Trump’s shady plan gives his failing company a lifeline

July 20, 2026 — 11:59am

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The Trump family has shown a remarkable ability to monetise Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. Their latest effort is turning his social media posts into a financial asset.

Last week, Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group announced a plan to charge investors $US100,000 ($143,000) a month for instant access to Trump’s posts on his Truth Social platform. Some investors have reportedly already signed up.

Trump Media has launched a real-time data feed via APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that would give subscribers earlier access to Trump’s posts than non-subscribers.

Given that Trump’s posts often move markets, that advantage – measured in milliseconds – could be hugely profitable for hedge funds, Wall Street banks, algorithmic traders and wealthy private investors. Institutional traders couldn’t afford to not pay up to get that access.

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Trump Media didn’t explicitly say that subscribers to the service would get privileged access to Trump’s posts – it said they would get access to the 10 highest-ranking accounts – but Trump, with 12.9 million followers, is the highest-ranked account, with his sons, Donald Junior and Eric, also among the most popular.

The company also reportedly, in its pitch documents to prospective subscribers, highlighted 10 Trump posts that moved markets.

No-one would pay the $US100,000 a month (or, alternatively, $US60,000 a month if they sign up for three years) for anything other than Trump’s posts.

Trump’s second term as president has been an immensely successful one for him and his family in adding to their wealth, with most calculations of the wealth added in his first year back in office........

© The Age