For $249 (plus taxes) any enthusiast can buy online a Victory 47 bottle, "a new and dazzling fragrance inspired by the historic victory of President Trump." This limited edition perfume, numbered and with a rose gold statue with his figure, "is bold, beautiful, and iconic, perfect for fans and collectors of Donald Trump." Victory47 joins the catalog alongside Fight, Fight, Fight, available for men and women. Or the classic Victory model, already sold out. "With each spray, the perfume captures confidence, beauty, and unwavering determination. A sophisticated and subtly feminine fragrance, your favorite signature for any occasion," says its advertisement.
The President of the United States, a billionaire when he took office in 2016 but facing some financial difficulties in 2024, has squeezed his position like no one before. Some of his properties were struggling to generate enough rental income to cover the mortgages, golf courses did not have enough players to offset the costs. Lawsuits and judgments were piling up, totaling tens of millions of dollars. He was rich, very much so, but his empire was facing some difficulties. Until he won the elections.
The president, in just a few months, hand in hand with his children and the children of his top collaborators (who also make millions through these businesses or payments from associated groups), has placed himself at the center of a cryptocurrency adventure that has provided him with a fortune. And it has also opened a door for flows of money of questionable origin to reach his accounts. The dinner organized in Washington a few weeks ago, at a million dollars per cover in virtual coins, is the best but not the only example.
There are his lawsuits against television networks, media, or social networks (for closing his accounts in 2020, after the Capitol riot), which have already provided him with tens of millions of dollars in donations for his future presidential library. The latest agreement was with Paramount, up to 16 million dollars this week after Trump sued them for considering that an interview on the 60 Minutes program with Kamala Harris had been deceptively edited for the public. The lawsuit was absurd from all points of view, and the agreement does not include apologies or any admission of wrongdoing. But analysts interpret it as a toll, a very expensive one, to avoid problems with regulators in the merger that Paramount is seeking with Skydance Media. A commission typical of non-democratic countries. "Paramount just bribed Trump to approve the merger. When the Democrats regain power, I will be the first to seek federal charges. In the meantime, state prosecutors should compel corporate executives who betrayed our democracy to answer to the courts," denounced Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
But the commercialization of the presidency goes far beyond bitcoins, memecoins, or even the 40 million dollars that Jezz Bezos, owner of Amazon, paid to Trump's wife, Melania, for a documentary series about her life. The White House has become a full-time home shopping network. The most powerful showcase in the world serves for Trump to constantly advertise products, his friends' businesses (for example, Elon Musk's Teslas when they were still partners), or his golf courses and hotels, which have become mandatory meeting places for Republicans or businessmen who want access to Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence.
Last week, after returning from the NATO summit, Trump and his team marketed all kinds of merchandise with the idea that the president is the 'Daddy', "papi', using the expression more typical of reggaeton than politics, used by Secretary-General Mark Rutte to refer to Trump. They are also making t-shirts about alligators after the president's visit on Tuesday to an immigrant detention center in Florida next to wetlands populated by snakes and lizards.
Also last week, he and his family launched a new phone company "Trump Mobile," which claims to sell a smartphone for $500 that will be 100% made in the USA (something no expert believes is possible) and a service through the three main mobile operators, for $47.45, a nod to Trump being the 47th and 45th president of the USA.
There is much more. Last fall, he began distributing a collection of gold watches priced up to $100,000 each. In his online stores, there are golden sneakers, the Never Surrender Hi-Tops, at $400 per pair. The Bible God Bless America, at $69 each, has provided him with over five million in revenue. He also has his own brand of steaks, vodka, coffee, whiskey, jewelry, suitcases, bags, or umbrellas. He sells Trump accessories for pets, candles, and has a line of custom guitars, electric and acoustic. Not to mention the hundreds of products, from caps to t-shirts, flags to socks, with the slogan of his movement, Make America Great Again (MAGA).
His Trump Store launched 168 additional products to its catalog between the elections and the inauguration on January 20, which is 168 more than any of his predecessors ever put up for sale. More than 80 of them, referring to the electoral victory, like the perfumes. Just from sneakers and colognes, he has already earned nearly three million dollars, according to a report on his finances released last month.
The 234-page document (Biden's latest had 11) lists a network of assets worth over $1.6 billion and over $57 million in revenue from the sale of cryptocurrency tokens through the company World Liberty Financial, founded last year, but does not take into account the hundreds of millions of dollars estimated to have been earned this year through the launch of a "memecoin." Approximately three-quarters of the declared income from his empire comes from hotels and golf courses, in addition to franchise agreements, such as $2.8 million for "Trump Watches," $2.5 million for Trump sneakers and perfumes, and over $1.3 million for the "Bible God Bless the USA."