A Bloomberg investigation published May 12 has revealed that members of the Trump family made approximately $1.55 billion from sales of the crypto World Liberty Financial (WLFI), lifting their total fortune by roughly $660 million after accounting for previously undisclosed transactions — while early retail investors remain locked out of 80% of their holdings as the token trades near all-time lows.
The investigation, based on analysis conducted by intelligence platform Tokenomist.ai at Bloomberg’s request, found that World Liberty Financial sold an additional 5.9 billion tokens to accredited private investors after its two public fundraising rounds closed — transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars that had not been publicly disclosed or explained to the project’s broader investor base. The sales came on top of the more than $550 million already raised through public rounds, according to Bloomberg’s reporting.
Who Received The Crypto Proceeds
Under World Liberty Financial’s own governance disclosures, DT Marks DEFI LLC — a Trump-affiliated entity — is entitled to receive 75% of all WLFI token sale proceeds after agreed reserves and expenses, per the Bloomberg report.
Trump-affiliated parties also hold 22.5 billion WLFI tokens directly. World Liberty confirmed the private sales to Bloomberg, describing them as “white glove” transactions with private purchasers, but declined to identify the buyers or disclose where the proceeds were directed.
The project was co-founded by members of the Trump and Witkoff families, with Zach Witkoff serving as chief executive. Both Donald Trump and Steve Witkoff — who serves as the president’s special envoy to the Middle East — were listed as co-founder emeritus on the project’s website, though the page listing co-founders was subsequently removed. A spokesperson said the company regularly updates its site, per Bloomberg’s account.
Investors Left Holding The Loss
The contrast between insider outcomes and retail investor experience is stark. Early buyers who participated in the public fundraising rounds remain locked out of 80% of their token holdings, with no mechanism to exit into a market that has moved sharply against them. WLFI traded below six cents this week, representing an approximately 85% decline from its all-time high of $0.46, according to BanklessTimes.
Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University, told Bloomberg directly: the Trump family is profiting from a financial venture with glaring conflicts of interest in a way that blocks other investors from sharing in the gains.
The project’s highest-profile external backer has also turned adversarial. Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain and a major WLFI investor, filed suit against the venture in April in San Francisco federal court alleging extortion and an illegal scheme to seize his tokens — claims the project’s co-founders deny, per Bloomberg’s reporting.
World Liberty has also deposited 5 billion of its own WLFI tokens into Dolomite, a decentralized lending protocol whose co-founder holds a role at World Liberty, and borrowed roughly $75 million in stablecoins against them. Critics cited by Bloomberg have argued the structure may allow insiders to convert holdings to cash without waiting for unlock periods that could extend years into the future.
The investigation marks a critical and uncomfortable moment for the nascent sector’s relationship with political legitimacy. A crypto project backed by a sitting president, generating billions for founder-affiliated entities while retail investors absorb near-total losses, is precisely the kind of outcome that regulatory critics have long warned the industry invites without meaningful disclosure standards and investor protections.
Cover image from Grok, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview
