By Michelle Conlin and Tom Bergin
NEW YORK/LONDON Nov 6 (Reuters) - By the time Ske Jarzenske cast a third straight ballot for Donald Trump, he had something extra riding on the outcome: his brokerage account.
The 52-year-old resident of Austin, Texas, had poured 20% of his net worth into Trump Media & Technology Group, convinced that a second Trump presidency would make him money.
Now, Jarzenske’s investment is down 88.5%, according to a Charles Schwab statement he showed Reuters on the condition that
the dollar amount not be published. He’s one of the buyers who, along with the rest of the firm’s outside investors, have collectively absorbed more than $2.2 billion in losses, according to a Reuters estimate. “It’s been very disappointing and difficult to watch,” said Jarzenske.
Trump Media shares collapsed as the company's social media business burned through cash while struggling to attract new clients – and its investments in cryptocurrencies fell sharply in value. Even hardcore boosters of the stock told Reuters they are losing hope as shares hit record lows.
The Reuters estimate of investor losses is based on the performance of shares sold into the market by Trump Media, its predecessor entities, including Digital World Acquisition Corp. and Trump Media & Technology Group, as well as insiders such as the founders and management. The figure is also adjusted to account for share buybacks and based on company filings and court records detailing share issuances and sales.
The Reuters methodology is consistent with the mark-to-market accounting practices fund managers are required to use when calculating their performance, in line with the long-running Reuters practice for assessing investor losses or gains on shares and was reviewed by three finance professors who said it was the generally accepted way to assess investor gains and losses.
Trump Media filings show dozens of equity transactions since 2021, which generated $2.7 billion. Reuters calculated losses or gains for each tranche depending on whether the shares currently trade above or below their issue price. Total losses were reduced to adjust for the impact of share buybacks.
In response to a detailed list of questions from Reuters, Trump Media said in an emailed statement: “TMTG has built a strong balance sheet and is focused on creating value for shareholders, including its proposed merger with TAE Technologies.” TAE Technologies is a nuclear fusion energy firm.
The company also vigorously disputed Reuters methodology, saying, "Your dubious, biased calculations misrepresent the facts, market dynamics, and TMTG's public filings."
The company declined to specify flaws in Reuters calculations but its general counsel, Scott Glabe, said in a letter to Reuters that “millions of shares of Trump Media change hands in the public markets every trading day, and information about whether any given seller achieved a profit or loss is unknowable.”
CASHING IN
Unlike any other president before him, Trump and his family have sought to monetize political loyalty, invoking Make America Great Again (MAGA) adherence in investment pitches involving equities and crypto ventures. He has lent his name to a social media company, a meme coin and cryptocurrency tokens.
Investors in four major Trump-backed crypto projects–including the president’s meme coin, the Trump family’s crypto exchange, World Liberty Financial, its bitcoin mining operation, American Bitcoin, and a blockchain company, AI Financial-lost a combined $2.3 billion through April, as the value of their digital tokens crashed, Reuters reported earlier.
Trump Media’s shareholders now face a similar reckoning. Some are standing by the president. Others wonder whether the movement they backed with their votes and their savings has left them behind.
Losses continued as the president’s approval ratings hit all-time lows and Democrats won control of the House and Senate on Tuesday. Most Americans believe Trump’s business interests, which include his crypto projects and real estate ventures, influenced his decisions as president since he returned to power, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll found. Almost half of the Republicans surveyed held that view, along with 69% of independents.
The White House responded to a detailed list of questions about the story by referring Reuters to Trump Media.
As with many of the recent Trump-backed property deals and the four main crypto ventures backed by the first family–the Trump meme coin, World Liberty Financial, American Bitcoin and AI Financial–the Trumps invested little to none of their own money into Trump Media, securities filings show. Even as retail investors lose money, President Trump’s 114.75 million shares of the company, which he received without paying any cash in 2024 as a part of Trump Media’s merger with a special purpose acquisition company called Digital World Acquisition, are still worth about $460 million at the Thursday closing price of $4.02 per share. Trump’s stake had a paper value of more than $6 billion when the stock was trading near its high.
Shareholder Jarzenske said he still supports the president, but wishes the family would do more for investors. He feels it’s unfair insiders have made such handsome gains. “The Trump family, they say they care but to me they have all this money and they keep making more money, but how about the little people?” said Jarzenske.
Trump Media did not respond to questions about Jarzenske’s assertions.
Crypto is an inherently risky investment, due in part to its volatility and a general lack of regulatory oversight. Trump Media also discloses a long list of risks to investors in regulatory filings, including that the value of the brand may diminish if Trump’s popularity were to suffer.
“THE MARKETS ARE AS RIGGED AS THE ELECTIONS”
Reuters interviewed more than a dozen Trump Media shareholders, all of them three-time Trump voters except for one, who is a Canadian resident. They said their experience with the stock had left them reeling. They include a trucker in Washington state, a retired police officer in Oklahoma, and a flooring company worker in Michigan. Like Jarzenske , all the shareholders said they once believed that Truth Social would become one of the world’s dominant media and streaming platforms.
Hugh Baron, a 63-year old California retiree and former small business owner and Trader Joe’s worker, said he bought more than 1,000 shares, some as high as $53.54. He said his holdings are down 88.5%. “The markets are as rigged as the elections,” Baron said.
Claims of widespread election fraud are false, as courts and election officials have consistently rejected them.
Patricia Spoerl, 64, a nurse in Colorado, said she bought shares at an average of $45.32, believing they would triple in price and help underwrite her retirement. She is now sitting on a “painful” loss of about $28,000. “I’m really sad and disappointed," said Spoerl. “I always knew it would be a risk but I expected when Trump became president he’d have more clout to check into the SEC and figure out why this stock is being held back.”
Spoerl and Baron, like the other investors interviewed by Reuters, believe that Trump Media has been the victim of mismanagement and “naked short selling,” where institutional traders sell shares short without first borrowing them in hopes the price will fall, allowing them to buy back the shares at a lower price.
Reuters was not able to find evidence of naked short selling in Trump Media shares. Current short interest in the company - often used as a gauge of investor sentiment - is at a level that analysts consider below average for companies of a similar size.
The company’s social media business has yet to take off. Trump Media’s revenue has been flat at around $4 million a year for the past three years. Its timing on becoming a crypto treasury - or a company that holds crypto as a main reserve asset – was poor because its bitcoin purchase, announced by the company, came near its peak before a steep crash in price. The company spent more than $200 million building the Truth Social streaming service, which generated just $630,000 in revenues between its launch in August 2024 and the end of June 2026, regulatory filings show.
Since the midterm elections, seen as a rebuke of Trump's policies, shares have fallen 32%.
(Reporting by Michelle Conlin and Tom Bergin; Editing by Anna Driver and Tom Lasseter)
