company had paid for similar projects. But Jeff Bezos has many reasons to curry favor with the administration, from space and defense contracts to antitrust regulation. Then there’s the lawsuits. “ABC News.” “Meta.” “Paramount.” “YouTube has agreed to pay more than $24 million.” “$16 million.” “$25 million.” “Why is Elon paying Donald Trump $10 million?” None of these lawsuits were justified on their merits. But rather than face off with a vengeful president in court, these companies settled, and Trump made over $90 million. “The Pentagon says it has accepted that Boeing 747 jet from Qatar.” “They’re giving us a free jet. Thank you very much.” Trump plans to take the $400 million gift from Qatar with him after the presidency. And he seemed to acknowledge that it would change how he treated the country. “They’re going to be protected by the United States of America.” But the family’s biggest cash cow is crypto. People hoping to influence federal policy, including foreigners, can buy Trump’s family coin and effectively transfer money to the Trumps. These deals are often secret, but a few have become public, like last year, a U.A.E. investment firm announced a $2 billion deal with the Trump firm. Two weeks later, the president gave the country access to advanced computer chips. The Trumps have made at least $867 million through various cryptocurrencies. Altogether, Trump has pocketed over $1.4 billion. That’s 16,822 times the median U.S. household income. And here’s the thing. We made this estimate using publicly available records. So this figure is a minimum, not a full accounting. “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” Presidents are supposed to serve the people, not themselves. When decisions are made based on what’s best for the president’s pocketbook, the government is no longer for the people.