TRUMP'S TRUTH TROUBLE

The former president's fortune plunged $700 million, to $2.5 billion. The biggest reason? His once-hyped social media business has come crashing down

- DAN ALEXANDER

In October 2021, Donald Trump was eager for revenge. Nine months earlier he had been banned from Twitter, depriving him of his primary means of communicating with his followers. His solution? Build his own Twitter, dubbed Truth Social. As soon as he announced the plan, supporters piled into Truth Social's special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Shares shot up from $10 to $175 in two days, implying that the business was worth $22 billion, his interest amounting to $19 billion.

The hype never lined up with reality. In December 2021, a group of big-money investors promised to inject $1 billion in cash into the venture-but only if they got a sweetheart deal. Shares were trading for $45 by then, but the new investors were guaranteed to profit as long as they stayed above $10. Using that $10 figure, Forbes previously valued Trump's stake at $730 million.