President-elect Trump moved nearly all his shares in Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of Truth Social, to the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, according to a filing with the SEC on Thursday.
TMTG is the company behind Truth Social, an app that aims to compete with mainstream platforms like Instagram and X. Since its listing, the company has attracted traders who speculated on Trump winning the election. Trump maintained up to 57% ownership, which was worth almost $4 billion leading up to Election Day.
TMTG was founded in February 2021 by Trump and Andy Dean Litinsky. It began trading on the NASDAQ in March of this year.
Jordan Libowitz, Vice President for Communications at CREW, criticized Trump’s stock transfer, saying ethical concerns remain. “Yes, he put it in a trust, but [he] basically did nothing to assuage any ethical fears,” Libowitz told Politico. “This is like a head nod in the direction of ethics without taking an actual ethical step.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition team, defended the move. She told Politico that Trump had removed himself from his real estate empire to run for office, giving up his salary. “He became the first President to actually lose net worth while serving in the White House.”
Leading up to the election, Truth Social’s stock saw a significant jump. In October, the stock price surged nearly 9%, reaching $34.17.