How did Barron Trump, the Chosen One, make $150 million?

Deng Tong, Jinse Finance

Born in 2006, Barron is only 19 years old, but his net worth has already reached $150 million. He has participated in the founding of a luxury real estate company, the Trump family's crypto project WLFI, and has run for a senior position at TikTok...

This article explores how this millennial from the US first family built his $150 million fortune.

I. About Barron

Barron William Trump (born March 20, 2006) is the youngest child of US President Donald Trump and the only child of his third wife, Melania Trump. In June 2015, Barron attended Trump's presidential campaign launch event. Since the election, Melania has been "very protective" of Barron. He began attending Oxbridge College in West Palm Beach, Florida, in August 2021, under Secret Service protection, and graduated from Oxbridge College in West Palm Beach in May 2024. During the presidential campaign, Barron played a significant role in reaching out to young voters for Trump. He attended Trump's victory speech after the 2024 presidential election and his second inauguration. In July 2024, Barron co-founded the real estate firm Trump, Fulcher & Roxburgh Capital Inc., which was dissolved after Trump's victory. In September 2024, Barron became a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, a Trump family project. In October 2025, Barron ran for a senior position at TikTok.

2. Following in his father's footsteps - founding a real estate company at age 18

In July 2024, Barron founded a real estate company. It was dissolved on November 14, 2024, days after Donald Trump won the presidential election.

This seems to echo Trump's youthful ventures in real estate. In 1971, Trump took over his father's residential real estate company. From then on, a business empire spanning the United States and the world was born, encompassing residences, luxury hotels, casinos, and golf courses. This made Trump a household name and laid the foundation for his political rise.

Another partner in the real estate company was Cameron Roxburgh, a classmate of Barron's at Oxford Bridge School in Palm Beach. Cameron cited the company's dissolution after just four months as a desire to avoid media attention during the election. According to Cameron, the company was a high-end real estate development company with plans to own properties and golf courses in Utah, Arizona, and Idaho. Trump privately advised his son and endorsed the idea. However, Trump did not provide funding for the company; they planned to merge it into the Trump Organization as a subsidiary. However, Barron's business debut appears to have been a failure. In the United States, real estate development projects typically take at least 12–24 months from inception to profitability, meaning the rapidly disbanded company had no time to enter the project execution or cash flow phase. There is no public data showing that Barron made any money from his real estate ventures. Third, Entering the Family Project—Joining the WLFI Co-Foundership In September 2024, Barron became a co-founder of the Trump family's project, World Liberty Financial. It was WLFI that enriched the Trump family and helped Barron quickly accumulate significant wealth, earning him his first pot of gold. DT Marks Defi LLC, the company holding the Trump family's stake in World Liberty, received a total of 22.5 billion crypto tokens called $WLFI in September 2024. In exchange for promoting the project and allowing it to use Trump's name, the company also received 75% of World Liberty's revenue after its first $15 million in proceeds. According to financial disclosures filed by Trump during his presidency, as of the beginning of this year, he owned 70% of Trump Marks Defi LLC. His family owned the remaining 30%. His sons Eric, Donald Jr., and Barron are all listed as co-founders, so assuming they split the 30% stake equally, they would each own 10%. Initially, this 10% stake wasn't significant. World Liberty tokens cannot be resold or transferred once purchased, and token sales were modest. However, after Trump's election victory, WLFI sales immediately picked up. According to data released by the company and its clients, World Liberty had sold approximately $675 million worth of tokens as of August. Barron's after-tax income was approximately $38 million. In March of this year, World Liberty announced the launch of another product: the USD1 stablecoin. USD1 has a market capitalization of approximately $2.6 billion, and the Trump family appears to own a 38% stake in the company. Barron may have made approximately $34 million. In August, World Liberty reached an agreement with Alt5 Sigma, a publicly traded healthcare company that was seeking to transform into a cryptocurrency fund manager. As part of the deal, Alt5 exchanged $750 million worth of $WLFI tokens for 1 million shares of Alt5 Sigma stock, 99 million warrants, and 20 million warrants exercisable at a higher price. Alt5 used much of the funds it raised to purchase $717 million worth of World Liberty Financial tokens, with over $500 million going to Trump's company and approximately $41 million (after taxes) going to Barron. For details, see "From Clinging to Trump to Shifting Funds: How Do ALT5 and WLFI Play the Capital Game?"

Baron also received approximately 2.25 billion World Liberty tokens, representing 10% of the 22.5 billion tokens initially awarded to Trump's company. Baron's 10% stake is now worth approximately $45 million. All of this adds up to just over $150 million, a significant sum for a 19-year-old college sophomore. Baron has no other known assets, but this sum would have been enough to cover his $67,430 tuition at NYU Stern School of Business—2,200 times more.

4. Running for senior positions at TikTok

As mentioned above, Barron once helped Trump win young voters. If Barron succeeds in his campaign for senior positions at TikTok, it will also ensure that TikTok’s appeal among young people will be enhanced.

According to the executive order signed by Trump in September: "TikTok US will be operated by a newly established joint venture. ByteDance will receive approximately 50% of the profits of TikTok's US business."

For related content, please see "Full text of Trump executive order: details of TikTok's US divestiture plan"

Trump once said in a video: "To all the young people on TikTok, I saved TikTok, so you owe me a lot."

Jack Advent, former social media manager for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, pointed out: "President Trump fulfilled his promise and saved TikTok and the millions of Americans who run businesses and get unfiltered news through the app. The vast majority of TikTok's user base is young people. I hope President Trump will consider appointing his son Barron and other young Americans to join TikTok.

From real estate to cryptocurrency to TikTok, with Trump’s father’s business genes as a foundation and the unlimited opportunities granted by his family network, Barron’s business career may have just begun…

V. Appendix: The net worth of Trump’s other four children

In 1982, Trump and his father appeared on the inaugural Forbes 400 richest list, with a combined net worth of $200 million (equivalent to $660 million today). His first famous quote was: "Man is the most ferocious of all animals. Life is a series of battles that end in victory or defeat." Decades later, Trump entered the White House, and his family is monetizing these killer instincts in novel ways.

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

Net worth: $1 billion; $100 million

In January 2021, Kushner founded the private equity firm Affinity Partners. Leveraging relationships he cultivated during his time as a presidential advisor, Kushner raised $4.6 billion from backers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE and has invested over $2 billion in 22 companies. The firm is valued at approximately $215 million. Thanks to Affinity's financial backing, combined with his 20% stake in the family real estate company, Kushner Companies (valued at $560 million), Kushner is now a billionaire. The couple's Indian Creek Island estate in Miami's elite residential area, home to Jeff Bezos, has also contributed to the market's value. Since their purchase in 2020, the property has more than tripled in value to approximately $105 million. Eric Trump, the second oldest son, was worth an estimated $40 million last year and has made more money in the cryptocurrency sector than any of his siblings. Much of this money came from American Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency mining company he co-founded in March. The company went public in early September and made him a billionaire. Eric's 7.5% stake is worth approximately $500 million. He also received a roughly 10% share of World Liberty Financial's token sale. In May, he and his older brother, Don Jr., traveled to the Middle East to sign an agreement granting the family business a license to use the family brand at a golf resort in Qatar and to develop other new ventures. The brothers appear to have received 20% of profits from certain licensing agreements through July 2024.

Donald Trump Jr.

Net Worth: $500 Million

Donald Trump Jr. holds a small stake in American Bitcoin and co-founded World Liberty. He and Eric formed a special purpose acquisition company (SPA) in August and are looking for acquisition targets in the technology, healthcare, or logistics sectors. He is also a key player in the anti-woke economy, partnering with the self-described "anti-ESG" venture capital firm 1789 Capital and serving on the boards of Public Square, an anti-woke and anti-abortion online platform; GrabAGun, an online gun retailer; and the parent company of Truth Social. His wealth has increased from an estimated $50 million last year.

Michael Boulos and Tiffany Trump

Net worth: $20 million; $100-20 million

Michael's father is Massad Boulos, who is associated with companies such as SCOA Nigeria and Boulos Enterprises. Tiffany's assets have relatively few public sources, and unlike her siblings, she has not been involved in the family business for a long time.