How much money has trump made for himself or his family while in office? How much money has he wasted of the tax payers money?
Executive summary
Analyses published in mid–late 2025 estimate that the Trump family has taken in billions while in the presidency — the New Yorker’s tally (reported elsewhere) and follow-ups put the figure around $3.4 billion of direct profit to Trump-family businesses during his term [1] [2]. At the same time, watchdogs and media reports document tens of millions in added taxpayer costs tied to presidential travel and security, and critics say some administration actions have produced wasted or delayed federal spending [3] [4].
1. Profits by the numbers: multiple outlets point to multi‑billion gains
Investigations and longform tallies published in 2025 conclude that the Trump family’s corporate receipts surged after he returned to the White House: The New Yorker’s detailed estimate — picked up by Rolling Stone — concluded the family made roughly $3.4 billion off the presidency, driven by crypto, licensing, investments coordinated by his sons, and extra profits at properties such as Mar‑a‑Lago [1] [2]. Forbes and other business outlets reported a roughly $3 billion increase in Trump’s net worth in a single year, from about $4.3 billion to $7.3 billion, attributing much of that gain to revived licensing, golf and crypto ventures [5].
2. Crypto and licensing were major drivers, according to reporting
Multiple reports single out crypto and licensing as unusually large sources of revenue: Reuters‑based estimates and Newsweek coverage indicate the Trump Organization earned hundreds of millions in crypto in early 2025 (Newsweek cites a Reuters estimate of $802 million in crypto revenue in the first half of 2025 and a $463 million net profit figure for that period) and the Trump meme coin and World Liberty Financial transactions move sizeable sums to family entities [6] [5]. The New Yorker’s tally also attributes substantial proceeds to international real‑estate licensing deals and Gulf projects [1].
3. Direct taxpayer costs tied to presidential activity and travel
Reporting and opinion pieces document recurrent taxpayer spending tied to presidential travel to private properties. The Guardian and other outlets have estimated “tens of millions” in extra security and travel costs as the president spent weekends and official travel at properties he or his family own — a pattern that critics say both increases public expense and creates opportunities for private gain [3]. QZ noted specific contracts — for example Secret Service spending on Mar‑a‑Lago perimeter work — as examples of federal dollars flowing near Trump properties [7].
4. Claims of waste, and counterclaims of savings, come from competing sources
The administration frames its record as an anti‑waste campaign: White House fact sheets tout recovered funds, canceled contracts and consolidation measures that they say will save billions, including examples such as DOGE recovering $1.9 billion and a projection that procurement consolidation could yield $50 billion annually [8] [9]. By contrast, watchdogs and budget analysts say the administration delayed or illegally withheld funding and that slow commitments risk wasting allocated funds — the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported the administration had obligated about $26 billion less in 2025 funding than historical averages, raising concerns funds would expire unused [4].
5. Broader policy choices produced indirect “waste” or harm, say analysts
Journalists and scholars link policy decisions to collateral costs: tariff changes and enforcement actions are blamed for disruptions in agriculture and food‑supply chains that prompted spoilage and unharvested crops, and commentators tie high‑cost events (a proposed military parade, lavish travel) to poor optics and resource diversion [10] [11] [12]. These accounts describe systemic effects — not single line‑item dollar totals — and therefore are harder to compress into a single “wasted” dollar figure from the sources provided [10] [11] [12].
6. What the sources do not provide (and limits you should know)
Available sources do not provide a single, authoritative government accounting that nets all administration‑era private profits against every incremental taxpayer expense; instead, journalism and watchdog groups offer reconciled estimates and snapshots [1] [2]. Precise totals for “money wasted” on every trip, security detail, contract change or policy side‑effect are not aggregated into one definitive number in the provided material — sources give examples and estimates but not a comprehensive ledger [4] [3].
7. Bottom line for readers: two competing narratives, both with evidence
One narrative — built from investigative reporting in outlets like The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Forbes — shows the presidency correlating with extraordinary private financial gains for the Trump family measured in the billions [1] [2] [5]. The competing narrative — promoted by the White House and some Republican lawmakers — emphasizes cuts, recovered funds and procurement savings [8] [9]. Independent budget analysts and watchdogs document concrete extra costs and questionable delays or withholding of funds that critics call wasteful or harmful [4] [3]. Readers should understand both the magnitude of the journalism‑based profit estimates and the gaps that remain in a single comprehensive public accounting [1] [4].