US President Donald Trump has secured the 700th spot on the 2025 Forbes Billionaires List. Once facing a precarious future with mounting legal troubles and financial setbacks, Trump has more than doubled his net worth in just a year, surging from $2.3 billion to $5.1 billion.
The 78-year-old first appeared on the inaugural Forbes 400 list in 1982 alongside his father, Fred Trump, with a combined estimated fortune of $200 million. His wealth has always been rooted in real estate, but recent years saw challenges in the sector due to rising interest rates, a shift to online shopping, and the decline of office spaces.
Despite owning golf courses, luxury properties, a winery, and a Boeing 757 nicknamed ‘Trump Force One’, Trump faced serious financial pressure.
Adding to that, a New York court ordered Trump to pay $454 million in penalties after he was found guilty of inflating his net worth to secure better credit terms. At one point, New York Attorney General Letitia James even hinted at seizing Trump’s assets, including the 40 Wall Street building.
Trump managed to delay enforcement, successfully arguing for a reduced bond of $175 million.
The billionaire managed to boost his finances when he decided to take Truth Social’s parent company public. Despite the platform’s modest revenue and significant losses, investors – many of them Trump loyalists – drove its stock to astronomical levels. Though shares later fell by 72 per cent, Trump still held a $2.6 billion stake as of March.
Beyond social media, Trump capitalised on his influence by selling everything from NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and coffee-table books to sneakers and Bibles.
But Trump’s most unexpected windfall came from the cryptocurrency world. Late last year, he launched World Liberty Financial, a crypto project targeting novice investors. Initially overlooked, the venture exploded after Trump won the presidential election, with hype from crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun generating an estimated $245 million after taxes for Trump.
Not stopping there, the billionaire introduced $TRUMP, a digital token that openly embraced speculative trading. The move generated roughly $350 million in fees, with Trump’s estimated share reaching at least $110 million after tax.
Despite still owing around $500 million in legal penalties, Trump now has an estimated $800 million in liquid assets.
The Forbes 2025 Billionaires List has a record-breaking 3,028 billionaires with a collective net worth of $16.1 trillion. At the top of the list is Donald Trump’s close advisor Elon Musk, with an estimated fortune of $342 billion. Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, retains his position as the world’s richest person.