THE FIRST COIN-OPERATED PRESIDENCY
US President Donald Trump and his family have turned kleptocracy into an art form, hardly surprising when you consider that Trump has been playing this game all his commercial life.
For more than forty years he has been flogging his name in a bewildering array of licensing deals, ever since he realised that he could make easy money by lending his name (or more accurately the name originally established by his father) to products, rather than having to stump up his own capital in deals.
As a property developer, Trump just managed to keep his head above water, dodging bankruptcy many times.
But his life, and his fortunes, were turned around when the reality TV genius, Mark Burnett, cast him as host of The Apprentice in 2004.
Burnett is one of the most successful TV producers in history, having created Eco-Challenge, Survivor, The Apprentice, The Voice and Shark Tank.
He saw the potential star power in Trump and he used the ‘magic’ of reality TV, to transform him from a struggling New York real estate spiv into a ‘character’ who appeared to millions of viewers to be an incisive, powerful business mogul.
The Apprentice’s ratings success and its marketing clout gave Trump a new platform to rekindle his shtick.
And since he’s entered politics, he’s taken his personal ‘reality TV show’ to a global stage while expanding his marketing deals to an unprecedented level.
As President he’s used his name and the presidential imprimatur to flog bibles, watches, mobile phones, sneakers, perfume, meme coins and, through his sons, a growing portfolio of resort property projects (most recently a multi-billion project in the UAE).
That’s not even mentioning: his infamous Qatari jetliner; his exclusive club, Executive Branch, which offers half-million dollar memberships that provide exclusive access to him and his administration; his scam of turning Mar-a-Lago into a government-backed profit centre (charging his secret service team for accommodation and using it as a quasi-official Presidential venue); the pro-bono support he’s extorted from leading US legal firms; or the way he’s turned his social media operation, Truth Social, into the unofficial White House press secretariat.
But it’s the meme-coin rort that’s really hit real paydirt for Trump, his family and hangers-on.
The ‘genius’ of this scam is that US regulators classify meme coins as collectibles rather than investments. So they’re not caught by the normal investment regulations. In practice, it provides a structure allowing those seeking influence with Trump to effectively pay money to Trump affiliates hidden in plain sight.
One case recently showed how it worked: Mexican shipping CEO, Javier Silva, filed paperwork with the SEC justifying his company’s purchase of $US20m worth of $TRUMP meme coins as an investment in securing a concession in trading terms with the U.S.
In another, Chinese billionaire Justin Sun’s purchase of the coins coincided with the dropping of a civil fraud case against him.
The $TRUMP meme coin, listed at $US1, surged as high as $US75 and now languishes around $US8. Nevertheless, it’s generated an estimated $US300m in trading fees for the promoters, Trump’s family and associates. Even Trump’s youngest son, Baron, has earned $US40m as one of the founders.
So it’s on for young and old in this Golden Age of US Kleptocracy.