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Few people go into public service because of the money. Donald Trump seems to be an exception. A new financial disclosure shows his personal income skyrocketed during his first year in office. The report also uncovers entanglements that suggest Trump is using the presidency to enrich himself on an unprecedented scale. So let’s dive into the swampy details, Scrooge McDuck style.
What exactly does this report say?
The Office of Government Ethics released Trump’s annual financial disclosures on Tuesday. According to analysis by The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Trump reported that he made at least $2.2 billion in 2025 – three and a half times as much as in 2024. That figure includes about $1.4 billion from his family’s cryptocurrency businesses, $575 million from real estate and $86.5 million in settlement fees from media and technology companies that Trump has sued.
Okay, but Trump was a rich man who made a lot of money before he became president. So how do we know he is using the power of his office to get richer?
It can be difficult to prove corruption in lockstep, but more than three times what you earn in a year of your term suggests that not everything is at the right level here. And Trump has absolutely done things that seem to benefit his companies. He has propped up the crypto industry, including by exempting memecoins like Trump’s own $TRUMP from Securities and Exchange Commission oversight and giving the United Arab Emirates access to advanced computer chips, weeks after a royal official there agreed to invest $2 billion in his family’s crypto business. (Trump earned transaction fees from trades with $TRUMP and from sales of his digital tokens, The Times reports, which made him money even as the value of cryptocurrencies fell.) In Trump’s first term, the Trump Organization agreed not to do deals with foreign companies, but Trump’s son Eric has essentially admitted that the plan now is to make money. “We can’t just sit out forever, and neither will I,” he said in 2024. The Trumps probably realize they won’t face any real consequences from a Republican-controlled Congress — or from a base that only cared about corruption when it came to Hunter Biden.
Speaking of Hunter, how does this compare to previous examples of presidential corruption?
In the same way that, for example, Jay Jay, the jet plane, compares itself to a 747. Most modern presidents have sold companies or transferred them to independent foundations before taking office. Other presidents – or their families – have behaved in ethically reprehensible ways, but to a much lesser extent. Harry Truman appears to have pocketed about $2.5 million (in today’s dollars) that Congress had earmarked for official duties. George W. Bush received consulting fees from an oil company during his father’s vice presidency and during the 1988 campaign. Hunter Biden’s last name earned him about $3.5 million over five years from a Ukrainian gas company. By contrast, Trump reported making $14 million last year alone from licensing his name to two real estate projects, and his family business is reportedly planning nearly two dozen similar deals elsewhere.
What did Trump say about all this?
When Trump was asked today whether the report shows he is “benefiting from the presidency,” he denied it – sort of. “Do you know why I profit? Because the stock market goes up. Everyone profits,” he told reporters, adding: “I never talk to the people who manage the money.” In the background were his sons Eric and Don Jr., who run his family business and manage the trust that collects his money.
Tolga Akdogan
This Trump message is brutal. Likewise the heat. But instead of fixating on that, perhaps we could suggest you do some reading about all the joys available to us in this world?
We can still enjoy a cool drink: In fact, it can even make you feel patriotic. The cocktail was America’s first major culinary innovation, explains Peter Suderman in this delightful essay. Did you know that several of the country’s founding fathers were alcoholics?
The ultimate myth we tell ourselves about the USA
The Supreme Court actually did something good this week: The judges have dealt a huge blow in favor of privacy in the digital age, explains Cullen Seltzer.
At least someone retires early: Online influencers have been around for so long now that some of them have officially stopped. On today’s ICYMI podcast, Slate’s Kate Lindsay discusses what it means that some early legends of the influencer scene are leaving and how their followers are dealing with the end of these parasocial relationships.
The whole world has come together for a football tournament: England v Congo was a tricky game today (check out the highlights), while Belgium and Senegal started with 4 Eastern and the USA played Bosnia and Herzegovina with 8. If you happened to have any questions about Herzegovina, Slate’s Alex Kirshner is here to help. Also check out Aymann Ismail’s article about how a group of fans had tremendous fun despite their teams struggling for results.
And that’s it, you’re done! Stay cool tonight and I’ll see you morning.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/07/donald-trump-corruption-income.html
