Mother Jones illustration; Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.
Gas prices are sky high. A war in Iran is far from over. Airlines are running out of jet fuel. And the GOP is stumbling into an important midterm season. So who is Donald Trump making time for on his busy schedule?
The 297 people most invested in $TRUMP, his meme coin.
Trump is once again offering exclusive access to anyone willing to buy his largely pointless crypto creation—a bit of blockchain that has no value other than virtual signaling admiration and (financial) support for the president. The top 297 owners of $TRUMP are invited on April 25 to attend a “conference” at Mar-a-Lago,which will include a gala lunch with Trump. According to the announcement for the event, the top 29 holders of this coin will receive an even more exclusive opportunity—”a VIP Reception with YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT, and other Superstar guests!”
Need to see the president of the United States? Stock up on $TRUMP.
Trump did this once before. Last May, he attended an event at his Virginia golf course with the top 220 $TRUMP holders and then held an exclusive meet-and-greet session with the top 25 $TRUMP investors, who also were granted a tour of the White House. Based on public listings of $TRUMP owners—which don’t identify who these holders were—the combined value of the coins held by the top 225 holders at that event was about $148 million.
Last year’s top coin holder was controversial crypto personality, Justin Sun—who, at the time was facing civil fraud charges filed by the Biden administration but since resolved under Trump’s Justice Department. Sun is still the top $TRUMP coin holder, but he has recently had a falling out with Trump’s other crypto venture, World Liberty Financial.
The holders of Trump’s meme coin are not necessarily buying their $TRUMP tokens directly from Trump. When this venture was established three days before Trump was inaugurated president in January 2025, a billion of the digital coins were created. Eight hundred million of these coins were initially reserved for Trump and his partners. The other 200 million were made available for purchase by the public. The plan was to release more of Trump’s own stash over the next three years.
Yet no matter from where the coins are purchased—from the source or from a trader or holder—Trump earns a transaction fee on each transfer. He doesn’t just profit when he sells coins or if the price goes up; he profits from the movement of the coin. If people are buying or selling the coin, he pockets a piece of the action.
Which is fortunate for him—because the value of the coin has plummeted from its high of around $45 shortly after the launch to just under $3 as of Thursday. Again, this coin has no inherent value or use. It cannot be used to buy anything or exchanged for currency or other crypto.
There is no public information on how much Trump has earned off $TRUMP—either through sale of the coins or the transaction fees. What is clear, though, is that owning a ton of this coin what will get you into a room with Trump on April 25—no matter who you are or your interests.
Three Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren, Adam Schiff, and Richard Blumenthal, sent a letter to Fight Fight Fight LLC, the company that manages the coin for Trump, asking for more details about this gathering. They noted that $TRUMP has been a disastrously bad investment and ditto for the accompanying $MELANIA coin. (It shot up to almost $9 last year when it debuted and is now valued at around $0.10.)
The letter cites an analysis that found that regular buyers of the two coins have lost billions of dollars in value: “The official TRUMP and MELANIA tokens have erased an estimated $4.3 billion in retail wealth, with roughly 2 million holders currently underwater.”
But this analysis also found that 45 different crypto wallets that were early holders of the coins had profited by about $1.2 billion. These accounts were apparently able to stockpile the coin and sell toward the top, clearing profits while latecomers had to pay a premium to get in and saw their investment melt away as the price fell.
According to GetTrumpMemes.com, the coin’s official website, attendees at the Mar-a-Lago bash, will get to meet 18 other “superstars,” including former boxer Mike Tyson and several crypto company executives. Attendees will also be given plenty of swag: free Trump fragance, a commemorative poster, a commemorative trading card, and a red Trump watch (which retails for $499)
The site notes in its fine print that there’s no guarantee Trump will attend. But here’s the good news: If the event is cancelled, attendees will get a free Trump NFT. No attendeees, even the top 29 $TRUMP holders, will be granted a private meeting with Trump. The announcement says he won’t accept gifts from anyone.
The are a few limits on who can attend. The guest must be able to pass a background check, be 18 years old, and not currently be in litigation with the U.S. government.
