New York
CNN
—
Former President Donald Trump’s social media fortune is shrinking.
The value of Trump’s stake in the corporate owner of Truth Social has dropped by $900 million since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the race for the White House on July 21. Trump Media & Technology Group’s share price has tumbled by about 23% since then, including another sharp drop on Thursday amid a broader market selloff.
The value of Trump’s dominant stake in the conservative social media company stood at just over $4 billion as of July 19, the final trading day before President Joe Biden exited the race and endorsed Harris. It has since dropped to about $3.1 billion.
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The selloff comes as national and battleground polls indicate a tight matchup between Trump and Harris. The stock has become a vehicle for Wall Street traders to bet on the prospects of Trump returning to the White House, as Truth Social could become the platform for presidential communications if Trump wins.
In June, Trump Media’s share price briefly popped following Biden’s disastrous debate performance. The stock spiked again last month after Trump survived an attempted assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
At the same time, Trump’s Truth Social struggles to gain traction in the social media world.
In June, Truth Social’s unique visitors tumbled by 38% year-over-year, marking the platform’s third straight month of declines, according to Comscore data analyzed by TheRighting.
Trump Media’s share price has experienced extreme turbulence since going public in late March. Experts have said Trump Media amounts to a meme stock, trading on hype and momentum instead of fundamentals.
Trump is the dominant figure in the company, owning 114.75 million shares, serving as its chairman and the most popular user on Truth Social. Trump’s net worth is estimated at $5.9 billion by Bloomberg.
Even after the recent selloff, Trump Media is still valued at $5.1 billion.
Some experts have warned the company is drastically overvalued because it makes very little revenue and Truth Social remains a tiny player in social media. For context, Trump Media’s market value is still more than twice the $2.2 billion of JetBlue. That’s despite the fact that JetBlue generated 2,300 times more revenue last year than Trump Media’s paltry $4.1 million.