Donald Trump made at least $2.2bn (£1.7bn) in his first year back in office, according to a new financial disclosure report, a sum that shattered the norm of US presidents avoiding financial conflicts of interest in the White House. This windfall far outpaces the earnings of past presidents, including Harry Truman, who left the White House without any income other than his Army pension of $113 (£85) per month.

A New Era of Presidential Earnings

Historians have called Trump’s earnings unmatched. “There’s just no precedent for this,” said Barbara Perry, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “It’s beyond anything we’ve ever seen in the presidency.” Trump’s earnings include $1.4bn from the cryptocurrency industry alone, according to the mandatory financial disclosure made public recently.

Trump also reported $635m in royalties from Celebration Coins, the entity behind the $TRUMP meme coin launched just before his second term. Also, he made more than $500m from the cryptocurrency business World Liberty Financial, which was founded by his sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and the sons of Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East and Ukraine.

White House Denies Conflicts of Interest

The White House has repeatedly denied that Trump is profiting from the presidency. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly emphasized that the president has placed his businesses in a trust managed by his sons and stated that “neither the President nor his family has ever engaged — or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”

Trump himself has highlighted that he is not subject to federal conflict of interest laws. “You know why I’m profiting, because the stock market’s going up, everybody’s profiting,” he said. He added that he doesn’t get involved in his personal finances and that his money is managed by funds. “I’ve made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don’t talk to them.”

Comparing Past and Present

Harry Truman, the 33rd US president, famously wrote that it was wrong to “commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency.” In contrast, Trump’s financial dealings often blurred the line between official government policymaking and private business dealings by the president, his family, and close advisers.

George W Bush, another president who emphasized financial transparency, placed his investments in a blind trust before running for president. In his last week in office, he admitted he had no idea how the 2008 economic crisis affected his net worth. This contrasts with Trump’s detailed and massive financial disclosures, which show a total income of at least $2.2bn, far exceeding his disclosed income for 2024, which showed over $600m of income.