Truth Social Stock Spikes on First Day of Trading

Shares in Donald Trump’s social media platform popped on Tuesday in its first day of trading as a public company, allowing the former president a significant bump in his on-paper net worth. Trump Media & Technology Group, Truth Social’s parent company, surged about 56 percent at the open to $78 a share, but finished up closer to 16 percent at $57.99. Still, that saw the company’s valuation soar to $7.85 billion, and Trump’s 60 percent ownership stake worth roughly $4.6 billion. But he is unlikely to be able to dip into his newfound wealth anytime in the next few months, unless the board of the company behind Trump Media’s recent blank-check merger agrees to grant him a waiver, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the meantime, it’s far from clear whether the retail investors behind stock ticker symbol DJT’s high-flying debut–many of them MAGA diehards–will hold onto their shares long enough for Trump to cash in on the bonanza. “The underlying business doesn’t seem to be worth much. There is no evidence this is going to become a large, highly profitable company,” Jay Ritter, a University of Florida finance professor, told CNN. “I’m reasonably confident the stock price will eventually drop to $2 a share and could even go below that if the company blows through the money it got from the merger.”